Late Madigan drop-goal sees Blackrock break Bray hearts
Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final
Blackrock College 19
St Gerard’s College 17
Daire Walsh
Donnybrook
Stephen Madigan came to the rescue for Blackrock College at Donnybrook Stadium yesterday. His superb 62nd-minute drop-goal helped the south Dublin outfit to overcome the stubborn challenge of St Gerard’s College, Bray in the quarter-final of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
The 68-times champions were staring defeat in the face when they trailed their counterparts by 11 points (14-3) at the break. However, with James Tarrant and Madigan leading their charge, they eventually advanced to the last four of the competition.
Gerard’s deservedly took the lead in the 15th-minute. After he picked up possession five metres from the Blackrock line, outside centre Oliver Haydock grounded the ball against the padding for a deadlock-breaking score – which he also converted.
It was expected that this would be a wake-up call for ‘Rock, but they instead fell further behind just shy of the half-hour mark.
After catching his own chipped kick close to the opposition posts, Cormac Foley touched down beyond the whitewash in spectacular style. Their was enough time for their opponents to open their account through a Tarrant penalty at the tail end of the half, and the reliable out-half added a brace of successful place-kicks just after the resumption.
Gerard’s subsequently lost full-back Max O’Reilly to the sin-bin, but in his absence, Haydock’s coolly-converted penalty settled them back into the proceedings. ‘Rock received a new lease of life at the beginning of the final-quarter, when Madigan dotted down in the left corner, and his outstanding touchline conversion set up a grandstand finale.
With the clock moving beyond 60 minutes, ‘Rock established territory deep inside the Gerard’s half. This allowed Madigan to move back into the pocket, and he split the posts from outside the ’22’ to edge his side in front for the very first time.
This was a cruel blow for a Gerard’s team that secured the Leinster Senior League crown. But at the end of a compelling battle, it was Blackrock who prevailed.
Scorers for Blackrock College: S Madigan try, con, d/goal, J Tarrant 3 pens.
Scorers for St Gerard’s College: O Haydock try, 2 cons, pen, C Foley try.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: S Madigan; R Madigan, L Turner, T Maher, H Donnelly; J Tarrant, R Barron; H O’Malley, S Molony, T Clarkson, S O’Brien, J Stapleton, J Dixon, J Loscher, M McGagh.
Replacements: G Jones for R Madigan (16-23), C Duffy for O’Malley, L O’Reilly for Barron (both 43).
ST GERARD’S COLLEGE: M O’Reilly; M Freeley, O Haydock, C Foley, P Opperman; D O’Brien, J O Caoimh; D Carroll, R Byrne, A O’Reilly, D Ahern, D McGovern, C Byrne, E Baxter, R Wilson.
Replacements: T Cahill-Hannigan for Baxter (61), B Watson for O’Brien (63), Baxter for Ahern (68), Ahern for Wilson (69).
Referee: B MacNiece (LRR).