CLONGOWES CLAIM SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL SPOT
Clongowes Wood College registered three tries at Donnybrook on Tuesday afternoon, as the clinical Clane side finished with 22 points to spare over CBC Monkstown in the quarter-final of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup.
In contrast to Monkstown’s last-gasp triumph over St Gerard’s of Bray in their opening round fixture, Clongowes had progressed with a commanding 33-8 success against The King’s Hospital.
Inside centre Benjamin O’Shea made a significant contribution in this encounter, and following a forceful opening to the proceedings from the eight-time champions, he was presented with an opportunity to break the deadlock with just four minutes gone on the clock.
From an awkward angle on the right-flank, O’Shea’s attempt fell short of the target, but after the Monkstown rearguard failed to secure possession, he made no mistake from his subsequent close-range strike.
Brett Igoe’s charges were hoping to build momentum against their south Dublin counterparts, and although Monkstown initially gained a foothold inside the opposition half, referee Cillian Hogan awarded another penalty to Clongowes on the stroke of 15 minutes.
O’Shea’s latest effort from the 22-metre-line was firmly struck, but Monkstown breathed a sigh of relief when the wind directed the ball away from the posts. As the half developed, Clongowes continued to dominate possession, but with scrum-half Robert Jordan (who also captained the team) leading by example, Monkstown remained resolute in defence.
Indeed, when a pass by Clongowes went astray on 27 minutes, Monkstown were agonisingly close to claiming the opening try of the contest. Outside centre Thomas O’Callaghan kicked a loose ball forward, but despite having the whitewash in his sights, it ultimately hit off his knee and drifted beyond the dead-ball line.
The wet conditions made handling difficult for both sides, but Clongowes finally crossed on the half-hour mark. A powerful maul on the right-hand side was finished off by impressive tighthead prop Edward Carroll for a converted score, as Clongowes created some daylight between the two teams.
Yet, there was just enough time for Monkstown to open their account before the interval. A sweeping move across the Clongowes line from the final attack of the period provided the platform for full-back Tom Kelly to squeeze through in the left-corner.
Jordan couldn’t find his range from a touchline conversion, but with just five points separating the sides at the break (10-5), Monkstown were well in contention. However, Clongowes were a reinvigorated outfit upon the resumption, and after No 8 Sean McCrohan was halted inside the opposition 22 at the end of an incisive break, O’Shea increased the Clongowes cushion from a 39th-minute place-kick.
This was the kind of boost that the north Kildare boys required following their late first-half set-back, and they edged even further into the ascendancy from their next foray into enemy territory.
They kept Monkstown on the back-foot for most of the third-quarter, and it was now the turn of skipper Jack Moore to break through underneath the posts. The influential lock’s five-pointer was supplemented by O’Shea’s second successful conversion, which meant that Monkstown were facing into a 15-point deficit inside the closing half-hour of play.
Moving into the final quarter, Ronan O’Donovan’s underdogs were doing their best to keep Clongowes at bay, but flanker Sean McMahon secured a fourth try for the 2011 winners 14 minutes from time.
McMahon touched down after blocking an attempted clearance from a Monkstown scrum, and with O’Shea bringing his personal tally up to 12 points, the outcome was placed beyond any doubt.
To Monkstown’s credit, they did apply serious pressure on the Clongowes defence in the closing moments of the tie, and they were extremely close in their efforts to claim a second try on a number of occasions.
However, Clongowes never allowed their concentration to slip, and they will now compete in the last-four of the competition for a third consecutive year.
Clongowes Wood College 27 CBC Monkstown 5
At Donnybrook – CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: E Carroll, J Moore, S McMahon try each; B O’Shea 2 pens, 3 cons. CBC MONKSTOWN: T Kelly try.
Clongowes Wood College: Michael Silvester; Fiachra Lynch, Miles O’Connor, Benjamin O’Shea, Brian Maher; Thomas Monaghan, Joseph Murphy; Joseph Martin, Daniel Sheehan, Edward Carroll; Jack Moore (capt), Florence McCarthy; Patrick Nulty, Sean McMahon, Sean McCrohan.
Replacements: Patrick Celebi for McCrohan 39 mins, Jack Gilheany for Monaghan 56 mins; Monaghan for Gilheany 57 mins; Reinis Lemess for Maher 61 mins; Tadgh Dooley for Sheehan, Arthur Odlum for Martin, Gareth Graham for Carroll, David Jeffares for McCarthy, Joseph Gilmartin for McMahon (all 68).
CBC Monkstown: Tom Kelly; Patrick Rogers, Thomas O’Callaghan, Darragh Forster, Darragh Porter; Shane O’Hanrahan, Robert Jordan; Callum Kavanagh, Alex Holmes, Eoghan Clarke; Jack MacAteer, Alec Byrne; Robert Doyle, Zach Sattar, William Fry.
Replacements: Dylan O’Regan for Kavanagh 39 mins; Kenzi Kouadri for Doyle 45 mins; Alex Guerin for Forster 50 mins; Cameron Watson for Jordan 51 mins; Conor Montayne for Clarke 57 mins; Ben Reynolds for Byrne, Cameron Madden for Holmes both 65 mins; Geoffrey Mahon for O’Hanrahan 68 mins.
Referee: Cillian Hogan (Leinster Rugby Referees)