Belvedere book final spot
Leinster Schools Senior Cup
Belvedere College 17
Clongowes Wood College 12
Daire Walsh
Donnybrook
Defending champions Belvedere College held off a late surge from Clongowes Wood College at Donnybrook yesterday, before booking their place in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup decider on St Patrick’s Day.
Tries in either half by Jordan Wilkes and Oran O’Brien had helped Belvo to open up a 12-point lead (17-5) with 20 minutes remaining, and even though Clongowes produced a late score from scrum-half Joe Murphy, the north Dubliners ultimately maintained their push for back-to-back titles.
Belvo had defeated St Andrew’s College and St Michael’s on their path to the last-four, and even though they let Clongowes off the hook with an early penalty miss, they eventually broke the deadlock in the 11th-minute.
An intelligent reverse pass by fly-half David Hawkshaw allowed winger Wilkes to break over the Clongowes whitewash, and this was followed by a routine conversion by Hugh O’Sullivan.
Clongowes were struggling to make an attacking impact, and they fell further behind to an O’Sullivan three-pointer on 20 minutes.
Yet, just when it was beginning to look ominous for Clongowes, Ben O’Shea spotted a gap through the heart of the Belvo defence to claim an unconverted five-pointer. As a result, the Kildare school were facing into a five-point deficit (10-5), but had nevertheless given themselves a fighting chance against the 11-time winners.
Strong tactical play by O’Shea and Tom Monaghan initially kept the Belvo rearguard on their toes, but the holders reinforced their superiority prior to the 50-minute mark.
They came up short with a series of drives towards the Clongowes line, before powerful lock O’Brien finally grounded under severe pressure. This effort was supplemented by an O’Sullivan bonus-kick from a tricky left-hand angle, placing Belvo in pole position for a third consecutive final appearance.
The confident Great Denmark Street outfit were eager to keep their momentum moving into the final-quarter, and O’Shea produced excellent defensive work to deny Belvo replacement Sam Barry 14 minutes from time.
Clongowes were determined to finish with a final flourish, though, and their persistence finally paid off in the 66th-minute. They developed a powerful maul underneath the posts, and scrum-half Joe Murphy was in the right place to dot down.
An O’Shea two-pointer set up a tense finale, but with skipper Max Kearney leading by example, Belvedere College progressed to face the winner’s of today’s game between Blackrock College and Gonzaga College.
Scorers for Belvedere College: J Wilkes, O O’Brien try each, H O’Sullivan pen, 2 cons.
Scorers for Clongowes Wood College: B O’Shea try, con, J Murphy try.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: H O’Sullivan; M Donnelly, P Maher, C Walsh, J Wilkes; D Hawkshaw, P Cagney; C Molloy, A McDonnell, J Robinson; G Murray, O O’Brien; M Kearney, C Doran, R Byron.
Replacements: S Barry for Wilkes (43), T Walsh for Cagney (63), C Byrne for McDonnell, D Hill for O’Brien (both 66).
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: J Gilheany; R Lemass, J Carroll, B O’Shea, J Maher; T Monaghan, J Murphy; J Timmins, D Sheehan, A Odlum; S Phelan, M Martin; D Jeffares, A Ryan, S McCrohan.
Replacements: T Coghlan for Ryan (7), C Daly for Murphy (35-36), P Celebi for Jeffares (43), C Gallen for Gilheany (57).
Referee: D Blake (LRR).