REACTION: NEWBRIDGE COACH DAVE BREW
Brew looking for improvements
By Daire Walsh
FOR the second year in succession, Newbridge College will have a Leinster Senior Schools League Final to look forward to, following their gritty 10-6 victory over Wesley College in Donnybrook last Wednesday.
A converted try in the 21st minute by right-winger David Murphy proved to be the decisive score of the contest, and having ensured that their try-line was unbreached for the second consecutive game, the south Kildare school have now set-up a re-match of last year’s showpiece against Cistercian College Roscrea.
Speaking in the direct aftermath of his side’s low-scoring triumph, Newbridge coach Dave Brew was thrilled to have reached another decider, but felt that there was significant room for improvement ahead of the Roscrea clash.
“Yeah, we’re delighted to have made the final. However, we wouldn’t be happy with the [overall] performance,” Brew remarked.
That said, having suffered a reversal to their Ballinteer counterparts in recent weeks on their home turf, he revealed that the squad was fully aware that it would be a tough encounter from start to finish.
“We played Wesley in Newbridge three weeks ago, and they beat us in our own back yard. So, we certainly weren’t complacent coming into the game.”
When scrum-half Colm Doyle supplemented Murphy’s touch down with a superb touchline conversion, momentum appeared to be on the side of the defending champions. However, this turned out to be their final score of the tie, and there were some nervous moments for Newbridge during the latter stages of the second period before their passage to the final was finally secured.
Brew felt that they could have developed a more significant cushion inside the final-quarter, but also conceded that Wesley could have reined in their lead at the death.
“I thought we could have pushed on a bit more after scoring the try. Then in the end we had an opportunity to score again, but equally we could have ended up losing the game.”
In stark contrast to Newbridge’s penultimate round win, Roscrea recorded a comprehensive victory over Gonzaga College in the second semi-final at the Dublin 4 venue. The Tipperary-based outfit registered five tries in total against their Ranelagh opponents, and will not be short of motivation having also been on the receiving end of a defeat to Newbridge in the 2014 Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
With back-to-back league successes in their sights, Newbridge will embark on this upcoming fixture with all guns blazing. In many ways, though, the performance of the team will be every bit as important as the result, and with the Senior Cup draw having taken place on Monday December 8 (after time of going to press), Newbridge will have a good idea where they stand for the beginning of 2015.
“We won this competition last year, and we would certainly be eager to defend our title again this year. We already faced Roscrea this year, and would have a good idea of what to expect from them. The draw for the Senior Cup takes place next Monday, and we will await that with great interest,” Brew added.