Thurles were at home last Sunday in round 10 of the Munster Junior 1 league against Newcastle West. This was a must win for Thurles given the teams respective positions in the league – Thurles just teetering above the relation zone with Newcastle West currently bottom of the table with a game in hand. 

Thurles having won the toss kicked off playing into the clubhouse end with the benefit of a mild breeze and were quickest to settle of the two teams. Newcastle west concededan early penalty for offside from an attempted clearance kick and Thurles elected to kick for goal. Jack Flanagan duly obliged with a beautiful strike from thirty-five metres to put Thurles in the lead after just three minutes. Thurles wasted no time in getting back on the attack when a great tip on by Ciaran Ryan put Sam Quinlan into a gap from deep inside his own half, making ground all the way to the opposition ten metre line, Thurles attacked blind from a quick ruck ball and made ground before winning a penalty deep in Newcastle west territory. Thurles some sustained pressure going close a couple of times before a blocked down attempted cross-fieldkick almost undid them but for brilliant covering back by Jack Flanagan. Thurles counterattacked blind from their own twenty-two before switching to the open where James Maher taking the ball hard to the line offloaded to Sonny Dwyer who put his fellow centre James O’ Meara racing clear before delivering a great pass to his winger Sean McGrath almost on half way, the young winger stepped inside the only covering player a sprinted home under the posts from fifty metres for his first of a brace of tries on the day. Jack Flanagan converted and Thurles were into a good ten point lead after just ten minutes. Newcastle West were well back in this game when after a defensive lineout in their own twenty two, Thurles knocked on giving the away team a good attacking position, from which after couple phases their centre found a gaping hole in the Thurles defence from a crash ball to score close to the posts. 10 – 7 with thirty minutes elapsed. It took juts five more minutes for the away team to level up the game when Thurles were penalised for a high tackle leaving Newcastle West out half with an easy penalty shot from straight in front on the Thurles twenty-two. Thurles went close in the dying minutes of the half but some aggressive way team defence turned over a good backline move close to the Newcastle lineleaving the score deadlocked at 10 all at half time.

 

Thurles received the lick off in the second half and wasted no time in reimposing themselves on this game. A great clearing box kick by Seamie Holohan was regathered brilliantly by Luke Fogarty on the the Thurles ten metre line. Thurles moved the ball quickly from the ensuing ruck, with Sonny Dwyer drawing two defenders before feeding Sam Quinlan who sprinted into the gap making groun to the opposition twenty two before firing a long pass to James O’Meara who timed his pass perfectly again for Sean McGrath ten metres out who still had some work to do with two would be tacklers covering across. McGrath applied the hand brake allowing the cover to go by before stepping inside to score his and Thurles’s second try. Jack Flanagan narrowly missed the conversion from the touchline leaving the score at 15 to 10 in favour of Thurles. Newcastle west responded almost immediately when outhalf Shane Airey landed a penalty goal from forty metres out in front of the club house to make the score 15 – 13 in favour of Thurles with just seven minutes elapsed in the second half. Almost from the restart, Thurles were back attacking Newcastle West. A great turnover in a ruck by Ciaran Ryan led to a penalty and good field position in the twenty two for Thurles. A great lineout win and subsequent attacking phases side to side, James O’Meara went close stepping back inside when providing his third assist of the day for Luke Fogarty who was all alone on his wing may have been the better decision only for Thurles to be turned over in the ruck under the Newcastle posts. Luckily a flag from the touch judge returned the referee for a penalty to Thurles five metres out. Thurles ran the penalty and six phases later Roy Stanley, an early injury sub for Stephen Kirwan drew two covering players on the blind side putting his hooker Shane Nugent in for Thurles third try  from three metres with just ten minutes gone in the second half. A superb conversion from the touchline by Jack Flanagan pushed the score out to 22 – 13 in favour of Thurles a two-score cushion that was to prove vital in the closing stages of this game. The last twenty minutes of this game were characterised by tremendous defence by the Thurles team to a man, with dominant tackles abounding and rocking Newcastle’s desperate attempts to get back in the game and subsequently to try and secure a losing bonus point. Jack Flanagan’s last-ditch tackle on his opposite number under the Thurles posts which dislodged the ball and denied the away team a try and losing bonus point epitomised the efforts by the Thurles team in these final stages of the game. Thurles secured a much needed four points and pushed themselves up into fourth place from the bottom. With three games remaining and all the bottom six teams playing each other in the run in, there still some work to be done by Thurles to ensure they are playing division one rugby next year. Thurles will play Richmond away in their next game on the 16th of February. 

 

Thurles lined out as follows: 

John Shaw, Shane Nugent, Gerry McCormack Stephen Kirwan, Peter Kinane, Mark Cummins, Sam Quinlan, Ciaran Ryan, Seamus Holohan, James Maher, Sonny Dwyer, James O’Meara, Luke Fogarty, Jack Flanagan, Sean McGrath. 

Subs: Roy Stanley (for S Kirwan), Ciaran Murphy (for Shane Nugent), Brandon Meany, James Butler (for Gerry McCormack), Dan Lanigan Ryan (for Mark Cummins), Ricardo Prandi (for Luke Fogarty), Sean Lloyd.