Blackrock ease past Terenure into Leinster Senior Cup last four

Tom Maher to the fore as Blackrock open up early 12-point platform for comfortable win

Blackrock College 27 Terenure College 7

Blackrock College booked their place in the semi-finals of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup with a comprehensive triumph against Terenure College at Donnybrook on Monday.

A brace of Tom Maher tries had helped Blackrock to open up an early 12-point cushion, and even though Terenure responded with a much-needed Zac Vaughan score, the 68-time winners dismissed any notions of a shock result with an impressive second-half display.

It took ‘Rock just six minutes to break the deadlock in this encounter, as Maher sprinted over the whitewash after he was picked out on the right-flank by Peter O’Reilly.

This score was supplemented by a successful O’Reilly conversion, and following excellent approach work from fullback Tom Roche, Maher dotted down for his second try on 20 minutes.

O’Reilly was off-target from his second bonus kick though and a determined ‘Nure substantially reduced their deficit just before the half-hour mark.

Outhalf Mark Fabian picked out Adam La Grue with a delicate chip towards the left-wing, and after latching onto the centre’s quick off-load, Zac Vaughan dived over the ‘Rock line in clinical fashion.

This was a massive boost for the 10-time champions, and thanks to a superb Fabian bonus strike, only five points (12-7) separated the teams at the break. ‘Rock were still expected to push on when the action resumed, and they restored their 12-point advantage four minutes after the restart.

‘Nure initially held firm under intense pressure, but ‘Rock scrum-half Patrick Patterson ultimately grounded after a spotting a gap to the left of the posts. O’Reilly had missed a penalty at the beginning of the half, but he made no mistake from a close-range conversion on this occasion.

This left their south Dublin counterparts with a mountain to climb, and even though ‘Nure controlled possession for much of the third-quarter, strong work from the ‘Rock defence prevented them from closing the gap.

‘Nure had introduced Bill O’Hara to their front-row in an attempt to work their way back into contention, but when O’Reilly split the posts from a 59th-minute place-kick, the outcome was placed beyond any doubt.

The final-quarter provided ‘Rock with an opportunity to test the quality of their replacements bench, and with his first touch of the game, Mark Phelan completed the scoring with a simple finish from his side’s final attacking move.

Scorers – Blackrock College: T Maher 2 tries, P Patterson M Phelan try each, P O’Reilly 1 pen, 2 cons. Terenure College: Z Vaughan try, M Fabian con.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: T Roche; T Maher, J Moriarty, R Deegan, D Heavey; P O’Reilly, P Patterson; G Coyne, S McLoughlin, T Clarkson; A Murphy, C Ryan; J Fairley, A Francis, C Reilly.

Replacements: G Jones for Deegan (19), S Molony for McLoughlin, M McGagh for Fairley (both 54), M Carroll for Ryan (55), C Delaney for Coyne, A Savage for Clarkson (both 66), R Fahy for Patterson, M Phelan for Maher (both 68).

TERENURE COLLEGE: S Dardis; L Murnaghan, A La Grue, D Henry-Hayes, Z Vaughan; M Fabian, M Eaton; A Tuite, H O’Neill, J Kerins; J Quirke, A Melia; J Cadell, J Cooke, J O’Hare.

Replacements: B O’Hara for Kerins (44), G Morgan for Eaton (59), J Boland for O’Neill, R McInnes for Murnaghan (both 69).

Referee: B McNiece (LRR).