Ennis’ Nicolis Roos celebrates scoring a try with his teammates. ©INPHO
Waterpark were crowned the 2021/2022 U16 Boys Cup champions after they overcame a stern challenge from Ennis at Musgrave Park yesterday (Sunday, April 3).
Ennis 7 Waterpark 22
Both sides were nip and tuck for the majority of the first half with little separating the sides. However, it was the Waterford side who opened the scoring when Shay Kennedy crossed in the corner just a few minutes before the break. Ben Wallis knocked over the conversion to give his side a 7-0 lead.
Ennis responded straight away with a try from replacement prop Nicolis Roos. Roos initially got his team on the front foot with a powerful carry before he made himself available a few phases later to cross for a crucial try. Odhrán Flynn’s conversion sailed between the posts as Ennis got themselves back into the game to leave the sides level at half time, 7-7.
On the resumption of the second half, Waterpark took the lead again when Dylan Coady crossed in the corner which was converted again by Wallis.
At this stage the game began to break up and some nice offloading from Waterpark saw number eight Sam Jones cross for his side’s third try. Wallis’ conversion was wide as Waterpark took a 19-7 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game. A penalty from Wallis ensured the lead stretched out to 22-7 and this is how it remained as Waterpark secured the U16 Cup title.
Ennis head coach John Queally told The Clare Echo that his side “stood up manfully” to keep the game competitive into the second half having sustained early pressure, adding that Ennis were unlucky not to score a second try in the first half having been held up on the line twice. He added, “There’s no getting away from it, they were a very good side. At half-time, 7-7 was a fair half time scoreline. In the second half they just came out of the blocks that bit faster and had some good carries and started piling on the pressure, then a few cracks started to show.”
“Our lads were gutted after the game. The one thing is, it’s not the end of the season. They have the closed and open Cups to play in North Munster yet, so we’ve two quarter finals in the next two weeks so there’s that to look forward to.
“We’re not going to mourn one game, we’re going to celebrate the nine or 10 games that got us there, and how well we had done.”
Ennis: Jack Dillon, Luke Kennedy, Andrew Cahir Whelan, David Moses, Marco Cleary, Odhran Flynn, Sean Queally, Caoimhin Enright, Conall O’Donovan, Michael Sweeney, Adrian Moloney, Cillian McInerney, Jacob Casson-Rennie, Matthew Jordan-Allen, John Sweeney.
Replacements: Cian Enright, Nicolis Roos, Daniel Humphries, Owen O’Gorman, Evan Casey, Aaron Malone, Diarmuid Boyle, Killian Boland.
Waterpark: Sam Duffy Niblock, Shay Kennedy, Fergal O’Brien, Zane Dooley-Cullinane, Ben O’Hanlon, Ben Wallis, Dylan Coady, Bobby Doherty, Kyle Staff Cantwell, Eugene Flynn, Ryan Stephens, Charlie Moore, Dean McGovern, Andrew Scanlon, Sam Jones.
Replacements: Bayern Falconer, Ronan Mansfield, Jamie Cuddy, Canice Kinsella, Matt Phelan, Callum Burke MacDonnell, Matthew Mullally, MJ Murphy.
