Due to an unplayable pitch at St Joseph's Rd, Irish Independent Park was the venue for this league clash between Mallow and Thurles RFC. Following 2 consecutive Junior cup games in which Mallow were successful, they were coming into this fixture in a rich vein of form and with some of their big names back from injury. The day got off to a great start as Mallow's 2nd XV were victorious over Fermoy away from home in the 12pm fixture. This provided a great incentive for the the 1st XV to go out and get the double. With perfect conditions underfoot and a stiff breeze gusting across the 4G pitch at Munster's Cork base, this game offered the potential for tries galore.

Mallow settled themselves into the game very well using their big ball carriers to get them gain line advantage. An early penalty from the boot of full back, Jimmy Glynn put them into an early lead; a lead they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game. A 10 minute break disrupted proceedings as an ambulance crossed from the back pitch. Following this lengthy interval, Mallow sought to stamp their authority on the game but it was Thurles who were next to score with a penalty of their own. Mallow were harshly penalised when their powerful scrum was in the ascendancy on two separate occasions before Mallow added another penalty to go 6-3 to the good. This kick-started the half in earnest from Mallow as they hunted Thurles in packs at every opportunity. The home side won a scrum 5m out from the Thurles line at the Dolphin end of the stadium. The scrum wheeled the wrong way but
Mike Lenihan, who was making a welcome return to the starting XV, adjusted and carried dynamically off the back to dot down for the games opening 7 pointer. Mallow added to their tally again shortly afterwards with Ronan McCarthy finding Lenihan again for a strong carry from 12m out to batter his way over the try line. Just before half time, Mallow really bolstered their lead and scored their third try. Excellent work from the forwards saw Mallow deep in their opponents 22m. Having drawn in the defence, Mallow flashed it wide showing great hands from the backs as Richard Weedle crashed through his opposite number and powered over for a well finished try in the corner. Mallow went in at the interval with a 25-3 lead.

The second half began well for the visitors as they stole in for a try inside the opening 10 minutes. The home side responded well though and didn't allow Thurles to get a foothold in the game. McCarthy box kicked with accuracy, allowing chasing players to make positive hits and give Mallow good field position. Conor O' Donovan was next to get on the score-sheet for the home side. Sean Glynn found him with an excellent right to left pass and he dotted down in the Sundayswell corner for his seventh try of the season and secure Mallow's bonus point. Brian Henry and David Walsh entered the fray and regularly added impetus to the Mallow attack. On the hour mark, this game was blighted with a yellow card issued to a winger on the Thurles team. As Thurles exited, Jimmy Glynn threw a quick line-out long to Sean Glynn. He carried the ball into the Thurles half and offloaded to Weedle outside him. As he collected the pass back from Weedle on the loop, Glynn was picked up and tipped beyond the horizontal, resulting in the visitors going down to 14 men. Mallow exploited their numerical advantage effectively and regularly brought play into their opponents 22m. Their line-out operated with efficiency throughout this contest and this laid the platform for their fifth try. Timmy Fitzgerald found his man with an excellent line out throw and Mallow's rolling maul trucked their way over the line with Fitzgerald grounding the ball for a well deserved try. This completed the scoring as Mallow closed out the remainder of the game.

This win guarantees Mallow promotion into Munster Junior Division 1 next season and should they continue their winning streak next Sunday, they'll win the league title, a feat never before achieved by the club. Charleville play host next Sunday in the 2nd last league game of the season at 2.30pm in what could potentially be a historic day for the club.