RUGBY: LEINSTER SCHOOLS JUNIOR CUP FINAL
Taylor Made For Newbridge College
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE 19
BLACKROCK COLLEGE 15
By Daire Walsh
IT was a red letter day for Newbridge College at Energia Park last Friday as the south Kildare outfit secured the Leinster Schools Junior Cup with a magnificent final victory over Blackrock College.
The star performer for his team en route to this showpiece, fly-half Paddy Taylor contributed 14 points to his side’s final tally in the Donnybrook venue. Todd Lawlor also crossed the whitewash to give ‘Bridge a commanding 13-0 interval cushion.
To their credit, ‘Rock fired back in the second period with tries from Jack Angulo and Brian O’Flaherty to give themselves a real chance of forging a dramatic comeback. However, Dave Brew’s charges were not to be denied on a memorable afternoon in the capital.
After both of these schools had shared the junior title in 2020 – following the cancellation of their final meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic – this decider offered one of them a chance to win the competition outright.
Before discovering the rhythm that served them so well in triumphs at the expense of Presentation College Bray, Belvedere College and Castleknock College, Newbridge were forced to withstand early pressure from their prestigious opponents.
‘Rock out-half Conor O’Shaughnessy kicked an early penalty to the corner, but Newbridge dug deep to secure possession off the ensuing line-out.
Coming into this game, team captain Taylor had contributed 63 points throughout the course of the campaign. He made no mistake off the kicking tee to break the deadlock in the 13th-minute and the dynamic number 10 repeated the trick just past the first-quarter mark.
Following an encouraging opening to the action, the ‘Rock defence increasingly found themselves under the cosh. While a six-point advantage at the break would have been welcomed, Newbridge sensed there was an opportunity to extend their cushion.
From the final play of the first half, Lawlor raced onto a kick in behind and dotted down in clinical fashion. Taylor supplied the extras to this score to move ‘Bridge within touching distance of the top prize.
Still, the job was only half done and it was anticipated that there was going to be a big response from ‘Rock on the resumption. Newbridge held firm initially, but their Williamstown counterparts finally opened their account five minutes after the restart.
Gathering the ball at the back of a line-out deep inside enemy territory, ‘Rock skipper Angulo burst over the opposition line in powerful style. The bustling number eight was also amongst the tries in his side’s semi-final win over fellow Dubliners Terenure College and he added fresh life to their challenge in this pulsating affair.
O’Shaughnessy’s conversion moved ‘Rock to within six of the leaders and when the same player knocked over a 42nd minute penalty, the momentum appeared to be with the 52-time winners.
Yet Newbridge and Taylor weren’t prepared to play the game on their terms and subsequently reinforced their authority on the play.
Just shy of the third-quarter mark, the influential place-kicker maintained his 100% success rate from his fourth effort at goal. This presented Newbridge with much-needed breathing space and he had another opportunity to enhance his individual haul after Calum Murphy had instigated a counter-attack.
Shooting from distance, Taylor made no mistake to leave Newbridge nine points ahead (19-10) with the finishing line in sight. This score coincided with the sin-binning of O’Shaughnessy, who fired a shot off-target upon his eventual return to the field of play.
Still, ‘Rock persevered and set-up a tantalising conclusion with a second try inside the closing minutes. Following an extended spell close to the Newbridge posts, O’Shaughnessy and Cian Dennehy-Vazquez combined for O’Flaherty to get over on the right-flank.
Even though O’Shaughnessy couldn’t add the bonuses from an awkward angle, the passionate ‘Bridge faithful were left on tenterhooks. They had no reason to be fearful, however, as Newbridge displayed remarkable composure to see out the game.
Instead of kicking to touch, they opted for a scrum off a 59th-minute penalty. This proved to be a shrewd decision, given it allowed Newbridge to retain possession until the very end of the game and come away with the victory that their hearts desired.
Scorers – Newbridge College: Todd Lawlor try, Paddy Taylor 4 penalties, 1 conversion. Blackrock College: Jack Angulo, Brian O’Flaherty try each, Conor O’Shaughnessy 1 penalty, 1 conversion.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Todd Lawlor; Dara Cosgrave, Ciarán Mangan, Calum Murphy, Ardin Magee; Paddy Taylor, Daniel Connolly; Tadhg Kelly, John R Walsh, Billy Bohan; Jack Dennis, Conor Hanly; Josh Montgomery, Ruairí Munnelly, Patrick Forde.
Replacement: Max Wilson for Walsh (52).
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Brian O’Flaherty; Cian Dennehy-Vazquez, Derry Moloney, Charlie Woodcock, Charlie Molony; Conor O’Shaughnessy, Seb Shortt; Donie Grehan, Jack Pollard, Niall Smyth; Thomas Butler, Donnacha McGuire; Hubie McCarthy, Michael Walsh, Jack Angulo.