Clongowes come up just short
Blackrock College……………………………………………….. 22
Clongowes Wood College……………………………………. 17
By DAIRE WALSH
They almost pulled off the most unlikely of comebacks, but a 63rd minute try by Blackrock College captain Nick Timoney ultimately prevented Clongowes Wood College from securing their ninth-ever Leinster Senior Cup title at the RDS last Sunday afternoon.
It was an absorbing contest from start to finish, and despite staring into a 14-3 deficit at the mid-way point, Clongowes managed to turn the tie on its head courtesy of second-half tries from Fergal Cleary and the excellent Cian O’Donoghue. Their south Dubliners counterparts never allowed their heads to drop, though, and with the game delicately poised, the powerful Timoney produced the score that guided the Williamstown school towards their 68th SCT crown, and their second in succession.
Rock had been the dominant side during the early exchanges, but although Zach O’Hagan crossed over on the right-wing at the end of a sweeping 12th minute move, TMO Brian McNiece decided that the final pass to the speedy winger had a forward trajectory, much to the relief of Wood.
Further heroic defensive work by Clongowes continued to frustrate ‘Rock as the game wore on, but opposing flanker Conor Oliver eventually broke the deadlock with a converted score on the half-hour mark. This was a cruel blow to Noel McNamara’s outfit so close to the interval, and with their tails now up, ‘Rock raced through for their second try just three minutes later.
A magnificent break from outside centre Jack Power enabled left-wing Hugo Keenan to break unopposed, but after fly-half Kearns comfortably supplied the bonuses, Clongowes finally got their account up and running via an Alan Hughes three-pointer.
Even though it wasn’t necessarily evident at the time, this score was crucial towards the confidence of the Clane men, and they found themselves back in the reckoning just three minutes after the restart, when skipper Cleary bravely drove through a number of challenges for an excellent individual try.
The intervention of the TMO once again benefitted the challengers on this occasion, but there was no doubting the legitimacy of O’Donoghue’s score mid-way through the half. An outstanding gallop into enemy territory provided the platform for the left-winger to touch down for the fifth time in the tournament.
At this stage, all the momentum appeared to be with the Kildare school, but ‘Rock displayed a mental resolve befitting of true champions to first of all restore parity 13 minutes from the end, and then negotiate a decisive pushover score for Timoney seven minutes later.
A late push towards the opposition line almost yielded a try that may well have given Clongowes the spoils, but in spite of their best endeavours, Clongowes came up just short in their fourth Senior Cup decider in five years.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Joey Carberry; Zach O’Hagan, Jack Power, Ian Kinsley, Hugo Keenan; Sean Kearns, Tristan Brady; Dane Fitzpatrick, Hugo Kean, Jeremy Loughman; David O’Connor, Jack Dwan; Caelan Dorris, Conor Oliver, Nick Timoney. Replacements: Cian O’Dwyer for Dorris (25-31, blood sub).
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: Adam Hughes; James Lappin, Colm Mulcahy, Cillian Burke, Cian O’Donoghue; Fergal Cleary, Rowan Osborne; Nicolas Rinklin, John Molony, Jonathan Inglis; Conor Gleeson, Jake Kennedy; Will Connors, Josh Pim, Stephen McVeigh. Replacements: Daragh Kiely for Lappin (53), Dan O’Leary for Inglis (58), Jonny Glynn for Osborne (69).
Referee: Gary Conway (Leinster Rugby Referees).