Blackrock claim 70th Leinster schools title in spectacular fashion

Seven tries, including two by centre Hugh Cooney, saw Blackrock past second-time finalists Gonzaga at the RDS.

Blackrock College 50

Gonzaga College 21

Daire Walsh reports from the RDS

BLACKROCK COLLEGE OVERCAME a shaky start at the RDS this afternoon to claim their 70th Leinster Schools Senior Cup title in devastating style at the expense of Gonzaga College.

Searching for a maiden crown at this grade, Gonzaga raced into an early lead courtesy of a well-worked try from Rory Finlay. This briefly raised the prospect of a major upset from Declan Fassbender’s side, but ‘Rock had other ideas.

A haul of seven tries over the course of the action – including a brace by outside centre Hugh Cooney – ensured they cruised their way home.

Playing in just their second final at this level – their previous appearance in 2019 ended in a 28-5 defeat to St Michael’s College – Gonzaga displayed the initial attacking intent and deservedly broke the deadlock with just under five minutes on the clock.

After the ball was spread out wide towards the left flank, Jody Browne and Hugo McLaughlin combined before the latter released winger Finlay for a run over the whitewash. McLaughlin superbly dissected uprights off the resulting bonus strike to make it a dream opening for the Ranelagh men.

Their seven-point lead didn’t last long, however, as ‘Rock blindside flanker Liam Molony dotted down under a slew of bodies for a 10th-minute score that was supplemented by a Zach Quirke conversion.

Having shaken off some early cobwebs, the Williamstown school were expected to push on from here and take charge of the contest. This is precisely what happened as the play moved into the second-quarter.

Cooney grabbed their second try (and his first) of the game at the end of a multi-phased move and just three minutes later Justin Vanstone’s charges were in again when full-back Ruben Moloney released Eoghan Walsh for an impressive five-point finish on the left-wing.

Yet the sin-binning of captain Gus McCarthy forced ‘Rock on the back-foot for an extended spell and a re-energised Gonzaga pounced in his absence. After much persistence close to the opposition line, McLaughlin dived over to the left of the posts for a try that he converted himself.

This reduced Blackrock’s lead to seven points (21-14) at the interval and consequently presented Gonzaga with a fighting chance on the resumption.

However, ‘Rock had been restored to their full compliment in the closing minutes of the opening period and were determined to reassert themselves in the second period. Diligent defence from Gonzaga briefly kept them at bay, but when Andrew Quinn capitalised on some loose play deep inside enemy territory, he confidently burst over for ‘Rock’s fourth try of the proceedings.

After he once again supplied the extras on top of this effort, Quirke contributed his fifth successful kick of the day from a 47th-minute penalty.

Although the signs were becoming increasingly ominous for Gonzaga – the alma mater of Ulster scrum-half John Cooney – right-wing Hugo Neville burst through a gap in the ‘Rock defence to record a magnificent solo try on the stroke of 50 minutes.

This offered the vocal ‘Zaga faithful a glimmer of hope, but Blackrock immediately fired back with a second try from Cooney after he charged Stephen McMahon’s attempted clearance and touched down just before it drifted out of bounds.

While this effectively placed the outcome beyond doubt, hooker Gus McCarthy and his replacement Mikey Yarr (introduced for the second time in the game) both added tries in the dying minutes to leave all of 29 points between the teams in the end.

Blackrock College Scorers

Tries: Hugh Cooney 2, Liam Molony, Eoghan Walsh, Andrew Quinn, Gus McCarthy, Mikey Yarr

Conversions: Zach Quirke [5 from 6], Conor O’Shaughnessy [1 from 1]

Penalties: Zach Quirke [1 from 1]

Gonzaga College Scorers

Tries: Rory Finlay, Hugo McLaughlin, Hugo Neville

Conversions: Hugo McLaughlin [3 from 3]

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Ruben Moloney; Andrew Quinn, Hugh Cooney, Luke Kritzinger, Eoghan Walsh (Maxim Aschenbrenner ’66); Zach Quirke (Conor O’Shaughnessy ’68), Oliver Coffey (Will Fitzgerald ’66); Max Holmes (Tom O’Riordan ’66), Gus McCarthy (Mikey Yarr ’68), Paddy McCarthy (Andreas Andersson ’68); Tom Brigg (Mikey Yarr ’27-33), Conor Tonge (Jack Molony half-time); Liam Molony, Inigo Cruise-O’Brien, Kevin Jackson (Jack Angulo ’66).

GONZAGA COLLEGE: Hugo McLaughlin; Hugo Neville (Aidan O’Flanagan ’65), Hugh Goddard, Jody Browne, Rory Finlay (Oscar O’Neill ’59); Stephen McMahon, Michael Sullivan (Oisin Murray ’44); Toby Hammond (Adam McVerry ’65), Tim Cotter (Luke McLaughlin ’55), George Morris; Thomas Murphy (Tom Wyley ’63), Luke O’Callaghan (Morgan Tyrrell ’64); Noah Maguire, Gavin O’ Donnell (Tomas Noone ’42), Paul Wilson.

Referee: Andrew Cole (Leinster Rugby Referees)