Clongowes out of Junior
St Michael’s College 16
Clongowes Wood College 3
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER JUNIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL
DESPITE having an extra man for the whole of the second half, Clongowes Wood College ultimately came off second best at the penultimate stage of the Leinster Junior Cup in Donnybrook last Tuesday afternoon, as tries in either half from Rory Mulvihill and Gavin Croke ensured the progression of a clinical St Michael’s College to the showpiece decider in the same venue on March 25th.
Having narrowly disposed of last year’s Champions, Blackrock College, in the previous round, Clongowes would have approached this game with a degree of confidence, and they certainly made a bright start to the proceedings, as William Connors and John Molony made some good inroads towards the Michael’s line.
Indeed, this good pressure would eventually pay off for the Clane school after 11 minutes, when out-half Jonathan Glynn was on hand to convert a close-range penalty from a right angle for the first score of the contest. Michael’s were finding it hard to settle into the game but, having comfortably swept aside Presentation College Bray at the quarter-final stage, they were always likely to find their feet eventually.
It came as no surprise then to see the Ailesbury Road outfit restoring parity to the tie with 17 minutes gone, when flanker Barry Fitzpatrick converted a tricky penalty from the left-hand side. Clongowes had certainly drited out of the game following a very positive start, and even though they did start to regain some possession after Fitzpatrick’s score, there was a feeling that Michael’s were coming into their own as the half moved on.
The Dubliners went extremely close to securing the first try of the afternoon on 25 minutes, only to be held up just short of the Clongowes line, but prop Mulvihill was on hand to break the Clongowes resistence two minutes later, as he powered over to the right of the posts. Fitzpatrick’s subsequent conversion was off target from a difficult position, but Michael’s were now in the ascendancy as half-time beckoned.
Michael’s would suffer a major set-back just before the end of the opening period, however, when right-wing Jack Kelly received a red-card following a dangerous tackle on Clongowes full-back Conor Murray. Though Glynn came up short with the penalty that followed (which meant that they trailed 8-3 at the mid-way stage), Clongowes would certainly have fancied their chances against a 14-man Michael’s in the second period of play.
Clongowes found themselves further behind after 38 minutes when Fitzpatrick kicked over his second penalty with the help of the woodwork.
Clongowes did start to gather more possession in the Michael’s half and eventually force their way back up the field to record a second try through Gavin Croke with 15 minutes remaining.
Fitzpatrick narrowly missed the conversion that followed, but time was beginning to run out for Clongowes in their effort to address the deficit that they were facing into.
They would introduce Jonathan Sullivan for left-wing Michael McDermott with 11 minutes remaining, and he did provide fresh impetus for the north Kildare school as they started to press towards the Michael’s line once more but to no avail.
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: Conor Murray; Donal Mongey, Lorcan Behan, James Lappin, Michael McDermott; Jonathan Glynn, Rowan Osborne; Daniel O’Leary, John Molony, Charles Carroll; Tim Bourke, Daniel O’Mahony; William Grealy, Hugo McDermott, William Connors.
Replacements: Jonathan Sullivan for Lappin (9-12), Sullivan for McDermott (49), Shane O’Carroll for Bourke (61),
ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE: Maximus O’Shea; Jack Kelly, Oisin O’Meara, Max Deegan, Adam Brennan; Robin Cosgrave, Dave Duggan; Rory Mulvihill, Gavin Barrett, Ronan Kelleher; Evan O’Nuallain, Joe Browne; Barry Fitzpatrick, Gavin Croke, James Ryan.
REFEREE: Ed Kenny (Leinster Rugby).