Clogher Valley were crowned 2C Champions in their debut season. Galwegians will have to settle for the playoffs as they meet Bruff who finished third. Enniscorthy suffered defeat on the final day and finished fourth meeting Dolphin in the playoffs. Ballina were relegated to the Junior grade as Bangor have to win their play-off to stay up.
Bangor (2T) 18-15 Midleton (2T), Upritchard Park
A late Rhys Larmour penalty was enough to see Bangor survive the automatic drop but will now have to face a relegation play-off to stay up.
Midleton started the better of the sides Evan Donovan going over for an early try converted by Stuart Lee, Lee later struck a penalty for a 10-0 lead. The hosts cut the deficit going into the break through Ally McIvor going over under the posts and Larmour cut the gap to three with the conversion.
Larmour struck a penalty to level the tie early in the second half as Bangor had the wind in their sails. Connor Scullon added their second try but the conversion dragged wide.
Back came Midleton and from a strong maul Johannes du Toit dotted down to level the tie, the conversion missed. Despite the result elsewhere in The Cran seeing them safe from automatic relegation, the boot of Larmour ensured the win and might be the boost they need going into that play-off
Bruff (3T) 19-14 Clonmel (2T), Kilballyowen Park
Bruff finished third in the standings as they grabbed a try late on from Kieran O’Dwyer and will now meet Galwegians away in the promotion playoffs, remember what happened last time?.
Tries from Brendan Gleeson and Shane Duggan, converted by Paul Collins gave Bruff a 14-0 cushion at the break. Back came Clonmel as tries by Ben Masuku and Josef O’Connor, both converted by O’Connor levelled the tie just after the hour mark.
With Scorthy losing their tie in Omagh a draw was enough for Bruff but O’Dwyer had other ideas. 80 minutes on the clock and O’Dwyer powered over for the hosts with the conversion wide.
Clogher Valley (7T) 41-12 (2T) Ballina, The Cran
Clogher Valley were crowned champions of 2C in their first season in the competition as they relegated Ballina down to the Junior grade.
Tries by Taine Haire and Matthew Bothwell with the former converted by David Maxwell saw the hosts have a 12-0 lead going into the break. Nine minutes into the second half Ballina registered their first score as Bradley Nealon sniped over for an unconverted try.
Soon the title win was confirmed. Bothwell over for his second and the bonus point that clinched the championship arrived from Callum Smyton. Maxwell grabbed a try soon after and that proved the only one he would convert as the hosts moved 29-5 ahead after the hour mark.
Ballina cut the gap when Nealon added his second try minutes later and the conversion by Darragh Whyte made the gap 17 points. Valley added two tries to see out the game in style, before the chaotic celebrations.
Galwegians (5T) 31-12 Tullamore (2T), Crowley Park
Galwegians have to settle for second place as despite winning their tie with Tullamore, Clogher took the spoils elsewhere.
Wegians crossed for the lead after 12 minutes when Ryan Smith dotted down after another terrific line out maul routine. Darragh Kennedy soon added their second try and this one was converted by Tiernan Neville for a 12-0 lead.
Tullamore hit back with a try of their own but into the stiff wind the kick was an impossible task. Shy of the break Galwegians would hit their third try, clever decision making by scrum-half Andrew Sherlock saw the scrum-half tap a penalty and dart over for the try. Neville converted for a 19-5 lead at the break.
Into the second half Garyn Daniel secured the all important bonus point try. That was part of the task needed to fight for the title. Wegians did manage the elements and grabbed their fifth try when Oisín McKey dotted down in the corner. Tullamore did grab a late consolation try which they managed to convert. Next up for Galwegians is a home tie with Bruff in the playoffs, shades of last year which saw them relegated.
Omagh Academicals (4T) 24-5 Enniscorthy (1T), Thomas Mellon Playing Fields
Omagh Academicals live to fight another day as they stunned Enniscorthy to book guaranteed safety as Scorthy will meet Dolphin in the playoffs.
The weather was certainly foul in Omagh and made playing this tie that little bit more difficult. Adam Gethings gave Scorthy the lead as he crossed for an early try, Accies hit back with Phil Ewing also crossing for an unconverted try, 5-5 at the break.
With the wind and driving rain playing into Scorthy faces in the second half it gave Omagh that little bit of a boost. Tries from Matthew Clyde, Glen McKinley and Ryan Mitchell helping them secure the win and ultimately their safety.
Promotion/relegation play-off semi-final fixtures: Both 2.30pm kick-offs, Saturday, April 20
Dolphin (9th, Div 2B) v Enniscorthy (4th, Div 2C), Virgin Media Park
Galwegians (2nd, Div 2C) v Bruff (3rd, Div 2C), Crowley Park
Promotion/relegation play-off final: 2.30pm, Saturday, April 27
Bangor (9th, Div 2C) v All-Ireland Provincial League Championship runners-up (Ballyclare/Monkstown), Upritchard Park
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.