It was a disappointing weekend for the Clare underage hurling development squads in the various Munster competitions.
In all, Clare had seven teams in action in Waterford, Tipperary, Cork and Clarecastle but, for the most part, defeat was their lot.
In the prestigious Tony Forristal U-14 Tournament in Waterford, Clare had group wins over Limerick (2-8 to 1-6) and Offaly (2-7 to 2-5) to secure a semi-final spot against Cork. Here they had to give best to the Leesiders, who won on a 2-8 to 1-5 scoreline on their way to the final,where they were beaten by Tipperary.
In the U-14B competition for the Sonny Walsh Trophy, Clare started with a 2-13 to 2-3 win over Wexford but they then lost to Cork (2-10 to 0-4) and Kilkenny (4-12 to 2-8), which ended their involvement in the competition.
In the U-15A competition in Mallow, Clare lost all four games. They went under to Cork (2-4 to 0-2), Tipperary (2-7 to 0-7), Waterford (2-8 to 0-4) and Limerick (2-12 to 1-5).
The U-15B competition was played in Clarecastle where the home side lost to Limerick, 0-4 to 1-9 and to Cork, 1-6 to 0-15 in their group games.
In the U-16A competition in Tipperary, Clare opened with a 2-6 to 0-8 win over Dublin but lost out to Tipperary, 0-8 to 4-14. Entering the shield semi-final, they lost to Galway, 1-3 to 2-13.
In the U-16B competition Clare drew with Kilkenny, 3-6 to 2-9, drew with Tipperary, 3-8 to 2-11 and beat Galway, 3-15 to 2-9 to go into the semi-final, where they lost to Cork, 1-7 to 3-10.
At U-17 level, Clare were well beaten by Cork, 3-15 to 0-7 but they beat Wexford, 4-5 to 1-6 to secure a shield final spot but were comprehensively beaten by Kilkenny, 1-2 to 2-16.

U-16 semi-finals

Cusack Park will be the venue this Saturday for the finals of the U-16C hurling championship and shield.
In the shield final at midday, Doora-Barefield 2 will play Bodyke and this will be followed at 1.30pm by the championship final in which Corofin play neighbours Ruan-Banner.
The semi-finals of the U-16B Championship and shield competitions are also listed for Saturday.
In the championship, Clarecastle will host the clash of Ballyea and Clonlara at 1.30pm. That game will be preceded by the meeting of Cratloe and Broadford.
Cratloe will be the venue for the shield semi-finals where proceedings will get underway with the meeting of Crusheen-Tubber and Tulla at 12 noon. This will be followed by the clash of O’Callaghan’s Mills and Newmarket at 1.30pm and again two good contests are expected.
Meanwhile, three games in the race for the U-16A championship, will be played on Sunday morning (11.30am) when Clarecastle, Inagh-Kilnamona and Clooney-Quin enjoy home advantage against Éire Óg, Scariff-Ogonnelloe-Whitegate and Killanena-Feakle.