Cistercian edge out Gonzaga in Leinster Schools Senior cup quarter-final thriller
Centres Jack Deegan and Robert Carney helped themselves to a combined tally of 29 points at Energia Park on Wednesday as Cistercian College Roscrea edged out Gonzaga College in a thrilling Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final.
Convincing winners over Presentation College Bray in the opening round, Roscrea edged in front when Deegan slotted a close-range penalty between the posts on six minutes. Gonzaga fired back almost immediately with an opportunistic try from scrum-half James O’Dwyer, but Roscrea responded superbly to the concession of this unconverted effort.
Following an interception deep inside their own half, the boys from the Offaly-Tipperary border broke forward at pace and left-wing Fionn Higgins passed to the onrushing Deegan for a finish to the left of the posts in the 11th minute. The reliable number 12 subsequently added the bonuses to his own score and he went on to enhance his personal haul by splitting the uprights off a second-quarter penalty.
While Gonzaga appeared to have turned the game on its head when Joshua Mulligan and Zachary Mulligan bagged quickfire tries, Roscrea once again displayed their mettle.
Eager to lift the scoring burden off his midfield partner Deegan, Carney got on the end of enterprising attacking moves for a brace of tries towards the end of a compelling opening half.
Both of these scores were supplemented by inch-perfect Deegan bonus strikes to propel Roscrea into a 27-19 interval lead, but this cushion was reduced to the bare minimum 12 minutes after the resumption when a second Zachary Mulligan try was followed by a touchline conversion from Daragh O’Dwyer.
Although this offered Gonzaga momentum, Roscrea reinforced their authority when hooker Eoin Naughton touched down off a line-out maul for his side’s fourth try of the game. Mark Butler’s charges then found themselves a step closer to making the penultimate round after scrum-half Fionn Carney took a quick ‘tap and go’ penalty and proceeded to race over the whitewash in fine style.
A Bobby Colbert try for Gonzaga (complimented by a fourth Daragh O’Dwyer conversion) set up a tension-filled finale in the Donnybrook venue, but Roscrea ultimately held out to advance into the last-four.
Tries: R Carney 2, J Deegan, E Naughton, F Carney Cons: J Deegan 4 Pens: J Deegan 2.
Tries: Z Mulligan 2, J O’Dwyer, J Mulligan, B Colbert Cons: D O’Dwyer 4.
S Cusack; K Dunne (H Finlay 53), R Carney, J Deegan, F Higgins; A Moloney, F Carney; O Doody, E Naughton, H Maher; J Walsh, J Finn; S Killeen, J Miller (E Brophy 43), W Hayes.
P Coleman (D Keane 63); E O’Donovan, P Masterson, B Colbert, Z Mulligan; D O’Dwyer, J O’Dwyer; J Sheil, J Brophy, M O’Herlihy; M Wall (P Dockery 67), R Crowe (T Noone 67); J Mulligan, B Salto-Galdon, C Kennedy.
C Hogan (LRR).