MARTIN Coppinger and David Murphy will contest at Ballincurrig this Sunday afternoon, June 25th, for the 2023 county senior championship after semi-final wins at Grange and Bauravilla.
It promises to be a stirring duel between bowling’s greatest rivals as both go in search of a fifth provincial crown.
Coppinger’s duel with Aidan Murphy at the South West venue on Saturday evening was a cagey affair for the first half. Playing away from Lislevane for a €10,000 total stake, Murphy did not follow up a splendid second shot with a similar third and Coppinger, off the hook to an extent, did not suffer any ill-effects from a hesitant start.
The Bantry native led for the first time after a fine touch off ‘Holland’s wall’ but was behind again after the next exchange. Nothing separated them in an average eight shots to the ‘school-house cross’ but, from there, the tempo was upped considerably. A spectacularly lofted ninth of Coppinger’s was ‘called’, but his re-thrown effort fared better and he rose a 30-metre advantage at ‘Hegarty’s wall’.
Murphy’s brilliant 11th shot to sight at ‘O’Sullivan’s’ regained the lead for him but Coppinger determinedly came within metres and then delivered a powerful drive on the rising road to ‘Hodnett’s’. Murphy beat that mark again but fell behind to Coppinger’s next as an exciting finale unfolded.
The Mid Cork native’s next was a super effort but Coppinger held his ground, beating a massive tip and it signalled a vital turn in his favour as he fired another supreme effort to the ‘Grange tavern’ to take control of the score. Murphy conceded a bowl of odds in these exchanges, and it is a confident Coppinger who goes in search of a fifth county crown.
There was no late drama at Bauravilla on Sunday as David Murphy booked his place in the final with a clearcut two-bowl victory over James O’Donovan. The Brinny man avenged recent championship defeats to the Bandonian with a competent if unspectacular showing.
Crucial to his win was a tightly-cut 12th shot that escaped off the right to run perfectly to the ‘hollow’ back of the novice line. The splendid effort turned a 20-metre lead into a bowl of odds advantage and there was no holding him after that.
There were chances for both men after they played away from the ‘Coachman’s start’ for a €12,900 total. Murphy had the early advantage before O’Donovan’s brilliant fourth shot to the ‘netting’ gave him unexpected leeway when the Brinny man’s reply went left. O’Donovan did not capitalise, taking four more to the ‘rock’ where Murphy was back in front by a metre. Murphy then beat a big tenth of O’Donovan’s by 40 metres and the yardage was vital in enabling him to get a better break off the ‘bridge wall’. Then came that score-changing 12th and it was Murphy’s day despite O’Donovan’s best efforts.
Sunday’s final is a rematch of a sporting rivalry that has sustained bowling for well over a decade. Guaranteed crowd-pullers when and wherever they clash, they have shared the highs and lows over that extended period with almost identical championship records. Both have won four county titles from five appearances while Coppinger shades the All-Ireland honours list, winning four to Murphy’s three.
Ballincurrig is a familiar venue to both. Murphy is a five-time King of the Roads winner here while Coppinger’s sole victory came at the expense of Murphy after one of the most sensational closing sequences seen on the road in 2012, their only final meeting. Coppinger has the upper hand in most of their most recent meetings but, on a new day, with the premier prize at stake, how much of an influence that statistic will have is anyone’s guess.
Thomas Mackle is still the kingpin in Ulster. The defending champion needed to be at his best to hold on against Colm Rafferty in the fourth score of their best of five played at Knappagh on Saturday. Martin Coppinger or David Murphy will know what to expect on All-Ireland Sunday, July 9th, at Ballincurrig.
