Good win for Ennis U-17s

Clanwilliam 7 
Ennis 22

Ennis U-17s travelled to Tipperary last Sunday in their opening pool game in the Pan Munster U-17 League against Clanwilliam. The visitors got into their stride fairly quickly and hit the bigger Clan forwards before they could get any serious momentum going.
After 10 minutes, a steal by number 8 David Flynn fed the ball to centre Brian Cahill, who made a superb break that brought him within inches of the try line.
A quickly recycled ball from the ensuing ruck was picked up by tighthead Ellie Mundu, who drove over the line to open the account for Ennis. The try was not converted.  However, the home team’s pick-and-go strategy continued to pose a challenge and it yielded dividends in the 18th minute when they created an overlap that saw them score close to the post for a converted try.
The remainder of the half was a tight contest, with no quarter given. The Ennis pack were comfortable in the set pieces, with good performances from James Crowley-Hayes and Ciarán O’Connor, although the ever-strengthening breeze did cause some problems for both sides at the line-outs.
The second half proved to be a different proposition. Shortly after the restart, Ennis won a ruck on the halfway line.  The ball was moved swiftly from Eimhin Courtney to centre Evan McMahon and on to Brian Cahill, who once again drew the Clanwilliam defenders before setting up winger Lorcan Casey to go over in the corner and restore the visitors’ lead. Courtney converted this with a wonderful kick in very tricky conditions.
Ennis continued to pick and probe the home defence and take advantage of the strong wind by kicking over the Clanwilliam defence. Flanker Oisín Kelly picked up a lot of loose ball and scrum-half Liam Lynch tackled superbly to take down the big Clan ball carriers. With 15 minutes gone, another backline move saw full-back James Woods join the attacking line and a perfectly weighted pass from Lorcan Casey allowed him drive over in the corner for an unconverted try. Although Clanwillian continued to press, Ennis kept them in their own half for the rest of the game. The points were put beyond doubt in the dying minutes when Eimhin Courtney dummied the defence and powered through to touch down close to the corner. 
Overall, it was an excellent performance from Ennis. The work ethic and commitment from start to finish could not be questioned and it was one of those days when the hard work of the forwards was complemented by the smooth running of the backs. Ennis travel to Tralee next weekend for their second game in this pool.
Ennis: James Crowley-Hayes, Ciaran O’Connor, Ellie Munde, Liam Halpin, Seamus Quigley, Oisín Kelly, Ronan McLernon, David Flynn, Liam Lynch, Eimhin Courtney, Cian O’Ceallaigh, Evan McMahon, Brian Cahill, Lorcan Casey, James Woods, Jason Smith, Darragh Ryan, Alan Birtchfield, David Reynolds, Paudie Carmody, Conor Somers, Michael Lyons, Jordan Ryan, David Carmody.

Cup games deferred
Munster Junior Cup games involving St Senan’s, Ennis and Scariff all went by the wayside last week due to the inclement weather conditions. New dates for the fixtures have yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, all four Clare junior clubs will have league action this weekend.
In Division 1, St Senan’s will have home advantage against the title holders and leaders, Richmond.
In Division 2, Ennis will be at home to Bandon, while, in Division 3, Scariff will entertain Ballincollig and Kilrush will travel to play Killorglin.
All games will kick-off at 2.30pm.