Battling Win For Munster ‘A’ Side
Munster ‘A’ were in action on Tuesday night in front of a large attendance in Nenagh where they took on a Russian selection, winning 27-21 as one of the province’s favourite sons, John Hayes, performed the official switching on of Nenagh Ormond RFC’s new floodlights.
The Munster ‘A’ side was predominantly made up of Munster Academy, Sub Academy and club players and featured four senior players in Mike Prendergast, team captain James Coughlan, Nick Williams and local favourite Donnacha Ryan.
An early penalty from Dolphin’s Barry Keeshan was followed up with the first try which came after 20 minutes.
UL Bohemians winger Mark Doyle chased a kick through from Keeshan and gathered brilliantly on the bounce for the runaway opening try, which Keeshan converted.
The hosts’ second try came from good pressure in the scrum with a solid forward drive and a strong surge from Williams and Dave Ryan allowing Munster Academy lock Dave Foley stretch over the line.
The Russians hit back in the 38th minute with a great break from one of their wingers. He outstripped the cover to score under the posts.
The touring side maintained their attacking momentum and quickly followed up with their second try of the evening, which left the score 17-14 at half-time.
Ten minutes into the second half, the tourists infringed at the scrum and Prendergast tapped a quick penalty, feeding the ball to Academy centre Murray Kinsella.
Full-back Declan Cusack then opened up the Russian defence with a charging run, before finally passing out to Sub Academy player Ed Torrie who touched down in the corner.
But a physical Russian side once again fought back and after sustained pressure on the Munster whitewash, they eventually broke the home defence for a try in the 73rd minute. The score stood at 22-21 going into the final minutes.
Munster ‘A’ held their nerve and the province’s youngsters finished off an encouraging display with a well-worked try, scored by Dolphin’s Dave Harty.
Overall, it was a very entertaining night of rugby and Nenagh Ormond RFC did a fine job of hosting the game.
MUNSTER ‘A’: Declan Cusack; Ed Torrie, Murray Kinsella, Giles Boland, Mark Doyle; Barry Keeshan, Mike Prendergast; Dave Ryan, Sean Henry, Patrick O’Regan, Dave Foley, Donnacha Ryan, Nick Williams, Barry O’Mahony, James Coughlan (capt).
Replacements (all used): Ger Slattery, Jack Bransfield, Dave Harty, Robbie Allen, Kieran Essex, Cathal Sheridan, Kevin Lynch, Luke O’Dea.