Clanwilliam remain a point behind leaders Galbally at the top of the League table after this drawn game at Clanwilliam Park on Sunday. As expected this was a very tight match with both teams evenly matched in the forwards where most of the play took place.

The Clanwilliam Seconds were beaten by Waterpark in the Gleeson League with Willie Fleurey scoring a try in an impressive return to the game after a lengthy lay-off

In Youth matches, the under 19's drew twelve all against Fethard, the under 17's were beaten in Clonmel and the under 15's also drew against Cashel. (read more)

Clanwilliam 3 - Galbally 3

Clanwilliam remain a point behind leaders Galbally at the top of the League table after this drawn game at Clanwilliam Park on Sunday. As expected this was a very tight match with both teams evenly matched in the forwards where most of the play took place. The first half saw Galbally getting the better of matters while Clanwilliam had the better of the exchanges in the second half. Galbally started strongly and had early pressure in the Clanwilliam twenty two but solid tackling in midfiled by Kieran Merrigan and Richard Childs showed that nothing was going to come easy through the backline. Galbally then concentrated on making progress through the forwards where a good line-out gave them a platform to try and release their back-row. All the Clanwilliam forwards were busy tackling around the fringes with much of the play taking place between the half way line and the Clanwilliam twenty two. When Clanwilliam forwards did get possession they showed they had an effective rolling maul, driving Galbally back. But most visits by Clanwilliam to the Galbally half in the first thirty minutes were short lived. For all their possession in the first half hour, Galbally had only one penalty on the scoreboard as a disciplined display from Clanwilliam limited the penalty opportunities. The possession stakes changed somewhat in the last ten minutes of the half with Clanwilliam getting into Galbally territory but Galbally defended well and retained their lead to the break.

The second half saw Clanwilliam with more ball and better control in the tight. Fifteen minutes into the half, a block down by David McCormack almost yielded a try. This was followed later by pressure at the other corner flag when a Clanwilliam rolling maul was making its way to the line but possession was lost just short of the line. The Clanwilliam scrum was doing very well but Galbally continued to make progress difficult for Clanwilliam competing hard for the ball in contact and not missing tackles. While most of the game was now in the Galbally half, Clanwilliam had to be on their toes as the Galbally outhalf was managing to make ground through some incisive breaks. With a lot of stoppages in the game and the rucks being blown up quickly, it was difficult for either team to build a lot of momentum around their play which pointed to penalties as the most likely route for scores. Clanwilliam had to wait until fifteen minutes from time to score their penalty when Willie O'Dwyer scored from thirty five metres. After this Galbally got more into the game but the tackling around the fringes from Dave McCormack, Sean Walsh, Ian Quinlan and Eddie Ryan continued to be secure. The game ended with a penalty attempt by Clanwilliam from close to the half way line going left of the posts and wide.

The draw seemed to be a fair result from a match that didn't produce very exciting rugby but at the same time was never less than absorbing with the two sets of forwards fully committed to their cause. Clanwilliam have another important League match next week when Newport come to Clanwilliam Park.

The Clanwilliam Seconds were beaten by Waterpark in the Gleeson League with Willie Fleurey scoring a try in an impressive return to the game after a lengthy lay-off

In Youth matches, the under 19's drew twelve all against Fethard with all the players putting in a spirited display after the lengthy lay-off.

The under 17's were beaten in Clonmel but played well for long phases of the match.

The under 15's also drew on a soreline of nineteen all against Cashel. Clanwilliam played excellent rugby for most of this match but Cashel put in a strong finish to score three tries in the last fifteen minutes.

Fixtures:

Sunday Jan 24th:

1st Team, League at home to Newport, 2.30

Women's Team, League at home to Ballincollig/Kinsale, 1.00 Collegelands

Under 19's, League away to Cashel, 11.00

Under 17's League away to Galbally

Under 15's League away to Galbaly

Under 13's League away to Carrick-on-Suir, 12.00