Thomas Mackle victory sees him close in on retaining Ulster crown

TOP FORM: All-Ireland senior champion Thomas Mackle hit top form in his decisive win over Colm Rafferty. File pic: INPHO/Tom Honan

All-Ireland senior champion Thomas Mackle hit top form in his decisive win over Colm Rafferty at Knappagh to move to within one score of retaining his Ulster crown.

The Munster senior semi-final draw has kept brothers Aidan and David Murphy apart. Aidan Murphy plays Martin Coppinger next Saturday at Grange and David Murphy is out the next day against James O’Donovan at Bauravilla. The Munster final is scheduled for Ballincurrig on the following weekend.

Mackle opened with a brilliant bowl at Knappagh, but Rafferty beat it by 30m. Mackle raised the ante with two more big ones to light at the planting corner. Rafferty was still just 40m off the pace. Mackle maintained that intensity in his next two, pushing his lead out to 80m. Rafferty made a mistake with his sixth to fall a shot behind. Mackle followed with two more good shots to take his lead to almost two bowls before the plum trees.

He was two full bowls clear after nine to the minister’s. Rafferty made a great bid to get back in touch with a massive 12th bowl towards the Condy corner. Mackle missed that by 60m, but that was just a minor glitch. He was up past Wylie’s and down to just shy of Barney Grimley’s in three more to take his lead close to three bowls. He stormed home to win by three.

Bryan Wilmot was equally dominant in his dismissal of Éamon Bowen in the Munster intermediate championship at Castletownkenneigh. He raised a bowl in his first two. His from dipped from there, but Bowen made no gains. He had almost two bowls after six and he held that in the next three towards Pyne’s corner. Bowen missed light there and Wilmot went out to go almost three clear. Wilmot increased his lead to the junior finish, where Bowen conceded.

All-Ireland senior women’s champion Kelly Mallon had a successful opening defence of her Ulster title when she beat Dervla Toal-Mallon at Eglish. They were locked together to the flax-hole. Mallon’s power pushed her clear up the rising road and she had a full bowl of odds at Ewing’s bend. Toal-Mallon did well to hold the lead to a bowl to Hunter’s. She closed the gap from there, but never got near enough to effect the result.

The list of contenders for the Munster team at next month’s All-Ireland finals is being steadily whittled down and will be a lot shorter after this week.

John O’Donoghue beat Shane Crowley in the last shot of a sensational Munster U16 quarter-final at Terelton. Both players beat the line in nine shots in a relentless show of brilliance. Crowley closed with a super bowl past the line, but O’Donoghue beat it well. Ben Cooney proved too strong for Rhys Murphy at Whitechurch in another quarter-final. Emma Hurley is already qualified for the girls U16 final, where she will play either Laura Sexton or Tara Twomey.

In the Junior B semi-finals Johnny O’Driscoll and Noel O’Donovan play on Wednesday evening in Derrinasafa and Noel Gould and Noel O’Regan meet at Templemartin on Friday. Noel Gould is keeping his ambitions of a provincial and All-Ireland double on track.

He wiped out a bowl of odds deficit to beat Andrew O’Leary by a bowl in the Munster Veteran semi-final at Firmount. In the final he plays either John Shorten or Philip O’Donovan, who meet at Templemichael. In the quarter-final Shorten beat Mark Burke by two bowls at Inchigeela. In the Novice section Sidney Shannon and Michéal Ó Ceallacháin meet in one semi-final and Paul Butler and Dan O’Regan in the other.

London champion Patrick O’Driscoll eliminated James Cooney from the Munster Junior A championship at Grenagh. David O’Mahony is Mid-Cork champion, he beat Denis Wilmot by a bowl at Ballinacurra. He led all the way. He had 30m odds after three to Brinny cross, he gradually increased that to a bowl of odds to Innishannon cross. They contested that lead to the line.

Peter Murray tied the best-of-three West Cork Junior A final when he beat Muiris Buttimer by three bowls at Togher Cross. He was already two bowls clear after five to the chips and went on to win by three. They meet in a tie-breaker at The Clubhouse. Cian Boyle and Patrick Stokes advanced to the Cork city final at Whitechurch. Boyle beat Michael O’Donoghue by two bowls and Stokes beat Craig Moynihan in the last shot.