Gonzaga College 19 Wesley College 10

Second-half tries from replacements Harry O’Grady and Alex McEvoy were crucial at Castle Avenue on Thursday, when Gonzaga College defeated Wesley College in a tense opening round Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup tie.

Playing on the impressive all-weather surface in Clontarf RFC, Wesley broke the deadlock on the stroke of 10 minutes, as pacey winger Tim Spencer raced under the posts after he intercepted an attempted pass from Gonzaga’s Oran James.

This try was supplemented by a Bill Corrigan conversion, but following excellent approach work by James and Micheal O’Kennedy, outside centreHarry Brennan crossed over on the left-flank for a converted touchdown.

As a result, the sides were on level terms (7-7) at the mid-way point in the action, but thanks to a successful Adam Curry penalty, Wesley regained the lead on 49 minutes.

However, at the end of a lengthy attacking move inside the opposition ‘22’, substitute hooker McEvoy crossed over on the hour mark. James subsequently added the bonuses to this five-pointer in spectacular style, and although Wesley stayed within touching distance, Gonzaga’s victory was finally secured courtesy of an O’Grady try deep into second-half stoppage-time.

Gonzaga College: S Galvin; D Lynch, H Brennan, M O’Kennedy, A Browne;O James, R Kelly; F Keane, R O’Donnell, E Coyle; S Dempsey, E Ryder; C Farrell, J MacNamara, T Costello. Replacements: H O’Grady for Dempsey, A Caslin for Browne both h-t; A McEvoy for O’Donnell 44 mins.

Wesley College: A Ladias-Barlow; A Quirk, D Gilmer, W Hayden, T Spencer; A Curry, B Corrigan; C Classon, A Egan, S Kenny; D Motyer, J O’Connor; L Corish, M Guest, S May. Replacements: A Lynam for Corrigan 33 mins; C Kirwan for May 40 mins; I Sheridan for Ladias-Barlow 46 mins; R Whitehead for O’Connor 67 mins.

Referee: J Montayne (IRFU).