Powerful Blackrock claim 51st junior cup
Leinster Schools Junior Cup final
Blackrock College 24
St Mary’s College 14
Daire Walsh
Donnybrook
Blackrock College became the Leinster Schools Junior Cup champions for the 51st time with an emphatic display against St Mary’s College at Donnybrook yesterday afternoon.
Despite coming under pressure at various stages from a game Mary’s outfit, Blackrock secured bragging rights over their south Dublin counterparts.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing as Rock found themselves behind 10 minutes. At the end of a driving maul on the left-hand side, prop Adam Mulvihill touched down in powerful fashion. Full-back Max Svejdar added the extras, but the Rathmines school’s lead proved short lived.
Following excellent combination play between half-backs Thomas Quinn and Michael Moloney, centre Tom Henderson crossed over underneath the posts. A Moloney bonus strike brought Rock back on level terms and this was followed by a second try at the end of the half.
After he was picked out by Quinn off the base of a five-metre scrum, Ben Brownlee claimed a converted score for his side. Their 14-7 interval advantage was extended after the break, when Moloney comfortably slotted a close-range penalty between the posts.
However, at the end of a lengthy attacking spell inside the Blackrock 22, Mary’s second-row Daniel Leane crashed over for a much-needed try. Svejdar subsequently cut the gap to three points, setting up a potentially explosive conclusion to the action.
Rock maintained their composure in the closing moments, though, and Max Patterson finished off a 56th-minute lineout maul to seal their richly deserved triumph.
Scorers for Blackrock College: T Henderson, B Brownlee, M Patterson try each, M Moloney pen, 3 cons.
Scorers for St Mary’s College: A Mulvihill, D Leane try each, M Svejdar 2 cons.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: C O’Brien; H Whelan, T Henderson, B Brownlee, M Nealon; M Moloney, T Quinn; D Walsh, M Byrnes, S Barron, N Golden, R McGuire, A Simpson, J Culhane, S Dempsey.
Replacements: M Patterson for Byrnes (7), S Loscher for Walsh (39), N Brophy for Simpson (52), D Stafford for Moloney (56).
ST MARY’S COLLEGE: M Svedjar; R Moore, R Nolan, B O’Loughlin, S Czerniek; D Gilbourne, S Devereux; C Dillon, M Black, A Mulvihill, D Leane, H Massey, W Sparrow, J Kennedy, A Sloan.
Replacements: A Gibbons for Dillon, M Gallagher for Massey, G O’Moore for Sparrow (all 33), E Feeney for Gilbourne (36).
Referee: C Hogan (LRR).