Newcastle West RFC reach All-Ireland Junior Cup semi-final as Thomond bow out

NEWCASTLE West stunned Ballyclare, last season’s runners-up, after scoring a thrilling 26-24 All-Ireland Junior Cup quarter-final win at the Cloughan on Saturday.

The West Limerick side bounced back from a red card with influential hooker Eoin O’Halloran’s second try deciding the outcome of a thrilling Cup fixture right at the death.

When Ballyclare captain Joel McBride, son of former Ireland international Denis, displayed his footballing skills to score his team’s third try, they looked on course for the last-four with the scoreboard showing 24-16.

Yet, Newcastle West, whose first try was run in by full-back Seán Ivess, showed exactly why they won a Munster Junior League and Cup double last season with a whirlwind finish. Out-half Shane Airey kicked his third penalty and coolly slotted over the conversion that split the sides.

The other Limerick team to reach the quarter-final stage, Thomond, succumbed to a heavy defeat in Dublin. Monkstown, the last Leinster club standing, ran out 61-7 winners with nine tries shared out between backs and forwards.

Conor Lipper was Thomond’s try scorer in the opening half, while Eoghan Sherlock converted.

BALLYCLARE 24 NEWCASTLE WEST 26, the Cloughan

Scorers: Ballyclare: Tries: Owen Kirk, Matthew McDowell, Joel McBride; Cons: Mark Jackson 3; Pen: Mark Jackson
Newcastle West: Tries: Seán Ivess, Eoin O’Halloran 2; Con: Shane Airey; Pens: Shane Airey 3
HT: Ballyclare 14 Newcastle West 6

NEWCASTLE WEST: Seán Ivess; Daniel Normoyle, Sean Murphy, Cian Tierney, Darragh Fox; Shane Airey, Rob Guerin; Alan O’Riordan, Eoin O’Halloran, TJ Relihan, Jason Woulfe, Ger Griffin (capt), Keelan Headd, James Corbett, Cormac Nash. Replacements: Evan Donovan, Shane Breen, Cian Clohessy, Sean Herlihy, Sean Neville.

MONKSTOWN 61 THOMOND 7, Park Avenue

Scorers: Monkstown: Tries: Joe Fryers 2, Fraser Wright, Jack Gilheany, Steve McVeigh, Jimmy Lappin, James Doyle 2, Toby Boyd; Cons: Fraser Wright 8
Thomond: Try: Conor Lipper; Con: Eoghain Sherlock
HT: Monkstown 21 Thomond 7

THOMOND RFC: Callum Walters; Berto Kelly, Dean O’Brien, Ryan Hogg, Conor Lipper; Eoghain Sherlock, Dominic Fitzpatrick; Jack O’Shea, Colin Slater, Eddie Fraher, Cian Gorey, Morgan Bateman, Jack Cosgrave, Shane Kelly, Ryain Ahern. Replacements: Darren Radcliffe, Dean McGinn, Maksymilian Zerdel, Robert Duffy, Colin Haigney.