Here’s how the sides will start:
Cork
1. Anthony Nash (Kanturk)
2. Stephen McDonnell (Glen Rovers)
3. Damien Cahalane (St Finbarr’s)
4. Colm Spillane (Castlelyons)
5. Christopher Joyce (Na Piarsaigh)
6. Mark Ellis (Millstreet)
7. Mark Coleman (Blarney)
8. Bill Cooper (Youghal)
9. Darragh Fitzgibbon (Charleville)
10. Seamus Harnedy (St Ita’s)
11. Conor Lehane (Midleton)
12. Shane Kingston (Douglas)
13. Alan Cadogan (Douglas)
14. Patrick Horgan (Glen Rovers)
15. Luke Meade (Newcestown)
Clare
1. Andrew Fahy (Whitegate)
2. Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge)
3. David McInerney (Tulla)
4. Patrick O’Connor (Tubber – captain)
5. David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona)
6. Conor Cleary (St Joseph’s Miltown)
7. Oisín O’Brien (Clonlara)
8. Colm Galvin (Clonlara)
9. Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge)
10. Tony Kelly (Ballyea)
11. Podge Collins (Cratloe)
12. John Conlon (Clonlara)
13. Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg)
14. Aron Shanagher (Wolfe Tones)
15. Conor McGrath (Cratloe)
We’re underway in Semple Stadium. Clare will play against the breeze for the opening half.
Cork 0-1 Clare 0-0
1 min – Alan Cadogan is in flying form lately and he gives the Rebels an early lead.
Cork 0-3 Clare 0-2
8 mins – Brilliant score by Patrick Horgan edges Cork back in front. John Conlon hits a wide at the far end – that’s Clare’s third.
Cork 0-3 Clare 0-3
11 mins – Cathal Malone’s kick at goal rebounds off the outside of the post, but Podge Collins sends it over.
GOAL! Alan Cadogan hits the net for Cork!
Cork 1-3 Clare 0-4
12 mins – Beautiful stick work by Cadogan there and a fine finish. He’s got 1-1 already today. Tony Kelly responds with a superb point from distance at the far end.
Cork 1-3 Clare 0-5
16 mins – Tony Kelly’s free is accurate and raises a white flag. Clare have responded well to the goal.
Cork 1-4 Clare 0-6
22 mins – Cork hadn’t scored for 11 minutes when Lehane nailed an effort from midfield.
Cork 1-5 Clare 0-6
24 mins – Darragh Fitzgibbon scores after a short sideline by Horgan.
Cork 1-6 Clare 0-6
28 mins – Horgan slots over a free from a tight angle. It’s been a low-scoring first-half so far with scores at a premium.
Cork 1-8 Clare 0-7
32 mins – Tony Kelly hits a free after a run of five straight Cork scores. Jason McCarthy replaces Oisin O’Brien on the Clare team.
Alan Cadogan’s goal earlier:
Clare’s tally of wides increases to seven as we enter additional time at the end of the first-half.
Cork 1-9 Clare 0-8
35+2 mins – John Conlon reduces the gap to three but Horgan cancels it out moments later from a free. That’s his third.
Cork 1-10 Clare 0-8
35+2 mins – Horgan could score frees like this with his eyes closed.
Cork 1-10 Clare 0-8 – HT
Cork 1-10 Clare 0-9
36 mins – Anthony Nash makes a good save from Conor McGrath but Arron Shanagher takes his score to reduce the gap to four.
Cork 1-13 Clare 0-11
42 mins – Kelly and Horgan swap frees. The latter score was engineered by a wonderful probing run by Kingston. Cian Dillon comes in for Patrick O’Connor.
Cork 1-14 Clare 0-12
45 mins – Lehane makes a superb catch in the air and Horgan slots over the resultant free.
Cork 1-15 Clare 0-12
50 mins – Cadogan leaps high to claim a stunning catch and wins a free. Horgan applies the finish.
Cork 1-16 Clare 0-13
53 mins – Tony Kelly arrows over Clare’s first score from play in nine minutes. It’s goals they need though.
GOAL! Clare’s Conor McGrath drills a low strike past Anthony Nash!
Cork 1-16 Clare 1-14
55 mins – Shane Kingston is booked. Clare are right back in this game now. Then Tony Kelly launches over a huge point from midfield!
Cork 1-17 Clare 1-14
56 mins – Fantastic leadership by Cadogan to score off his left under pressure.
Cork 1-18 Clare 1-14
57 mins – Coleman puts a great ball into Horgan who converts the chance. Cork lead by four.
Cork 1-19 Clare 1-15
58 mins – A great score from John Conlon brings Clare back to within three. Fitzgibbon hits a wide at the far end but Cork are awarded a free. Horgan’s strike is good.
Cork 1-21 Clare 1-17
63 mins – Coleman slots over a wonderful sideline while McCarthy responds with one at the far end.
Cork 1-22 Clare 1-17
65 mins – Coleman glides forward and pops one over from way out the field.
Cork 1-22 Clare 1-20
69 mins – Conor McGrath leaves two between them. We’re in the final minute of normal time.
Cork 1-23 Clare 1-20
71 mins – Cahalane makes a break forward from the full-back line and Horgan points.
Cork 1-24 Clare 1-20
73 mins – Cadogan floats a classy point over. The title is surely Cork’s now!
Cork 1-25 Clare 1-20 – FT
Cork are Munster champions!
Sounds worrying
@geraldo: he has a point about thr penalty count. When your winning handy enough there’s no excuse to give away penalties.
Hard to stay disciplined and motivated if you are winning by 50pts. The big problem is the overlap with international windows. It effectively means each club has to have two teams. If there were fewer games it would be more competitive. A pool or conference system is the only way to go without asking unions to reduce the number of teams they have.
@Rudiger McMonihan: few clubs lose a whole team to the international windows. Maybe one in each country would lose 15. I think a 2 division league might work but as soon as the SA teams come in it would be them and the 3 Irish sides. So maybe not.
@Chris Mc: I think this year you need to include all four provinces. If Connacht had played all their games they would be second in conference B.
@Chris Mc: no union will ever have relagation, would the FIR, WRU or IRFU risk one or more of their professional teams being 2nd division teams? Glasgow, Edinburgh, Zebre, Benetton lose as many players as Leinster to international call ups and have nowhere near the same resources. Its little surprise Leinster are walking it against those teams.
@Rudiger McMonihan: think we touched on this before, clubs need the 10/11 home games. The proposed new rugby calendar if it gets agreed will sort it out. With no overlap durning internationals. It has a 29/30 week club season, but I think it would be the end of the HCup. As the French Top 14 takes 29 weeks and if given the choice between changing their league system or leaving the HCup the French would leave the HCup. The Pro 16 and English Prem would have maybe 5 weeks that they could fit a new European rugby cup in (Current HCup, takes 9 weeks), but no way can the French fit in a 29 round league and 9 round HCup in 30 weeks, and if there are no French is it really worth it?
@Kingshu: yeah I said they need to reduce the number of club games. Pre-covid Super rugby teams played far fewer games (16 + 3 knock outs). The best players go on to play internationals after (14 in a normal year). Then the rest play in the mitre cup (10 + 2 KO’s). So everyone gets game time, the calendar is more coherent and the games are more competitive. The way our calendar is set up is ridiculous. There is so much overlap between pro14, Heineken cup and internationals. We bounce between the 3 all year too. Teams dont get enough time together to build momentum and their position on the table is often down to how well their 3rd or 4th choice player is.
@Rudiger McMonihan: The New global calendar proposal
Is
Autumn internationals: October-November
Club and European games: December-July with a 7 week break for
Six Nations: April-May and same time the Rugby Championship: April-May. Players get a break from end of July to start of Oct.
Thats a 30 week club season with 7 week break with no games played durning 6 nations/rugbt championship. I just can’t see the Top 14 fitting their league and Hcup into that window.
@Con Cussed: have they not lost 2 games so far. They are a bit off the top 3 to be fair.
@Kingshu: I am with you on this. The system that has been cobbled together over the years has suited the Irish set-up more than anyone else; its deficiencies are increasingly obvious but it is hard to see that there will be changes that will be beneficial in the round.
The underlying problem is that there are only 2 countries – England and France – with the resources to support a domestic professional ‘club’ set-up. The rest have to rely on subsidies from the mens’ senior international game and an artificial cobbled-together league combining the remaining countries.
For us the real focus of the ‘club’ game is the Heineken Cup, but this can only really exist if the English and French clubs want it to, and only a minority of them are really committed