CISTERCIAN COLLEGE ROSCREA DEFEAT WESLEY COLLEGE TO ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND
Cistercian College Roscrea advanced to the last-eight of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Senior Schools Cup after overcoming a stern challenge from Wesley College at Castle Avenue today.
With three final appearances in this decade alone, Roscrea were always expected to progress from this opening round clash. However, with just 25 minutes remaining in the contest, they were facing into a two-point deficit (12-10).
Roscrea enjoyed a dream start at the home of Clontarf FC. The Mount St Joseph Abbey outfit gained possession inside the Wesley half straight from the kick-off, and quickly spread the ball into a wide area. After lock David Maher picked him out with a neat pass, inside centre Diarmuid Kilgallon sprinted over the whitewash in fine style. Incredibly, there was just 23 seconds gone on the clock when Kilgallon touched down. His five-pointer was supplemented by a conversion from Billy Foley (whose brother Tim was a key member of the winning senior team of 2015), as Roscrea looked set to take firm control of the proceedings.
Some handling errors allowed Wesley to establish territory as the half developed, though, and Roscrea suffered a temporary set-back in the 18th-minute. Following a high-tackle on Karl O’Connor, Cormac Izuchukwu was sent to the sin-bin.
Wesley were aiming to take advantage of their numerical supremacy and their challenge finally came to life with the help of fly-half Gary Hawe. He picked up possession in a deep position on the right-hand side, before skipping past the retreating Roscrea defence to touch down in the far corner.
The resulting Jack Atkinson bonus strike drifted away from the target, but now that they were up and running, Wesley had cause for optimism. Although they were struggling to build on their early promise, there was no reason for Roscrea to panic.
A routine Foley penalty settled their nerves, and they led 10-5 at the break. They were expected to push on from this point, but just six minutes after the restart, their south Dublin counterparts moved into the ascendancy.
A beautiful chipped kick by Hawe was touched down by Luke Fitzpatrick in the nick of time. Atkinson’s excellent two-pointer threw down the gauntlet to their opponents – who were knocked out by Gonzaga College in last year’s quarter-final.
Tighthead prop Michael Milne (a survivor from their 2016 final loss to Belvedere) superbly guided Roscrea through a sticky spell however, and he released Corcoran for an unconverted finish on 45 minutes. A crunching tackle on Jamie Vard by Darragh Tynan also lifted the Roscrea crowd – who urged their team on during the final-quarter.
The Roscrea boys were beginning to dominate possession once again and they effectively placed the outcome beyond doubt eight minutes from the end. Crowley raced over the Wesley line after picking up a loose ball inside the 22’.
Foley’s second conversion of the day stretched their cushion to 10 points (22-12) – leaving Wesley with too much of a mountain to climb in the process. The Ballinteer school persevered with their challenge, though, as Peter Costello dotted down from a quick penalty move deep into second-half stoppage-time.
Atkinson added the extras to cut the gap to three points, but it was Roscrea who ultimately prevailed at the end of an absorbing affair. Leaving the final score, Cistercian College Roscrea 22 Wesley College 19.
Cistercian College Roscrea will now go on face St Mary’s College in the second round of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Senior Schools Cup.
At Castle Avenue; Cistercian College Roscrea 22 (Diarmuid Kilgallon, James Corcoran, Liam Crowley try each, Billy Foley, pen, 2 cons); Wesley College 19 (Gary Hawe, Luke Fitzpatrick, Peter Costello try each, Jack Atkinson 2 cons).
Cistercian College Roscrea: Darragh Tynan; Jay Culleton, Cormac Izuchukwu, Diarmaid Kilgallon, Evan Browne; Billy Foley, Jack Matthews; Josh Wycherley, Jerry Cahir, Michael Milne; Lucas Culliton, David Maher; James Corcoran, Gavin Meagher, Neal Moylett.
Replacements: Dan Power for Maher, 48-65 mins; Liam Crowley for Matthews, 52 mins; Tadhg Bird for Kilgallon, Ryan Lomas for Corcoran, both 58 mins; Caoimhghin Bradshaw for Cahir, 66 mins.
Wesley College: Ian Sheridan; Scott Doyle, Luke Fitzpatrick, James McElroy, Karl O’Connor; Gary Hawe, Jack Atkinson; Robbie Whitehead, Jamie Kavanagh, Conor Skerrit; Jack Brownwell, Fergus Noonan; Daniel Dooley, Ross Chandler, Sam Illo.
Replacements: Harry Fanning for O’Connor, 19 mins; Jamie Vard for Sheridan, half-time; Peter Costello for Skerrit, Richie Johnson for Dooley, both 63 mins.