Senior Cup
Newbridge College come up short
BLACKROCK COLLEGE…………………………………….. 34
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE…………………………………….. 14
DAIRE WALSH
Two tries apiece from Jack Power and Zach O’Hagan provided the catalyst for Blackrock College at Donnybrook on Sunday, as Newbridge College’s 2014 Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup journey came to an end.
A strong third-quarter charge by Aaron Dundon’s side had raised hopes that a major shock was on the cards, but the 67-time winners were clinical in possession, and late tries by Nick Timoney and O’Hagan ultimately steered the Wiliamstown school towards victory.
Having secured the Leinster Senior League title in emphatic style, Newbridge were solid rather than spectacular during their earlier round successes over Cistercian College Roscrea and St Mary’s College.
For their clash with Peter Smyth’s formidable outfit, Newbridge opted for one alteration to their starting line-up, and it was inside centre Jack O’Neill who was given the nod instead of the previously-favoured Andrew Shanahan.
If Newbridge were to upset the odds, it was essential that they made a bright start in the Dublin 4 venue, and following an earlier spell of pressure inside the ‘Rock ‘22’, the Kildare boys were presented with an ideal opportunity to break the deadlock from a 25-metre place-kick.
Left-wing Joe D’Arcy made no mistake with his opening kick of the contest. This offered the challengers a promising early platform, but with Blackrock quickly settling into their stride, the ‘Bridge lead was short-lived.
Fine approach play by Sean Kearns enabled O’Hagan to cross over six minutes into the action, and although Kearns was off-target from the subsequent conversion, there were ominous signs for Newbridge.
Indeed, it came as no surprise when the holders registered their second try on 15 minutes, and it was full-back Joey Carberry who provided the platform for Power’s first score of the day.
Kearns found the range on this occasion to seal the bonuses, and despite conceding a second penalty to D’Arcy 22 minutes in, Carberry and Power once again combined to set-up a second converted touch down for the latter three minutes before the interval.
This helped ‘Rock towards a 19-6 mid-way cushion, and left Newbridge in a perilous position. However, there is a great never-say-day attitude to this ‘Bridge team, and a storming start to the second led to a five-pointer by Niall Delahunt five minutes into the half.
Delahunt had switched from his original position to the wing after Chris Healy had replaced Mark Delaney, and the switch certainly paid dividends when he drove over on the left-flank.
D’Arcy couldn’t quite negotiate his kick in this instance, but with the pressure on the ‘Rock rearguard now relentless, a second try for Newbridge appeared imminent. Second-row Conor Doyle and Shanahan were both extremely close to crossing the whitewash, but they were held up just shy of the try-line.
Unfortunately, Newbridge’s downfall lay in the fact that a third D’Arcy penalty was all they could muster during this dominant spell, and after ‘Rock regained their composure, Timoney was on hand to finish a strong move across the line.
This was a hammer blow for the College after such a gallant effort, and the outcome was placed beyond any doubt by the outstanding O’Hagan’s second score on the hour mark. A routine Kearns place-kick at the death brought the day’s action to an end.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: J Carberry; Z O’Hagan, J Power, I Kinsley, H Keenan; S Kearns, T Brady; D Fitzpatrick, H Keane, J Loughman; D O’Connor, J Dwan; C Doris, C Oliver, N Timoney.
Replacements: D Mullane for Dwan (49), J McGowan for Keenan (64), R O’Farrell for O’Hagan (66), J Horan for Kean, M Reidy for Fitzpatrick, R Casey for Loughman, E Fanning for Doris, C Dean for Kinsley (all 71).
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Niall Delahunt; Mark Delaney, Jake Howlett, Jack O’Neill, Joe D’Arcy; Jimmy O’Brien, Mark Sutton; Conor Doyle, Connor Johnson, Jonathan Phelan; Conor Doyle, Tom Treacy; Cormac Nugent, Matt O’Connor, Tom Brady.
Replacements: C Healy for Delaney (35+1), A Shanahan for O’Neill (h-t), R Dromgoole-Maguire for Nugent (57), B Finan for Delahunt (59), T Dunne for C Doyle (69).
REFEREE: Barry O’Keeffe (Leinster Rugby Referees).