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LAST Friday night, we brought our Killarney RFC U8s and our girls players to Thomond Park to watch Munster take on Welsh outfit Scarlets in the PRO 12. There was much excitement on the bus up to Limerick as the kids looked forward to seeing the men in red play and hopefully extend their lead at the top of the table.

The weather reports looked ominous as we left Aghadoe and the misty conditions on the way up to Limerick made us think that the match might be a washout. However, a cracking first half saw Jaco Taute cross the white line right in front of us at the try line, for the opening try and Tyler Bleyendaal scored another right in front of us. There was much to cheer about as Conor Oliver crossed for the third of the night and the score stood at 21-6 at half time.

Some people joked that we may not see too much of the action in the second half from our vantage point, however, the Scarlets had different ideas. Three tries in quick succession saw the lead disappear and Scarlets ran out winners in the end on 21-30 with Munster scoreless in the second half and losing their first home game of the season. A disappointing finish, however everyone really enjoyed the trip to Limerick and the visit to McDonalds certainly raise the spirits!

The national side were also in action last weekend as Rory Best’s men took on France at the Aviva, hoping for a better result than Munster’s the night previous. The selection of Johnny Sexton over Paddy Jackson caused much debate in the build-up, but Sexton silenced his detractors with a superb display. A man-of-the-match display from Conor Murray saw Ireland win 19-9 and are surely two of the first names on Warren Gatland’s Lions plane! Next weekend, the lads travel to Cardiff and hope to pile more misery on Wales, who were beaten by Scotland for the first time in 10 years. A very interesting Six Nations championship this is working out to be for sure!

Closer to home, Killarney Rugby Club’s under-18s travelled to Crosshaven for the final match of the season, in very difficult weather conditions. This was the quarter-final of the U18 Bowl and unfortunately were beaten by a very strong Crosshaven side on the day. Killarney found it difficult to cope with the Atlantic gale which made it impossible to retain possession. It was a tough match but the lads can be proud of themselves for the hard work and huge commitment shown right across the season. Well done to Pat F. O'Connor, Denis Reen and Ger Maher for their hard work across the season also.
 

 
The Killarney Rugby Club under-18 team who took on Highfield last week.