LAWLOR HAT TRICK DRIVES NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE INTO SENIOR SCHOOLS SEMI FINAL
LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP QUARTER-FINAL
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE 46
CBC MONKSTOWN 12
By Daire Walsh
Todd Lawlor helped himself to a hat-trick of tries at Energia Park on Monday afternoon as Newbridge College booked their place in the last-four of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup with a commanding triumph over CBC Monkstown.
Looking to reach the semi-final stage of the competition for the third time in succession, Newbridge took less than two minutes to take the lead in this contest. After Adam Larkin Smithers had perfectly judged an awkward bounce inside the Monkstown ’22’, Ciarán Mangan released Lawlor for a smooth finish over the whitewash.
A Junior Cup winner in 2021, Mangan’s centre partner Paddy Taylor added the bonuses to give ‘Bridge an early stranglehold on the proceedings. Johne Murphy’s confident Kildare side were close to securing additional tries through Rory Allen and Ronan McGroary as the first-quarter progressed, only for a foot in touch and a knock-on to respectively bring a halt to these attacking moves.
‘Bridge eventually crossed the whitewash for a second time on 20 minutes, however. Following good build-up play from Paddy Martin, Mangan feigned a pass towards Allen before sprinting over for a superb individual score.
‘Bridge were now playing with supreme confidence and found themselves even further in the ascendancy by the 26th-minute. Although their attempt at a line-out maul didn’t quite succeed, the Lilywhite outfit nevertheless kept the move alive and lock Shane Davitt dotted down under a slew of bodies for an unconverted five-pointer.
Newbridge did suffer a set-back when loosehead prop John R Walsh was sin-binned just past the half-hour mark, but even though Taylor missed an opportunity to extend their lead from a penalty, they brought a commanding 17-0 buffer into the break.
While Taylor had another wayward effort at the beginning of the second period, ‘Bridge were in an almost unassailable position upon Walsh’s return to the fray. Supplementing Lawlor’s second of the tie, No 8 Ruairi Munnelly latched onto a deft Mangan kick for his side’s fifth try in the 40th-minute.
In response, Monkstown opened their account with a try from Rory Balmaine, but it only offered them a temporary respite. Lawlor was ready to pounce off every scoring opportunity and he completed his hat-trick by squeezing over on the right-flank with 23 minutes remaining on the clock.
Mangan raced away for his second try 10 minutes later and with Taylor superbly splitting the uprights with a touchline conversion, ‘Bridge established a 34-point cushion. Replacement prop Charlie O’Loughlin also got his name on the scoresheet late on, in advance of Riley Scales securing a consolation try for Monkstown on the stroke of full-time.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Todd Lawlor; Rory Allen, Ciarán Mangan, Paddy Taylor, Adam Larkin Smithers; Paddy Martin, Tadhg Brophy; John R Walsh, Mark Masterson, Billy Bohan; Shane Davitt, Shane Treacy; Ruairi Byrne, Ronan McGroary, Ruairi Munnelly.
Replacements: Charlie O’Loughlin for Byrne (32-40), John Sheedy for Byrne, Daniel Cox for McGroary (both 47), Hugo Owens for Allen (48), Jack Dennis for Treacy, Daniel Connolly for Brophy (both 54), Josh Montgomery for Masterson, Charlie O’Loughlin for Walsh, Sam O’Loughlin for Bohan (all 57).
CBC MONKSTOWN: Danny Killeen; Ben Sharpe, Milo Quinn, Adam Fitzsimons Nolan, Cal Traynor Russell; Ronan Mahon, Eoghan O’Hanlon; David McGovern, Luan Moloney, Adam Bolton; Rory Balmaine, Thomas Chadwick; Liam Guckian, Louis Cahill, Charlie Meagher.
Replacements: Riley Scales for Killeen (9), Cian O’Donnell for Cahill, Christopher O’Toole for Bolton (both 41), Nathan O Campo for Moloney, Matthew Shaw for Balmaine (both 48), Luke Power for Traynor Russell (54), Max Murray for Guckian (61), Conor Broderick for Fitzsimons Nolan (63).
Referee: Colm Roche (Leinster Rugby Referees).