Terenure College 51

St Fintan’s High School, Sutton 7

MICHAEL SMYTH grabbed a hat-trick of tries at Energia Park on Tuesday afternoon as Terenure College reached their first Leinster Schools Senior Cup final since 2009 with an emphatic triumph over St Fintan’s High School, Sutton.

Frank Maher, Josh Mooney, Benedict Dohnal, Michael Kennedy and Ethan Balamash (two) also made their way over the whitewash as Terenure booked their spot in an upcoming showpiece at Tallaght Stadium on St Patrick’s Day.

Awaiting them in that decider will be the winners of the second semi-final featuring title holders Blackrock College and Cistercian College Roscrea on Thursday in the Donnybrook venue.

Playing at this stage of the competition for the first time, Fintan’s found themselves under immediate pressure from their south Dublin counterparts.

After winning a penalty close to the opposition posts with just over 60 seconds on the clock, a quick ‘tap and go’ from Terenure was passed into the hands of second-row Maher for a simple finish over the whitewash.

While Gareth Morgan fired marginally wide of the target from the conversion that followed this score, Sean Skehan’s side had seemingly issued a serious statement of intent.

Yet Fintan’s were equally determined to show what they were made of and a kick to touch from fly-half Ben Barnes brought them inside the Terenure ‘22’ for an extended spell.

Scrum-half Oisin Kelly was agonisingly close to breaking over for a five-pointer before Michael Bolger ultimately pounced for a seventh-minute try. A successful bonus strike from Barnes edged Fintan’s into a 7-5 lead, but it wasn’t long before 10-time champions Terenure reinforced their authority in this contest.

After being fed through a gap at the tail end of an elongated move, back-row Mooney clinically touched down for a converted try on 16 minutes.

This helped to restore the confidence within their ranks and with Mooney’s fellow flanker Smyth rounding off additional attacks with tries in the 22nd and 26th minutes, Terenure were creating significant daylight between themselves and Fintan’s.

There was enough time left in the first half to secure their fifth try of the action — winger Dohnal capitalising on excellent approach work from Maher and Jamie Coleman before diving over in the right corner.

This five-pointer ensured Terenure brought a 29-7 buffer into the interval and any prospect of Fintan’s producing a dramatic second-half fightback was effectively ended seven minutes after the resumption when Smyth completed his hat-trick by getting on the end of a line-out maul.

Their pack had shone brightly up to this stage in the proceedings, but the aforementioned Dohnal was eventually joined by another Terenure back in the try-scoring stakes when outside centre Kennedy crossed over moving towards the final quarter of this last-four affair.

Fintan’s were doing their utmost to keep their opponents at bay as the final whistle approached, but Terenure were hell-bent on finishing this game with a flourish.

Having gotten on the end of a long delivery from Morgan on 59 minutes to dive over on the right-hand side, Balamash added a second try on the opposite wing in the closing moments to leave all of 44 points between the teams.

Terenure College scorers: Tries – Michael Smyth 3, Ethan Balamash 2, Frank Maher, Josh Mooney, Benedict Dohnal, Michael Kennedy

Conversions – Gareth Morgan [3/9]

St Fintan’s High School, Sutton scorers:

Tries – Michael Bolger

Conversions – Ben Barnes [1/1]

TERENURE COLLEGE: Geoff O’Sullivan (William O’Leary ’60); Ethan Balamash, Michael Kennedy, Alvaro Swords, Benedict Dohnal (Niall Fallon ’49); Gareth Morgan, Jamie Coleman (Arran Boehm ’60); Pearse Kelly (Evan McMonagle ’32), Leo Zelman (Daniel McKenna ’60), Adam Cooper (Rory O’Brien ’60); Luke McNiff, Frank Maher (Michael Candon ’60); Josh Mooney (Senan Gavin ’54), Michael Smyth, Ben Blaney.

ST FINTAN’S HIGH SCHOOL, SUTTON: Ronan O’Shea (Ryan Curley ’66); Tadg Young, Marcel Haas (Eoin Curley ’66), Giovanni Nostro, Samuel O’Leary; Ben Barnes (James Burke ’43), Oisin Kelly (Nicky Sheridan ’66); Tadhg O’Connor Hehir, Luca Macari-Kelly (Michael Burke ’68), Ponamu Palazzetti (Fionn Cullen ’60); Robert Harvey, Michael Bolger; Louis Sanfey (Harry Curley ’60), Brendan Dillon (Yi Lin ’28), Rory O’Connor Hehir.

Referee: Padraic Reidy (Leinster Rugby Referees).

Daire Walsh