Phelan try proves crucial as Newbridge progress

Newbridge College 17 St Mary’s College 10 – Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup quarter-final

Newbridge College overcame a strong challenge from St Mary’s College at Ashbourne to book their place in the semi-finals alongside neighbours Clongowes Wood.

An excellent start to the second period had helped Mary’s to level matters (10-10) in an absorbing clash, but a terrific 44th-minute try from Jonathan Phelan ultimately determined the outcome of this tie.

Left-wing Joe D’Arcy had opened the scoring for the victors from a 35-metre penalty, but despite playing with the aid of a strong wind, Newbridge were facing into a two-point deficit on 23 minutes, when powerful Mary’s No 8 Niall Curran drove over impressively following a well-worked line-out.

Jack Duffy was wide of the mark from his subsequent conversion into the breeze, but Mary’s held on to their slender advantage until Newbridge flanker Matt O’Connor touched down in stoppage-time at the end of a lengthy passage of play.

D’Arcy applied the bonuses superbly to give Newbridge a five-point interval cushion, but when full-back Terry Kennedy – son of former Irish International Terry Snr – powered through for a magnificent five-pointer just three minutes after the restart, this last-eight encounter was delicately poised.

Newbridge’s focus remained largely unaffected, however, and just six minutes after Kennedy’s leveller, towering prop Phelan crossed over via a rolling maul to restore his team’s midway lead.

Another successful D’Arcy conversion offered even more breathing space to Aaron Dundon’s charges.

Although Mary’s enjoyed the vast majority of possession for the remainder of the action, which included 11 tension-filled minutes of injury-time, tireless defensive work ensured Newbridge’s progress.

NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE – N Delahunt; M Delaney (M Stapleton 75), J Howlett, A Shanahan (B Finan 60), J D’Arcy; J O’Brien, M Sutton; Conor Doyle, C Johnson (T O’Neill 75), J Phelan; Conor Doyle, T Treacy; C Nugent (R Dromgoole-Maguire 60), M O’Connor, T Brady.

ST MARY’S COLLEGE – T Kennedy; M Oppermann, D Matthews, B Hoey, S McCahill; J Duffy, M Fogarty (J Delaney 78); M Fitzgerald, J Finnegan, C Whelan; C Corcoran, H Diepmann; G Kenny (C Harte-Burke 62), P Fogarty (E Foley 68), N Curran.

REF – G Glennon (LRR).