Kanturk: Gene Philpott, Frankie Thornton, Mick Breen, Tim Cremin, Mike Harman, Tim Brosnan, Tom Ahern, Mike Sullivan, Ger Pigott, Mick Cottrell, Billy Nunan, Brian McAuliffe, Willie Ahern, Brendan Cotter & John Cronin.

Subs: Mike Murphy for Tim Brosnan (injury), Noel Harrington for Mick Harman (injury) & Brendan Moylan for Billy Harman (tactical).

Kanturk & London Irish draw 15-15
Kanturk entertained London Irish Over 35's today on the newly developed pitch at Knocknacolan. The game gave Kanturk a chance to see some of their heroes from the past back in the green jersey. London Irish started strong and looked to handle the ball from the start. Kanturk gave away a lot of penalties from the off and it looked like all the extra games London Irish have played were going to give them an edge. An injury to Timmy Brosnan meant Mike Murphy had to come on just after seven minutes. Ger Pigott threw a wayward pass over the head of Mick Cottrell but Mick "the Boot" Cottrell did well under pressure and launched a kick out of his 22 to the London Irish try line. He still has the power in the right peg. Then Brendan Cotter looked to have got in for a try only to have it called back for a forward pass. London Irish looked good in the running game and a lot of the Kanturk players took a bit of time to get back into the tackling. Mick Sullivan however wasn't one of those players affected by rusty tackling as he put a rampaging Daire Lyons back on his arse. Lyons is a guest of London Irish but is a Kanturk player. Willie Ahern tried to kick start the Kanturk attack by taking a quick tap from inside his 22 and looked to pass it to Brendan Cotter but the pass was just out of reach and Cotter knocked on giving Irish a scrum on the Kanturk 22. However Mick Sullivan put in another good hit and Kanturk got out of trouble. The cry in the first half that was constantly heard from the Kanturk back line was "slow it down, slow it down". London Irish kept the pressure on and Daire Lyons made a great run for Irish and it took a couple of Kanturk players to bring him down but Kanturk robbed the ball and again cleared the danger. Ger Pigott gave Mick Cottrell a great pass this time but Mick Cottrell looked uneasy having so much time and Kicked it high and as far as the 22. Then the London Irish scrum half Phil Witcomb fed Andy Hallam, the Irish Captain who was influential throughout, who made a great break but again Kanturk were left off winning a penalty on their 5 yard line. Mick "the Boot" Cottrell kicked the penalty which carried the length of the field and over the dead ball line which could possibly end up in the guinness book of records. The ball came back to Kanturk's 5 yard line. A few plays later and a dummy cut by Hallam the ball went through the hands of the London Irish backs and John Rosewell got in for a try in the corner. The conversion was missed by Andy Hallam. Gene Philpott and Mick Sullivan took the play up to the London Irish 22 but the ball spilled free and it was kicked ahead by Irish. Brian McAuliffe was covering but missed the fly kick and Scott Robinson went in under the post to leave the score 10-0. The conversion was missed by Andy Hallam due in part to the swirling winds. From the back of an ensuing ruck Mick Sullivan picked the ball but was brought down by Daire Lyons who seemed to be all over Mike Murphy and Mick Sullivan, Kanturk then showed quick hands of their own and Willie Ahern put in a tasty kick behind the backs into the corner. From there a few Kanturk backs took it in turn to go themselves when it looked on outside. When the ball eventually got to winger Jon "The Rebel" Cronin he dived over the line, however it was only the five yard line and the Kanturk forwards recycled the ball well and spun it wide again before Mick Breen went over in the corner for a try. Mick Cottrell missed the conversion and the score was 10-5 to Irish at the half time break.

Kanturk had it all to do playing into the wind in the 2nd half but the running game seemed to suit them and their all round play got sharper. Gene Philpott, Mick Sullivan & Mike Murphy were growing into their roles and getting more comfortable on the ball. Ger Piggot however seemed to be getting rustier and Coach Patjo Cremin had to make a tactical decision and moved Willie Ahern to scrum half instead of Pigott. Mick Harman came off with a twitch and Noel Harrington went onto the wing and John "The Rebel" Cronin went in wing forward. Gene Philpott again got on the ball who fed Ahern who in turn fed Mick Sullivan who gave an overhead pass to Mike Murphy who showed quick hands to feed Brendan Cotter who went through the gap and over for the equalising try. Mick Cottrell missed the difficult conversion. Brendan Moylan came on for Billy Nunan. Tom Ahern showed he still has it by putting on a tackling clinic. Kanturk were looking to go ahead and did when Willie Ahern fed Mike Murphy and this time Daire Lyons was no where to be seen and Murphy sauntered 40 yards for a try in the corner. While Mick Cottrell was setting up for the conversion the cry came "take your time Mick" as a few players needed to catch their breath. Mick Cottrell missed the conversion so Kanturk had a five point lead. London Irish bounced straight back when father of Gareth Walsh "The Squalsh" got in for a try in the corner to leave the teams level again. Povet missed the conversion. London Irish had a penalty attempt to win at the death but it sailed wide and 15-15 seemed a fair result.
By John Duggan