St Michael’s College 29 Terenure College 14: Full-back Jack Kelly was in superb form at Donnybrook yesterday as St Michael’s College sent out a major statement of intent against Terenure College in the first quarter-final of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.

Michael’s broke the deadlock with a spectacular try on the right-hand side from captain Kelly, and the Ailesbury Road outfit enhanced their superiority with a well-worked Barry Fitzpatrick five-pointer on 12 minutes.

‘Nure were struggling to cope with the pace and power of their south Dublin rivals, and they subsequently conceded a third try to Michael’s inside centre Ian O’Kelly. It was already looking extremely ominous for the 10-time champions, and the outstanding Kelly dived under the posts at the end of a blistering run for his second try on the stroke of 20 minutes.

‘Nure finally opened their account with a hard-earned converted try by lock Adam Melia just shy of the half-hour mark, but Michael’s still held a commanding 24-7 lead at the interval.

‘Nure did showcase a commendable fighting spirit when the action resumed, but thanks to a fifth Michael’s try from James Hickey 12 minutes into the half, the outcome was placed beyond any doubt. Terenure did hit back with a second touchdown from prop Jack Boyden, but it wasn’t enough to deny St Michael’s a last four place.

Scorers for St Michael’s:

J Kelly 2 tries, B Fitzpatrick, I O’Kelly, J Hickey try each, H Byrne 2 cons.

Scorers for Terenure College:

A Melia, J Boyden try each, M Fabian 2 cons.

ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE:

J Kelly’ M Heaney, J Hickey, I O’Kelly, C Carey; H Byrne, T Killeen; R Kelleher, S Judge, S Griffin; R Baird, J Dunne; O Dowling, S Penny, B Fitzpatrick.

Replacements:

J O’Loughlin for Carey (40), D Ryan for Byrne, M O’Donohoe for Griffin (both 44), P O’Beirne for Killeen (52), M Kennedy for Judge, L Duffy for Kelleher (both 63), A Courtney for Dunne (64), M Roche for Baird (66).

TERENURE COLLEGE:

J Murphy; C Collins, S Barry, T O’Donoghue, Z Vaughan; M Kirwan, M Fabian; J Boyden, J Henry-Hayes, S Collins; R Byrne, A Melia; J Clarkin, C O’Sullivan, J Dignam.

Replacements:

J O’Hare for Byrne (4), J Cadell for Clarkin (34), C Ashmore for C Collins (48), S Patchell for S Collins (51), C Cahill for Fabian (58), H O’Neill for Henry-Hayes, R McGrath for Melia (both 63).

Referee:

B MacNiece (LRR).