Clongowes Wood get the better of Kildare rivals in Junior Cup
Clongowes Wood won the Kildare derby in the Leinster Junior Cup quarter-final
Clongowes Wood College will face St Michael’s College at the semi-final stage of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup after the Clane side came out on the right end of a pulsating all-Kildare clash with Newbridge College at Energia Park on Thursday afternoon.
Coming into this game, both teams had been buoyed by impressive victories in the opening round of the competition. Whereas Clongowes claimed a convincing 39-5 triumph at the expense of CBC Monkstown on February 7, Newbridge had 22 points to spare (32-10) over Presentation College Bray three days earlier.
While Newbridge registered six tries in their win against the latter, Clongowes crossed the whitewash on no fewer than seven occasions over the course of a comprehensive success over Monkstown.
This further whetted the appetite for this contest, which was preceded in the Donnybrook venue by an impressive 35-10 victory for Michael’s over their fellow Dublin school Belvedere College. Although both sides were understandably eager to lay down a marker, it was Clongowes who ultimately hit the ground running.
After Newbridge had overthrown off a line-out, tighthead prop Eze Nwike had a couple of powerful carries that brought Clongowes deep into enemy territory.
Following an extended spell inside the opposition ‘22’, dynamic No 8 Harry Lawlor drove over for a breakthrough try with less than two minutes gone on the clock. Tom English’s bonus strike in the wake of this score drifted past the target and this ensured Newbridge were just two points in arrears when Eoin Gibbons knocked over a seventh-minute penalty.
Yet this only offered his side a temporary reprieve as Clongowes responded almost immediately with their second try of the proceedings. Following a charge down on an attempted clearance by Newbridge, Wood found themselves back within striking distance of the whitewash and it was then left for Lawlor to power his way over for another five-pointer.
A successful conversion from English provided Clongowes with additional daylight, before Newbridge came roaring back into contention when Donal Larkin pounced for a breakaway try just past the first-quarter mark. Gibbons supplied the extras for this effort in routine fashion, only for ‘Bridge’s line to be breached for a third time when English rounded off an enterprising attack with an unconverted score on 19 minutes.
Newbridge had looked set to end a relentless opening period on level terms when Gibbons supplemented Larkin’s second try with an outstanding touchline kick, but Clongowes had other ideas.
A thorn in the side of the Newbridge defence, Lawlor completed his hat-trick in the dying moments of the first half with a typically ruthless touch down to the left of the posts. English added the bonuses to give Clongowes a 24-17 buffer heading into the second half and the boys from north Kildare were a step closer to a spot in the penultimate rounds when Victor Lamph got his hands on a loose ball before racing over the try-line just two minutes after the the resumption.
Yet Newbridge continued to persevere with their challenge and it took some diligent defensive work from Clongowes to prevent Larkin claiming his own hat-trick off a brace of intricate attacking moves. The Wood rearguard were coming under sustained pressure as the third-quarter wore on and Newbridge were very much in the reckoning for a comeback win when back-row Saul Brewster burst powerfully over the whitewash on the stroke of 40 minutes.
This set the game up for a tantalising final-quarter, during which both teams had their share of possession inside their opponents’ half. Newbridge withstood an extended spell of attacking pressure to keep alive their hopes of securing at least a draw from this thrilling affair, but Clongowes ultimately prevailed when Larkin was forced into touch off another lung-bursting run up the left-flank.
Having last reached the final of this competition in 2008 – when they claimed an emphatic 36-0 triumph against Michael’s – Wood are now just 60 minutes away from bridging a 17-year gap and returning to a junior cup showpiece.
Robert Wyse; Ryan Mahon, Tom English, Daniel Maguire, Victor Lamph; Michael McCormick, Sean Crowe; Daithi Behan, Shaun Priede, Eze Nwike; Luke Ryan, Lucas Aveling; Philip Kenny, Senan Walsh, Harry Lawlor. Replacements: Scott Morrissey for Aveling (49), Odhran Doyle for Crowe (53).
Harry Treanor; Ryan Crawford, Eoin Gibbons, Lucas Flynn, Donal Larkin; Jack Scott, Daniel Liston; Alexander Bowens, Adam Hathaway, Sean Patrick Lynch; Oscar Gill, Ollie Kelly; Cian Brennan, Joshua D’Alton, Saul Brewster. Replacements: Fiacha Duffy for Bowens (37), Paddy White for Lynch (46), Aaron O’Donnell for Crawford (49), Matt Spollen for Hathaway, Oliver Francis for Gill (both 53).
Euan O’Riordan (Leinster Rugby Referees).