THE good times just keep on coming for Clonakilty Rugby Club.
Firstly, the club’s U16 girls took part in an all-day festival of rugby hosted by Kinsale RFC. Clonakilty were victorious in all their pool matches en route to the final that they dominated to win the Anne Marie Kingston Cup.
It was a great start to a trophy-laden week, as the Girls’ Munster League Finals followed with both Clon’s U14 and U18 teams in their respective finals hosted by Ballincollig RFC.
Within those two teams, there were three pairs of sisters competing. Take a bow, Caoimhe and Siun McCarthy, Clodagh and Caoimhe McCarthy and Meghan and Ella Coakley. It was another small bit of history for Clonakilty RFC, recently crowned the West Cork Sports Star Club of the Year.
Clonakilty's Clodagh McCarthy scored a try in the Munster U18.5 league final.
First up, the Clon U14 girls took on Ennis RFC in their league final showdown. The West Cork team had beaten Fethard and District 24-14 and Garryowen-Richmond 26-14 on their way to the decider. Captain Siun McCarthy led the Clon girls out in what were perfect rugby conditions. Right from the kick off, it was clear that this was going to be an immense battle. Clon struck first with a super try from Ella Haughney, converted by Sally McAuley.
Ennis fought back and battled their way down the pitch to score their first try. Clon were hoping to get to half time without Ennis scoring again. However, Ennis scored a further converted try just before half time bringing the half time score to 12-7.
The Clon girls knew they would have to dig deep to win this game and that’s exactly what they did. Caoimhe McCarthy scored the first try of the second half after a great run. Sally McAuley converted.
Clonakilty's Sarah Walsh holds off the challenge of Eve Tiernan of Ennis during the Munster Rugby Girls' U14 League final.
Ella Haughney scored her second of the day, again converted by Sally McAuley. Ennis kept battling and Clon had to defend with all their might. Only when Abaigeal Stapleton scored Clon’s final try, converted by McAuley, could the Clon supporters relax. Relief all around for Clon players and spectators when the final whistle blew. The final score was 28-12.
Grainne O’Connell, Chair of Munster Women’s Rugby, presented Caoimhe McCarthy with the player of the game trophy and then presented the Munster League Cup to captain Siun McCarthy, amidst the giddy roars of the full team.
It was then the turn of Clonakilty’s U18 girls to take centre stage. This team went into the final undefeated all season and have built a reputation for playing some fabulous rugby but, travelling to play a very strong Ballincollig team in a final in their own backyard was always going to provide a huge test. Incredibly, Clonakilty didn’t concede in the quarter and semi-finals as they defeated Shannon 34-0 and Ballina-Killaloe 30-0.
Clonakilty's Caoimhe McCarthy scores a try in the U14 league final.
Clon were put under immense pressure from the kick off by a physically stronger Ballincollig team but a massive defensive effort meant the game remained scoreless midway through the first half. This seemed to give Clonakilty a real boost of confidence and shortly after, while applying great pressure on the Ballincollig backs, Jo McCaughey picked off a loose pass to sprint away and touch down under the posts. A fabulous team try by captain Roxy Llewellyn shortly before half time meant Clon led 12-0 at the break.
An early second half try from the excellent Julie Finn gave Clon some breathing space and when Clodagh McCarthy crossed for Clon's fourth try, their lead was extended to 22-0.
Ballincollig, to their credit, never stopped trying and were rewarded with a try, before Rachel Twomey sprinted away to touch down for Clon's fifth try of the day. Two late consolation tries for Ballincollig left a final score of 27-15 to Clonakilty.
This was a fabulous achievement for the whole squad and it is the first time Clonakilty RFC have won the U18 Munster league title. They now move onto the cup competition and will be doing all they can to chase the double.
