Skibbereen hold on for dear life to advance in Munster Junior Cup

By Staff Reporter Saturday March 6th, 2010

Skibbereen .....................18 pts

Clonmel ..........................16 pts



Skibbereen held on to take the honours in this closely contested match against old rivals Clonmel – the third confrontation of the sides this season – and so now proceed to the next stage of this prestigious Junior Cup competition with an away fixture against UL Bohemians in two weeks time.

With both sides balanced at one win each so far this season, last Sunday’s meeting would have to be seen as the definitive test between the sides, and after eighty minutes of tough and uncompromising rugby, Skibbereen came through on a score of 18-16.

This was a closely fought match in every respect and had supporters in full voice as fortunes swayed from one side to the other before the referee finally blew full time – and Skibbereen could at last savour the victory.

Clonmel got off to the better start and made good use of the prevailing wind pretty early on finding good touches through the boot of their outhalf Danny Lyons that kept Skibbereen on the back foot for good periods.

To their credit the Skibbereen defended well from the start and their lineouts and scrummaging were very much on song throughout and they were able to secure good ball and make good ground through their forwards.

In the first fifteen minutes Clonmel were on the Skibbereen twenty-two on a few occasions seeking weaknesses in the Skibbereen defence but it held firm through superb tackling by the likes of Colm Hurley, and brothers Sean and Declan Coppinger to name a few.

With no door open Clonmel tried the odd drop-goal attempt to try and get some points on the board but to no avail. However just two minutes later Skibbereen were penalised for not rolling away from a tackle and Clonmel’s Danny Lyons easily converted from twenty-five metres to put Clonmel ahead 3-0.

The Skibbereen backline were experiencing a few problems in moving the ball with any level of certainty and passing was a little untidy at times, and coming up to twenty four minutes Skibbereen paid the ultimate penalty for such indiscretions when a ‘skip’ pass landed at the feet of its intended target and in the fumble that followed a Clonmel defender stepped in and kicked the loose ball goalwards and followed up smartly to score a very easy try. The conversion followed from kicker Lyons to extend Clonmel’s lead to 10 - 0.

Clonmel conceded a penalty in their own half. This was a difficult kick by any stretch of the imagination – ten metres in from touch and thirty metres out and against a strong wind to boot, but Mark Kingston managed it fine and brought the score to 10 - 3 on twenty-seven minutes.

Mark repeated this success on thirty-two minutes from a similar distance and slightly to the right of the posts to further narrow the gap to 10 - 6.

John Hayes picked up a nasty facial injury and had to retire and he was replaced by Ricky O’Shea. Skibbereen were coming more into the game as the clock neared the half-time whistle and the forwards were enjoying distinct superiority in their tussles.

Following a Skibbereen lineout on the halfway line Skibbereen began to maul their way goalwards and made great ground to within the five metres of the line when inexplicably the ball was let out and a forward made a dash for the line but was caught and driven back, when a little patience might have yielded the desired result.

It remained 10 - 6 at half-time.

Starting the second-half Skibbereen had reason to be optimistic having flexed their considerable power just minutes before and now having the added benefit of a strong breeze.

Just five minutes into the half a Skibbereen penalty brought play to the Clonmel twenty-two and the lineout secured without too much fuss. Almost immediately the maul was in place and Skibbereen’s superior power became evident once again as they covered the distance to the line in double quick time and prop Peter Stoutt clinically grounded to secure a fine try and Skibbereen took the lead for the first time.

From a difficult angle Mark Kingston just missed the conversion but Skibbereen were now leading at 11-10 after just five minutes of the second half.

Clonmel were naturally a little shocked but not prepared to concede just yet.

After twenty-four minutes Skibbereen entered their best period of the match which had an inauspicious start that saw poor handling between forwards but suddenly the ball was across the field and into the hands of centre David Shannon who collected at speed and carved a path through some defenders and sidestepping others, before offloading to flanker Declan Coppinger on the twenty-two and he in turn passed to team captain Maurice O’Keeffe who now had David Shannon on his shoulder and as he passed to David at the critical moment ensured the glory returned unselfishly to he who had started the move earlier. A glorious try involving many hands and embracing backs and forwards – a team effort – the pity is we don’t see enough of them.

Mark Kingston added the points to now leave the score 18 - 10 and fifteen minutes to go, with Clonmel now needing two scores at the very least.

Within a few minutes Clonmel awoke from its slumber and were quickly inside the Skibbereen five metre line, releasing their big hitters to crash the Skibbereen defence repeatedly as cracks were now beginning to show. Bodies were being thrown in the path of attackers to stop the onslaught that one felt had but one outcome .

When the referee awarded a penalty Clonmel opted to take the points, when the try seemed imminent, and Denny Lyons narrowed the gap to 18 - 13 with an easy kick and ten minutes remaining.

Skibbereen replaced Declan Coppinger with Liam Swanton and Viny White with Sean O’Neill.

Clonmel now enjoyed massive possession and control while Skibbereen defended with their backs to the wall. In the midst of it all Skibbereen lost replacement Liam Swanton to a decision by the referee for slowing down ball and was binned having had but a few minutes on the field.

Skibbereen were now down to fourteen men and to compound matters Skibbereen conceded another penalty and Lyons punished again to bring the score to 18 - 16.

As the battle raged on Skibbereen conceded yet another kickable penalty midway between the post and the touchline and about twenty-five metres out. If successful this would restore the lead to Clonmel and practically guarantee the win for the Tipp side given so little time remained. Denny Lyons missed this kick well to the left of the post and Skibbereen breathed a sigh of relief.

As the referee allowed the game go into added time Clonmel continued to battle mightily against an ever-weakening Skibbereen side that saw tired and weary bodies defending for an additional six minutes of added time before the referee finally called time.

This was a hard fought contest that could have gone either way but Skibbereen fought hardest and deserved their victory on the day.

Next week Skibbereen entertain Kerry side Tralee RFC in the final league match of the season. A win here for Tralee would crown them league champions for the current season and the possibility of going senior next year, while a loss would give the title to Richmond RFC.

Skibbereen: Peter Stoutt, Sean Coppinger, Viny White, Colm Hurley, Maurice O’Keeffe, captain, Ivan Jennings, Declan Coppinger, Brendan O’Donovan, John O’Sullivan, Alan Jennings, John Hayes, Niall Hurley, David Shannon, Mike Limrick and Mark Kingston. Reserves: Kieran Shannon, Liam Swanton, Ricky O’Shea and Sean O’Neill.