LEINSTER SCHOOLS RUGBY JUNIOR CUP REACTION
Newbridge College juniors bow out at first attempt
By Daire Walsh
NEWBRIDGE College coach Derek Sherlock admitted that a slow start played a significant part in his side’s eventual 20-12 defeat to St Mary’s College in the Leinster Schools Junior Cup last Tuesday (6 February).
Their south Dublin opponents had already posted 10 points by the time Donough Lawlor opened Newbridge’s account, and despite their best efforts on the day, Mary’s remained in the ascendancy throughout.
A series of handling errors also prevented Newbridge from creating sustained momentum, but following a huge effort in the closing stages of the contest, Sherlock believes the squad are capable of bouncing back from 2019 onwards.
“It seemed to take far too many minutes to get into the game. Just the pace and the kind of things we worked on weren’t coming off. At the end we got a bit of momentum, and I thought if we got that try just after Donough scored, I think we would probably would have had the momentum with us and gone on,” Sherlock acknowledged after the game.
“It was just a game of errors, we left a lot of handling errors just behind us. They’re 15, it’s a huge effort by them. It hurts today, but there’s a lot of rugby in those lads. They’ll certainly come back.”
While Lawlor’s opening try on 25 minutes brought the Newbridge challenge to life, Mary’s immediately responded with another five-pointer from John Kennedy. Sherlock felt this was a cheap score to concede so close to the break, but he once again commended the character of his players for the way they reacted to each set-back in the game.
“We actually had the ball [for the Mary’s try] and then we seemed to lose it on the line. I’m not sure how, but it was a cheap one to give back. We’d finally gotten into the game. We’d gotten momentum. It would have been great to kick on from their, so it was a bit of a sucker punch.
“In fairness, we could have gotten another one ourselves before half-time. We did comeback. There’s huge character, in fairness to the lads. They never hung their heads, they kept going all day. Despite the mistakes and the kicks they got, in fairness to them.”
Indeed, it was another Lawlor try 12 minutes from time that kept Newbridge within reach of a place in the competition’s quarter-final draw. The all-action No 8 was one of the game’s stand-out players, with his work at the breakdown drawing special praise from his coach.
“Donough is an exceptional talent at eight. Really good, he just finds those lines. He’s brilliant at the breakdown. The lines he takes in the tackle are superb. He can certainly hold his head high.”
Whereas a first round victory over Mary’s was the catalyst for Newbridge’s march to the last-four 12 months ago, the Rathmines school were able to turn the tables on their opponents on this occasion. Sherlock is adamant that the current crop can go on to become a formidable senior outfit, and will benefit from the harsh experience of last Tuesday’s defeat.
“I said to them, they’re a serious side that could go on and be a serious senior side. It’s a learning curve for them. If they stick together, if they work hard, they can be a really good side to represent Newbridge in a couple of years.
“You’ve got to show up on these days, and you’ve got to play for the 60. You can’t just come in the last 20 or something like that. It has got to be a full game,” Sherlock added.