POST-MATCH REACTION: LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP QUARTER-FINAL – NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE COACH NIALL SMULLEN
By Daire Walsh
Newbridge College head coach Niall Smullen identified a ’14 point swing’ either side of the interval as a key factor in his side’s Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final defeat to Belvedere College at Donnybrook last Wednesday (February 13).
Trailing by seven points (14-7) in the latter of the opening period, Newbridge subsequently leaked a third try to the north Dubliners. They responded positively on the resumption with a spell of sustained attacking pressure, but a dramatic comeback never quite materialised.
“We always knew we were going to be under pressure. They’re a good team. We got off to a good start. Combination of error, ill-discipline and maybe some decisions that went against us that shouldn’t have gone against us, gave Belvo the momentum. Once you give a team as good as Belvedere momentum, it’s hard to get it back,” Smullen acknowledged.
“21-7 at half-time probably is not a reflection of how we played in the first half. Then the first 10, 15 minutes of the second half we dominate and don’t come away with a score. That’s a 14 point swing there, conceding at the end of the first half and not scoring at the start of the second half.
“There’s things we could have done ourselves to make it better, but also a lot that went against us. You don’t want to point fingers, but let’s just say decisions could have gone the other way. Sometimes they go for you, sometimes they go against you. I think a lot of them went against us today.”
Courtesy of five points apiece from place-kick specialist Justin Leonard and Conor Kelly, their Great Denmark Street counterparts eventually eased towards a 31-7 triumph. Nevertheless, Smullen praised his charges for their perseverance and believes some of the errors in the closing moments were down to Newbridge trying to salvage something out of the contest.
“The mistakes they made in the last 10 minutes were because they were chasing the game. If you weren’t chasing the game, you wouldn’t make those mistakes. You don’t even look at those mistakes, it’s not an issue. The half-time score is a big one and as I said, I lot of those calls that should have gone our way didn’t go our way.”
While a number of the squad will be moving into the world of adult rugby, several players in the set-up will return for next year’s campaign. Losing to Belvo for a second successive year will be difficult to process, but Smullen and the class of 2020 will seek to close the gap that currently exists between the two schools.
“There’ll be a good few back next year. We’ve a good squad of players coming through, so hopefully we’ll get back to this stage again next year and have a chance to go one further maybe. We get better every year, but so do Belvo. It’s about closing that gap, getting a little bit better than them. We’ll just keep working, keep trying,” Smullen added.