Bandon 38

Waterpark 34

BY MATTHEW HURLEY

BANDON’S brilliant U18.5 side has secured a second Munster Cup in a row, the first time in the club’s history they have achieved back-to-back titles at this grade.

In a pulsating final at Virgin Media Park, Bandon snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Waterpark.

The West Cork outfit trailed 34-31 with time almost up, having earlier led 31-20 in the second half.

Despite that setback, Bandon refused to lie down and Nick Bourke crossed in the corner with the final play of the match. Billy Canniffe, son of Bandon RFC director of rugby Neil Canniffe, held his nerve to split the posts and seal a dramatic victory.

Nick Bourke celebrates scoring a try with his teammates. (Photo: Bryan Keane/INPHO)

‘We’re thrilled. We’d never done anything back-to-back like that at Munster level,’ Neil Canniffe told The Southern Star.

‘One of the traits of this team is their resilience and composure. They dug out a great win against Christians in an earlier round in a similar way. The players have a very good attitude when it comes to big games and rising to the occasion.

Each time we’ve asked for a big performance, we’ve got it. That was evident again on Sunday, where a lot of teams going down so late might get despondent. There was none of that. They were composed enough to speak to the referee and work out exactly what they needed to do.’

For this squad, managed by Ricky O’Sullivan, previous final experience also proved invaluable.

Bandon had six players who started last year’s Munster final win over Old Christians and this year's final – Louis O'Sullivan, Eoghan Galgey, Cillian O’Flynn, Scott Brady, Noah O'Sullivan and Eddie O'Sullivan – while Denis O'Mahony, Oran Coughlan, Daniel Hyde and Andrew Lane were also part of the 2025 winning panel.

In addition, a coaching team of Tadhg Galvin, Keith Fuller and Eamon Guinevan ensured the squad remained focused throughout the campaign.

Bandon's Donnacha Leane evades the challenge of Waterpark's Oscar Flanagan. (Photo: Bryan Keane/INPHO)

‘We had a really strong squad last year and were fortunate that a number of those players were still underage this season, which definitely helped. We also had some talented younger lads coming through,’ Canniffe explained.

‘In the back line especially, there were a lot of players with experience from last year. Several of them had also won a Munster Cup at U16 level. That experience is crucial because a final environment is very different – it’s a big occasion and nerves can play a part. It was important that those with experience could guide the rest of the team.’

Bourke, who ultimately delivered the winning score, had earlier opened Bandon’s account with a fourth-minute try, converted by Canniffe.

Waterpark responded quickly with a converted try of their own, but Bandon regained control as Canniffe added a penalty before Mark Kelleher powered over from a well-executed maul. Canniffe again added the extras to stretch the lead to ten points.

Waterpark hit back to reduce the deficit, leaving Bandon 17-15 ahead at the break.

Bandon celebrate with the cup. (Photo: Bryan Keane/INPHO)

‘The game was a real rollercoaster. For most of it, we were ahead by a score, and there was a spell in the second half of about 15 minutes where we were 11 points up. We were never fully comfortable, but at that stage we felt we had control,’ Canniffe said.

‘Waterpark are a very strong side and they never gave us a moment’s peace. They came back really well and scored two tries to go three points ahead with about six minutes left. We showed great composure to respond.’

Louis O’Sullivan crashed over from close range early in the second half to extend Bandon’s lead to 24-15.

Waterpark replied once more, but Bandon continued to press and were rewarded when Cillian O’Flynn crossed for another try.

Waterpark’s late surge saw them take the lead in the closing stages, but their comeback was ultimately undone by Bandon’s determination and refusal to yield, as the West Cork side produced one final moment of quality to secure a famous victory.

Scorers

Bandon: Nick Bourke (two tries); Billy Canniffe (five conversions, one penalty); Mark Kelleher, Louis O’Sullivan, Cillian O’Flynn (one try each).

Waterpark: Cillian Sheridan (one try, one conversion, one penalty); Oscar Flanagan (one try, two conversions); Liam Walsh, Daniel Groves, Kyle Staff Cantwell (one try each).

Bandon: Eoghan Galgey; Eddie O’Sullivan, Cillian O’Flynn, Noah O’Sullivan (captain), Nick Bourke; Billy Canniffe, Oran Coughlan; Louis O’Sullivan, George O’Mahony, Mark Kelleher; Scott Brady, Sean Heverin; Robert Hall, Donnacha Leane; Daniel Hyde.

Replacements: Ronan Coughlan, Nick Bourke, Nikolas Przewozniak, Denis O’Mahony, Michael Lane, Andrew Lane, Cathal Callaghan, Brian McLaughlin

Waterpark: Oscar Flanagan; Destiny Ajuebor, Liam Walsh, Shane Kavanagh, Cillian Sheridan; Edward Breen, Rua Clancy; Garvan Kissane, Canice Kinsella, Kyle Staff Cantwell; MJ Murphy, Daniel Groves; Ewan Edmondson, Caolan Johnston; Alex Reddin.

Replacements: Ronnie Dolan, Devin Bolster, Ben Upton, Ronan O’Connor, Callum Redmond, Alex Bilyk, Eoin Kelly, Enda Bloomer.