SCHOOL’S RUGBY: LEINSTER JUNIOR LEAGUE DIVISION 1A FINAL
Newbridge College win first league title in six years
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE…………………………… 22
KILKENNY COLLEGE………………………………. 20
By Daire Walsh
THEY had to hold off a powerful second-half charge from Kilkenny College, but with skipper John Shanahan once again in superb form, Newbridge College claimed the Leinster Schools’ Junior League Division 1A title at Donnybrook last Monday week.
Dave Brew’s side had booked their place in this decider with a 27-19 victory over Gonzaga College prior to the Christmas break, and with a Junior Cup opener against St Mary’s College on the horizon, they were eager to make an impression.
With full-back Donal Conroy carrying the ball effectively, Newbridge were on top of possession in the early stages – and they broke the deadlock with just seven minutes gone on the clock. They were looking to keep their Noreside opponents on the back-foot with a line-out maul, but when scrum-half Cormac King discovered a gap through the heart of their defence, he raced over the whitewash.
A superb conversion by Shanahan helped Newbridge to establish an early seven-point advantage, and although Kilkenny gained a foothold in opposition territory from the restart, the gap between the teams was increased in the 19th-minute.
Newbridge spread the play effectively across the Kilkenny line, and Conroy was in the right place to claim an unconverted five-pointer from a magnificent team move. It was proving to be an extremely encouraging opening period for the College Park school, but credit must go to the Marble County outfit, who once again increased the pressure on the Newbridge defence.
They were initially kept at bay, but in first-half stoppage-time, a series of neat off-loads ended with winger Adam Strong touching down in the right-corner. Fly-half Charlie Tector was wide of the mark from the touchline kick that followed this score, however, and this meant that Newbridge were seven points in front (12-5) during the interval.
Shanahan missed an opportunity to enhance his team’s advantage from a 32nd-minute place-kick, but after picking up possession in a deep position five minutes later, the inspirational inside centre used his blistering pace to cross over on the right-hand side.
Despite coming up short from another tricky bonus kick, Newbridge had re-established their 12-point cushion, and appeared to be odds-on to emerge with the silverware on offer. Yet, Kilkenny stormed back into contention with another try by Strong (via a telling pass from Matthew Hodgins) 11 minutes into the half, and following a productive spell inside the Newbridge ’22’, Tector’s seven-point salvo restored parity to the proceedings.
With just 12 minutes remaining, Kilkenny were now beginning to build some serious momentum. Yet, Newbridge maintained their composure in this crucial juncture, and when the ball broke kindly to Sam Cahill on 51 minutes (following initial good work by left-winger James Gaire), he squeezed through for what felt like a potentially-decisive five-pointer.
Kilkenny’s Tector set-up a nail-biting finale with a successful penalty five minutes from time, but Newbridge ultimately held out for a morale-boosting triumph.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Donal Conroy; David Marshall, Marcus Kiely, John Shanahan, James Gaire; Sam Cahill, Cormac King; Christopher Hart, Geoff McNelis, Peter Leavy; Mark Dennis, Patrick O’Flaherty; Conor McGroary, Donough Lawlor, Jack O’Connell.
Replacements: Jack Sargent, Tiarnan McKnight, Nathan Whitehead, Cian Shanahan, Harry Jago Byrne, Shane Fata, Josh Murphy, Daniel Silke Fetherston.
KILKENNY COLLEGE: Matthew Hodgins; Ross Jacob, Jonathan Crossley, Ryan Strong, Adam Strong; Charlie Tector, Josh Coyle; Craig Chamney, Darragh O’Reilly, Scott Neale; Liam Fennell, Dylan Watchorn; Noah Pimm, Glen Culbert, Chris Reynolds.
Replacements: Raymond Armitage, Adam Holmes, Dylan Whitford, Colm Meenagh, Craig Claxton, Cillian Birney, Dan O’Neill, Finlay Grace.
Referee: Clive Wardrop (Leinster Rugby Referees).