LEINSTER SCHOOLS’ SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL
Heartbreak for Kildare lads
Brave Clongowes give way to Belvedere College
BELVEDERE COLLEGE………………………………………. 27
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE……………………….. 26
By DAIRE WALSH
There was heartbreak for Clongowes Wood College at Donnybrook last Tuesday afternoon, when an impressive Belvedere College denied them an opportunity to contest a fifth Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup final in six years.
Noel McNamara’s charges did enjoy a positive opening but after Belvo flanker Max Kearney claimed an opposition line-out eight minutes in, they suddenly found themselves on the back-foot.
The play was transferred towards the left-flank, where winger Oscair McGrath was on hand to supply the finishing touches to a patient move. Out-half Conor Jennings found the target from a tricky conversion (having missed an earlier penalty), before adding a second try from the subsequent attack.
The Clongowes rearguard initially seemed to be in the perfect position to gather a box-kick towards the left-corner, but Jennings ultimately grounded the ball beyond the whitewash. He couldn’t add the bonuses to this five-pointer, but the reliable number 10 did make amends with a successful three-point attempt on the stroke of 20 minutes.
The normally assured Kildare school were struggling to settle into any sort rhythm, and were being pressed high up the field by their determined opponents. Their first-half woes were exemplified by Jonathan Glynn’s missed place-kick 24 minutes in.
Jennings was also wide of the mark three minutes before the break, but with a commanding 15-0 interval cushion at their disposal, Belvo had reason to be confident heading into the second period but it was the 10-time champions who once again crossed over just eight minutes after restart.
Jennings was the architect for his side’s third try, finished off beautifully by full-back Eoin Cleere. He couldn’t dispatch his latest bonus kick between the posts, though, and with 20 minutes remaining in the action, Clongowes finally opened their account.
Impressive back-row Donal Mongey completed a strong maul for an unconverted contribution, only for Belvo to swiftly reply with a well-worked McCaffrey touchdown. A second Jennings conversion appeared to offer Belvo an unassailable buffer, but their numerical disadvantage did provide significant incentive to Clongowes. With McCaffrey briefly out of the picture, scrum-half Osborne kicked off a remarkable purple patch by breaking through for a majestic five-pointer.
In the absence of Jonathan Glynn, Conor Murray struck the conversion between the uprights, and he also added two points on top of captain Molony’s 61st minute try. This meant that the gap had dramatically been reduced to a manageable eight points, and courtesy of an outstanding breakaway try from centre Lappin (as well as Murray’s third conversion), the bare minimum separated the teams four minutes from time.
However for Clongowes, time ran out for them, and as the clock past 70 minutes, it was Belvo who had the possession in enemy territory. Jennings once again failed to take advantage of another opportunity from the kicking tee, but it made little difference in the end, as Belvedere College edged a pulsating encounter.
Scorers for Belvedere College: Oscair McGrath, Eoin Cleere, Dan McCaffrey try each, Conor Jennings try, 2 cons, pen.
Scorers for Clongowes Wood College: David Mongey, Rowan Osborne, John Molony, James Lappin try each, Conor Murray 2 cons.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: Eoin Cleere; Sean Long, James McKeown, Declan Murnaghan, Oscair McGrath; Conor Jennings, Hugh O’Sullivan; Mike Sweeney, Andrew Hynes, Eoin Molloy; Conor McCaffrey, Brian Egan; Senan McNulty, Max Kearney, Tom De Jongh.
Replacements: Dan McCaffrey for Molloy (42), Fionn Dillon-Kelly for Kearney (57-65), James Kenny for C McCaffrey (59), Jack Clarke for Hynes (61), Gregory O’Kelly for Cleere (67).
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: Michael Silvester; Fionnan Madden, James Lappin, Michael McDermott, Conor Murray; Jonathan Glynn, Rowan Osborne; Nickolas Rinklin, John Molony, Charles Carroll; Tim Burke, Daniel O’Mahoney; William Connors, David Mongey, Sean McCrohan.
Replacements: Edward Carroll for C Carroll, Jack Moore for Burke (both 44), Thomas Monaghan for Glynn (54), Patrick Nulty for Mongey (65), Hugo McDermott for Molony (70).
Referee: Nigel Correll (Leinster Branch).