POWERADE LEINSTER SCHOOLS JUNIOR CUP QUARTER-FINAL REPLAY
ST GERARD’S BRAY 07
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE 05
Daire Walsh
LEINSTER SCHOOLS JUNIOR CUP QUARTER-FINAL REPLAY
Despite securing a late try courtesy of Number 8 Dylan Walker, Newbridge College ultimately came up just short in their Powerade Leinster Schools Junior Cup quarter-final replay against St Gerard’s of Bray in Donnybrook last Wednesday afternoon. Neither of the two games between these evenly matched sides were particularly high-scoring, but a converted try for the north Wicklow men was enough to secure their place in the penultimate stage of this year’s competition.
Newbridge had been moments away from victory in Templeville Road the week beforehand, only for Billy O’Reilly to thwart them with a last-gasp try in the right-corner, and the worry for the south Kildare school heading into this game was that Gerard’s would have the psychological edge as a result of their late exploits in the drawn encounter.
Once again, though, it was Newbridge who were setting the tempo in the early stages, and Kevin Kyne very nearly broke through on the left-hand side with just three minutes gone on the clock, but the winger was forced into touch at the vital moment.
This was a positive passage of play from Newbridge, but despite enjoying the majority of possession, they once more were discovering that the Gerard’s defence was a tough nut to crack. Indeed, strong work all around the field by the Bray school forced their opponents into a number of knock-ons, and with conditions not exactly ideal in the Dublin 4 venue, any hesitancy on the ball was likely to be punished.
Much of the action was taking place in the middle part of the field, with both packs doing their utmost to gain an upper hand. Gerard’s were starting to grow in confidence as the half wore on, however, and they proved to be ruthless with their first meaningful attack in the Newbridge ’22’ after 27 minutes, as influential full-back Ben Kealy evaded a number of challenges before touching down to the left of the posts.
This was a major tonic for Gerard’s so close to half-time, and with scrum-half Tom Foley converting superbly from the touchline, they had moved into a seven-point lead. This was certainly a set-back to the Newbridge cause, but they received a boost just before the break when Bray prop Shane Gallagher was issued with a yellow card by referee Arthur Lynch.
Inside centre Gavin Burke was also presented with the opportunity to narrow the gap with a 35-metre penalty from a left-hand angle, but his kick dropped short on this occasion, as Gerard’s held on to a 7-0 cushion heading into the second period.
In an attempt to freshen up their back line, Newbridge introduced Tom Berney for Ruairi Cleary at full-back upon the resumption, but he shipped a heavy knock with his first touch, which forced him off the pitch with Cleary resuming in his place. He did eventually return to the field on 52 minutes, but this was an unfortunate disruption for last year’s finalists.
Gerard’s aimed to take advantage of this when Foley stepped forward for a penalty 48 minutes in, but his difficult effort from 40 metre drifted past the right-hand post. This was a let-off for Newbridge, and as the action moved into the final 15 minutes of normal time, the likes of Burke, David Murphy and powerful flanker Colm Stapleton started to push for the score that would bring them back into the reckoning.
A 61st minute penalty from an awkward position did give Burke the chance to finally open Newbridge’s account, but he was off-target as it increasingly looked like it was going to be Gerard’s day. The never-say-die attitude of Newbridge was evident at this crucial juncture, though, and Walker crossed over five minutes later at the end of an enterprising maul towards the Gerard’s line.
Suddenly, Newbridge had reined in the Gerard’s challenge to a considerable degree, and the bonus kick attempt on the right meant that they could potentially restore parity to the contest. However, Burke was unable to slot his kick between the posts, which meant that Gerard’s held on to a slender two-point lead moving into stoppage time.
Ten additional minutes ensured that there were some edgy moments for Gerard’s, but despite the best efforts of Newbridge, it is the boys from the Garden County that move forward to a semi-final against Belvedere College.
Newbridge will undoubtedly look back at what could have been from their two games with Gerard’s, but there are plenty of plus points to be taken over the last two years, and with fine performers like Burke, Stapleton, Walker and captain Tom O’Neill, there is reason to be cheerful about the future of rugby in the college.
ST GERARD’S BRAY: Ben Kealy; Matthew Dalton, Daniel Hodgins, Conor O’Farrell, Brendan Ho; Matthew O’Brien, Tom Foley; Ryan Buckley, Daniel Power, Shane Gallagher; Liam Keaney, Billy Behan; Andrew Courtney, Sam Kenny, Billy O’Reilly.
Replacements: Sean Keogh for Kenny (39), Sam Ryan for Keaney (43), Kenny for Buckley (43), Keaney for Kenny (56), Lorcan Lalor for Ho (71).
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Ruairi Cleary; Niall Wyer, Johnny Deane, Gavin Burke, Kevin Kyne; David Murphy, Timmy Murphy; Jordan Duggan, Daniel Murphy, Tom O’Neill; Mike Joyce, Geoff Flanagan; Thomas Flynn, Colm Stapleton, Dylan Walker.
Replacements: Tom Berney for Cleary (half-time), Cleary for Berney (38), David Breen for Duggan (49), Berney for Cleary (52), Colin Phelan for Flanagan (63).
Referee: Arthur Lynch (Leinster Rugby Referees).