Galwegians started the year on a winning note to move two clear at the summit, Midleton and Tullamore enjoyed big wins elsewhere as did Enniscorthy.
Ballina (2T) 16-29 Galwegians (4T), Heffernan Park
Galwegians moved two points clear of the top of the standings after a bonus point result earned in a tough tussle with Connacht neighbours Ballina.
With 12 minutes on the clock Wegians struck first as Jack Winters powered over and Tieran Neville added the conversion for a 7-0 lead. The Tribesmen had further chances to score in the half but to no avail, Darragh Whyte would be next on the board, he struck a penalty and Ballina were on the board, trailing 7-3 at the interval.
Cody Chilcott narrowed the gap to just a single point with three minutes elapsed in the second half from a penalty. Wegians replied within two minutes Ryan Roache crossing for their second try of the contest, Neville adding the extras for a 14-6 lead.
Ballina would also hit back with the perfect response, Bradley Nealon crossed for their first try, a score which cut the gap to three as the conversion hit the post. Back and forth with plenty of action, 56 minutes elapsed on the clock and Wegians hit their third try, Liam Angerman with a terrific break, finished off by Andrew Sherlock at his shoulder for the try, 21-11 as Neville hit the conversion.
Just after the hour mark Ballina powered their way over out wide, Harry Regan with the second try for the hosts and with another conversion missed the mark, the gap was 21-16. Wegians finished strong in the final minutes to see out the result and add a bonus point. Neville slotted a penalty, before a terrific lineout maul saw Garyn Daniel power over for the bonus point try.
Enniscorthy (7T) 45-21 Clonmel (3T), Alcast Park
Enniscorthy moved to third in the table by virtue of a statement result over Clonmel in a high scoring afternoon in Alcast Park, two years in the making.
Despite an early yellow card for the hosts, they dominated the early run of the game and with tries from David O’Dwyer, Lee Treacy and Fiachra Hourihane, two of which Ben Kidd converted, the hosts had a healthy 19-0 cushion. With 25 minutes elapsed Clonmel got on the board with Juan Miodovsky crossing and Josef O’Connor cut the gap further with the conversion.
Shy of the half hour mark Scorthy achieved their bonus point as Jack Kelly raced over for an unconverted try. Clonmel looked to end the half on a high point when O’Connor dove under the posts and converted the try to make it a ten point game. Right at the death of the half however Scorthy added try number five as Kelly added a second to his tally and the hosts were 31-14 ahead at the interval, O’Connor adding the extra two points on this occasion.
Scorthy kept up their scoring exploits early in the second half, Daniel Pim and Adam Gethings crossing for tries before the 50th minute mark, Kidd adding both conversions and the lead was 45-14. Clonmel never gave up and went in search of taking something with them back home, a third try arrived Luke Hogan crossing and O’Connor cut the gap to the eventual 24 point margin at the final whistle.
Midleton (5T) 39-15 Bruff (2T), Towns Park
Midleton avenged their Munster derby defeat before Christmas with a powerful result over Bruff to move them further up the standings.
After an early exchange of penalties between Jack Colbert and Paul Collins, Midelton turned the screw and started to assert their pressure on the game. It paid off in abundance when Colbert and Evan Donovan added tries to give the Cork side a 15-3 advantage, Colbert adding the conversion or the second try. Donovan would soon add his second try of the afternoon and Colbert put the hosts 22-3 ahead by the interval.
Paul Collins drew first blood for the Limerick men as the second half got underway, his converted try cut the gap to 12, Midleton were still unrelenting in attack. Hitting two further tries with Johannes DuToit getting on the scoresheet, Colbert converting both. Eric Finn added a late consolation try for the visitors.
Omagh Academicals (1T) 7-17 Clogher Valley (3T), Thomas Mellon Playing Fields
Cloger Valley returned to winning ways with a ten point margin to spare over their local rivals Omagh Accies, ending their recent losing streak.
Valley aimed to set the tempo early on and assert their dominance, their lineout proved dividends when Kyle Cobane controlled their driving maul and dotted down for a 5-0 lead. Eight minutes later Clogher struck again, a penalty down the line created a carbon copy of the opening try. Winning their lineout and again the driving maul sent Omagh back and Cobane was again in possession and got himself over for a 10-0 lead.
Omagh had very little of the ball in the contest as they spent the grand majority in their own half, however with the clock going towards the red, Omagh had a scrum on the Clogher 5m line and made no mistakes to pounce with Matthew Clyde getting over, Connor Spencer making it 10-7 with the conversion at the break.
The narrative of the second half was similar to the first, Clogher dominating and looking to make few mistakes as the last one coughed up seven points. With serious pressure applied Cobane completed his hat trick, powering over from close range, David Maxwell converted and Clogher will be rejuvenated to get back to winning ways.
Tullamore (4T) 33-12 Bangor (2T), Spollanstown
Tullamore jumped to fifth in the table as they produced a hard fought bonus point performance to get past Bangor. Eoin Farrell with a brace, while Liam Farrell and Craig Strong crossed for an important bonus point win.
Conor Dunne gave the hosts an early 3-0 lead from a penalty, Bangor replied with the opening try a short while later as Mark Widdowson scored in the corner. Dunne responded to kick Tullamore back ahead a short while later. Almost at the interval Tullamore crossed for their first try and the conversion from Dunne saw the hosts lead 13-5.
With two minutes gone in the second half Tullamore added a second try which Dunne converted, Dunne added a penalty soon after for a 23-5 lead. Ally McIvor would add a second try for Bangor almost in consolation sandwiched between the third and bonus point tries for the hosts.
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Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.