Old Christians were the hosts last Sunday as Mallow looked to continue their rich vein of form and extend their lead at the top of the Munster Junior Division 2 league table. In what was a wet day, the conditions didn't hinder Mallow's attacking style of play. Old Christians started with intent and ruffled Mallow's feathers inside the opening 15 minutes of the game. Mallow eventually broke the deadlock and settled themselves into the game with an excellent penalty by Dave Breen from distance. Old Christians battled well and made inroads into the Mallow half thanks to numerous moments of indiscipline from the away side. Brian Henry and Sean Glynn made consistently strong carries to put them deep in their opponents half. The opening try of the match belonged to Mallow and came from an Old Christians scrum. Mallow's dominance in the pack saw them win against the head. Accurate hands from the backs put Hugh Barry over in the corner and Dave Breen added the extras. Mallow never looked back from there. Their scrum obliterated the opposition and this led to Mallow's next try. Number 8, Sean Glynn controlled the ball well at the back of the scrum and dropped on it upon crossing the try line to make the scoreline 15-0. Dave Breen was next to add his name to the score sheet as he ghosted through a mis-match in the Old Christians defence. Mallow went in at half time with a 22 point lead and eager for more.

Mallow came out in the second half with intent and demonstrated this early on. Dave Breen showed great agility to score a second converted try and his fifth for the season. This sealed the bonus point 4 try haul which Mallow dearly sought. A 10 minute period ensued during which Mallow briefly took their foot off the gas. Old Christians scored their solitary try thanks to confusion in the Mallow backs department. That was as good as it got for the home side as Mallow turned on the style during the remaining 25 minutes of the encounter. They emptied the bench before the hour mark and what an impact they had. David Walsh erupted into action almost immediately, scoring a well worked try. Excellent work from the pack gave them great field position and when Mallow spun the ball wide, Walsh was on the end of it to dot down for his first try. Mallow were now playing with the wind firmly in their sails and a real pep in their step. The next try was an absolutely majestic score, comparable only to what you might expect to see from the All Blacks or the the Baa-Baas! It came directly from the restart which Sean Glynn caught. He popped it off to Owen Glynn who ate up the space in front of him before eventually being hauled down. Glynn offloaded from the ground to Sean Hannon who evaded a few defenders and popped it off to Brian Henry. He spun a glorious pass out to Conor O' Donovan on the wing. O' Donovan sent a pin-point chip over the top which David Walsh caught and passed inside to Brian Ward. He eluded the cover tackle and scored under the sticks. It truly was a sublime try which will live long in the memory of everyone who was there to witness it. Mallow continued this champagne rugby as they closed out the game in style. Walsh added his second try thanks to his own quick thinking. Mallow won a penalty 5 metres out which he tapped quickly and raced over the white wash. The last play of the game again demonstrated Mallow's ability to play off the cuff, exciting rugby. Hugh Barry caught a clearing kick in his own half and passed to Jimmy Glynn who cut a line through the Old Christians defence. He released Walsh whose footwork allowed him to step around 2 cover tacklers and dot down for his hat-trick. Dave Breen converted to make it 8 successful kicks out of 9 and and round off a scintillating display from the away side. This 57-7 win and performance demonstrated Mallow's clinical edge and a willingness to play a classy brand of rugby.

While Mallow will be delighted with the manner in which they won this game, they will also be eager to quell the hype train surrounding their season to date. The support for Mallow was incredible yet again with great numbers travelling to show their support. Up next is an away Cup fixture against Charleville next Saturday, November 10th at 2pm.