It’s always a tough one in sport when you’re relying on results elsewhere to give you hand.
Such was the case on Saturday as the curtain came down on Kilkenny’s time in Division 1A of the Leinster League – for the moment at least – with the closing of a testing league season for the Foulkstown club.
Having sealed promotion with a Division 1B title in the 2017/18 season, Kilkenny avoided relegation last year by virtue of the promotion/relegation playoffs having finished the regular season in seventh place. This season, however, it’s a bottom-placed finish having suffered nine defeats from 14 games in the league. An up-and-down season began with a home win over fellow relegation-battlers Ashbourne back in September, but it was Ashbourne’s performance against Boyne at the weekend that would send Kilkenny back to Division 1B.
Going into this past weekend’s final round of league games, Kilkenny needed to beat Bective or, failing that, see then-bottom side Ashbourne fall to Boyne. However, an 8-3 defeat to Seapoint for the defending Provincial Towns Cup champions coupled with an 18-point shutout of Boyne means Ashbourne jump from last in the league to finishing their season sixth, sending Boyne into a promotion/relegation playoff against either Tullow or Wicklow with Kilkenny condemned to straight relegation.
Testament to how closely fought some of Kilkenny’s games were, they finish joint top of the losing bonus point stakes with four amassed over the season, coupled with another four from their high try-scoring wins.
They’ll join Carlow in Division 1B of the Leinster League next season with the Oak Park having made sure of their place in the league in recent weeks while Tullow are still within a shout of replacing Kilkenny in the top tier of junior rugby. The Black Gates side have one game remaining this season and lead rivals Wicklow by four points. Cill Dara will be the opposition on 26 March where a bonus-point win will guarantee a league title and promotion for the 2023/24 season.
