Scariff send Ennis packing from Junior Cup

Three Clare clubs were in Munster Junior Cup action on Sunday and when the day’s fare concluded, only one was still standing.
In advance of the games, few would have predicted that East Clare club, Scariff would be the only ones to progress but they caused an upset when beating the more fancied Ennis.
Three weeks ago, the sides had clashed in the league and on that occasion Ennis came out on top. They were expected to repeat that win on Sunday but Scariff clearly learned from the league game and deserved their win on this occasion.
The home side dominated the first 25 minutes of this game but after all their pressure, they only held a 3-0 lead, thanks to a David Murphy penalty.
Discipline was a problem for Scariff in the first half and this led to a number of penalty opportunities for the home side. Ennis took the lead in the fifth minute but missed further penalties in the eighth and 23rd minutes, which left the score at 3-0.
Ennis opted to kick for the corner from a number of penalties as they went in search of tries but they struggled in the lineout all afternoon and, in addition, Scariff did well in defence.

Scariff 10   Ennis 6
The home side were made to pay for their missed chances in the 33rd minute when Scariff winger, Trevor Kelly went over for a try in the corner. Kelly missed what was a difficult conversion to leave the half-time score 5-3 in ­favour of the East Clare club.
Ennis regained the lead in the 47th minute with another David Murphy penalty but 10 minutes later Scariff got their second try of the game from full-back, Conor McNamara. The conversion by Trevor Kelly dropped short, leaving the score at 10-6 in favour of Scariff.
After this, Scariff began to control the game and some good kicking by scrum-half Tom Cronin forced the home side to play the game inside their own half. With 15 minutes remaining, tempers flared following a ruck inside the Ennis 22 and after consulting with his touch judge, the referee issued a red card to Ennis prop Michael McInerney. The game then got scrappy, with both sides making handling errors and entering the last couple of minutes, Ennis had a number of line-outs on the Scariff five metre line but some good defence by Scariff ensured they held on for a well-deserved and hard-fought win.
Scariff now face Kilfeacle in the next round on Sunday in Scariff, where a win will see them earn a quarter-final against either Cork Constitution or Young Munster.

Scariff: Paul McTiernan, Colin Bugler, Joe McGrath, Marcus O Neill, Darragh McNamara, Conor Minogue, Darren McNamara, Robbie Madden, Tom Cronin, Eoghan Collins, Stephen Madden, Kenny Mason, Seamus Noonan, Trevor Kelly, Conor McNamara.
Replacements: Rory Slattery for O’Neill, Michael Madden for Darren McNamara.
Ennis: David Murphy, Saren Butler, Brandon Grant, Niall Nevin, Frank Coffey, Shame O’Connor Dylan Tynan O’Mahoney, Paul Lynch, Conor Mahoney, Kelan Flynn, Jason Considine, Darragh Killeen, Mike McInerney, Joe Moloney, Kieran Reid.
Subs: Frank Holly for O’Connor, Eanna Talty for Reid, Dara Commane for Flynn.

St Senan’s 10   Richmond 19
St Senan’s played host to newly crowned Munster Junior Division 1 champions, Richmond in the Munster Junior Challenge Cup.
Senan’s struggled in the early part of the game to contain a strong Richmond side that, despite missing an early penalty opportunity, took the lead after just eight minutes with a well-struck drop goal.
Following this early set-back, Senan’s started to take the game to Richmond, only to find themselves a further three points behind when the visitors converted a penalty on 20 minutes.
Despite some good forward play by Senan’s, they still found it difficult to make any meaningful attacks and a number of unforced errors handed control back to Richmond.
On 30 minutes, Richmond took further advantage when they kicked for touch from a penalty and after winning the lineout they moved the ball well across their front line to run in a try under the posts, this was easily converted to give them a 13-0 lead.
Just before half-time, Declan Collins converted a penalty for Senan’s, reducing the deficit to 13-3 at the break.
This score, just before half-time, boosted Senan’s confidence and they started the second half strongly, pushing deep into the visitors’ half but could not breach a strong Richmond defensive line. On 12 minutes, in a good counter attack, Richmond were awarded another penalty following a Senan’s infringement in the ruck and added three points to take a 16-3 lead.
This was quickly followed by a further penalty, allowing Richmond to open up a 19-3 lead and there seemed no way Senan’s would be able to breach their defence.
This latest set-back brought a good response from the home side and they began to play a more controlled game, driving hard at the visitors’ defence. They believed they had made an impact on 25 minutes when Fernando Gallant crossed the try line, only for his efforts to be ruled out for a knock-on. Senan’s continued to press and got their reward on 36 minutes when it was Gallant again who, following a good interception and a run from his own 22, touched down for a try. The resultant conversion kick was well struck by Declan Collins, reducing the visitors’ lead to 19-10. However, this was to be the final score of the match and Richmond took the honours on the day.

St Senan’s: Pa Ryan, Fergal Lawlor, Tony O’Brien, Aaron Skerritt, Eamonn O’Donoghue, Ian Fitzgerald, Jayme Keogh, Mike O’Connell, Darragh McCoy, Noel Hoban, Fernando Gallant, Neil McDonagh, Dylan Sonneman, Barry Murphy, Declan Collins.
Replacements: Michael Cusack, David Webb, Gary Crowe, Hugh Murphy, Brian Collins, Eoin McNeil, Duane Horkin.