Lawlor puts Newbridge through
Newbridge College 17 St Gerard’s, Bray 11
Newbridge College delivered a strong second-half performance at Templeville Road yesterday to get the better of St Gerard’s, Bray in the opening round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
Trailing 6-5 at the break, the south Kildare men responded with tries from Jordan Nolan and replacement back-row Donough Lawlor to book their spot in the last eight for a second year in succession.
Just two minutes were on the clock when Gerard’s broke the deadlock, Ben Watson measuring a 30-metre place-kick to perfection.
The inside-centre doubled his side’s advantage with another penalty. But Donal Conroy brought Newbridge back into the contest when he sprinted over for an unconverted score.
After the break, flanker Nolan then broke through for a converted try to propel Newbridge into a 12-6 lead.
James Kennedy’s stunning five-pointer kept Gerard’s in it, but Lawlor dotted down to secure Newbridge’s progression.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE – S Cahill (D O’Sullivan 51); D Conroy, M Kiely, T Sheedy (J Shanahan 51), D Higgins; J Hannon, J Doyle; R Scully, G McNelis (C Stopes 51), L Rigney; D Mangan, O Halpin (P O’Flaherty 66); J Nolan (M Moynihan 66), C McGroary (D Lawlor 51), M Cleary.
ST GERARD’S – J O’Donovan (O Newsome 56); C Kenny (J Watson 66) H Begley, B Watson, J Kennedy; S Morris, L O’Reilly (A Baker 42); D Carroll (N Dooley 46), R Byrne (F Happonen 55), J Dempsey (L Concannon 55); M Finn, T O’Connor; T Cahill-Hannigan, C Byrne, R Wilson.
REF – J Carvill (LRR)