Munster Junior Shield Final
Thurles RFC 18 - 19 Abbeyfeale RFC
Thurles RFC played Abbeyfeale in the Munster Junior Shield Final in Charleville. On a sunny Sunday and conditions were excellent for what promised to be a great game of rugby.
The first half didn't disappoint with some excellent passages of play from both sides.
John Lillis opened the scoring for Thurles with a well struck penalty after 30 minutes. Just 5 minutes later Thurles's dynamic winger "Pretty" Peter Coman finished a well executed move with some work left to do before touching down in the corner. The resulting conversion was nicely struck but tailed slightly wide.
Thurles scrum was under pressure in the opening half. However they held their own against a well drilled Abbeyfeale front row. Thurles's penalty count was high and this accounted for the scores conceded against them. On the half time whistle Abbeyfeale were ahead 9 points to Thurles's 8.
The veteran warrior Mossy Ryan replaced Conor Cooney and stepped once more into the breach. His experience helped Thurles steady their set piece and build momentum. After10 minutes of the second half the illusive Nicky Irwin does what he does best and glided between opposition players to touch down under the posts. John Lillis made no mistake with the resulting conversion.
Thurles's penalty count continued to be a thorn in their side, both on the scoreboard and on the field as with 10 mins left of normal time Thurles number 7 Paddy Phelan was shown yellow after an honest attempt to gather a ball which spilled from a scrappy scrum. Shortly after Thurles centre Shane Moloney was deemed to be offside and earned himself a golden ticket for a 10 minute break.
Thurles were leading by 4 and Abbeyfeales spirits were lifted with the thought of facing 13 Thurles jerseys. Thurles defended well for what seemed like an eternity, with captain Eoghan O'Dwyer second row Phil Kelly and the injured Colm Skehan all working tirelessly in defence. Alas after what was a great team effort defensively Abbeyfeale earned the right to go wide and with nearly 10 minutes of overtime played they exposed a 2 man overlap and touched down for what was to be the last action of the game which finished 19 - 18 to Abbeyfeale.
Well done to all involved for getting to a Munster final and for the hard work and preparation that went in not just on the day but for the entire season.
There will be successful days to come in the future for this crop of Thurles players and results like this will make any future victories all the sweeter.

Thanks to coaches John Lillis, Kevin O'Dwyer, Shay Scanlon for their immense effort all year and the many supporters who made the journey on the day.