RUGBY: LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP FIRST ROUND
Newbridge College romp to first round victory
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE……………………45
CBC MONKSTOWN…………………………..7
By Daire Walsh
Newbridge College overcame a shaky start against CBC Monkstown at Energia Park last Friday to comfortably seal a spot in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final.
Despite leaking an opening period try to Monkstown flanker Conor Anderson, the south Kildare side bounced back in devastating fashion. Captain Marcus Kiely bagged a try each in half, while James Gaire, David O’Sullivan, Donough Lawlor and Conor Halpenny also crossed over to secure an emphatic 38-point victory.
Coached by former Munster, Leicester Tigers and Naas back Johne Murphy – a past pupil of the college – Newbridge will now face Kilkenny College in the last-eight of the competition. They haven’t reached the penultimate round of the Senior Cup since 2015 and are expected to encounter a stern resistance from the Noresiders.
Following their 54-5 league success over Monkstown last October, Newbridge were firm favourites to progress in Donnybrook. Though they were close to matching that result, a convincing win had seemed unlikely during the early exchanges.
Newbridge suffered an early blow when their No 8, Lawlor, was sent to the sin-bin on eight minutes. Just before he returned to the fray, Monkstown full-back James Brindley broke powerfully into the ’22’ and released Anderson for a simple finish over the line.
Eoin Quinn added the bonuses to give the Metropolitan outfit a strong platform on the first-quarter mark. Although Newbridge were able to establish attacking territory as the action wore on, the Monkstown were proving a tough nut to crack.
Their plucky counterparts looked set to extend their lead on the half-hour, only for Quinn’s penalty to drift past the target. Following this let-off, Newbridge got themselves back in the hunt.
An extended spell of pressure inside first-half stoppage-time offered the perfect platform for Kiely to burst through a gap for College’s opening score of the contest. Samuel Prendergast split the uprights off the resulting conversion to leave the sides on level terms (7-7) at the break.
Boosted by this surge, Newbridge emerged from the dressing rooms with all guns blazing. The dependable Prendergast struck a brace of place-kicks into the Old Wesley end – providing significant daylight on the scoreboard in the process.
While Monkstown remained in the reckoning at this point, Newbridge were beginning to play with greater confidence. Via an audacious Donal Conroy offload, winger Gaire touched down in the right-corner.
Prendergast’s bonus strike was wide of the mark on this occasion, but that only offered a temporary relief to an increasingly under siege Monkstown. After Prendergast enhanced his personal tally with another three-pointer, O’Sullivan got in on the scoring act.
Having been added to a reshuffled back line in the 39th-minute, O’Sullivan got on the end of a swift counter attack for a smooth finish on the left-flank. This left all of 19 points (26-7) between the teams and effectively placed the outcome beyond doubt.
Murphy unloaded his replacements bench in the final-quarter, ensuring everyone in the match day 23 was given a fair crack at the whip. Kiely got through for his second try of the game with just six minutes remaining on the clock and this heralded a late blitz from the two-time champions.
The hard-working Lawlor claimed his try at the end of a breakaway move and a mere five minutes after his introduction, Conor Halpenny found space inside the Monkstown cover to dot down in clinical style.
It was a satisfying day all round for this Newbridge team and their travelling supporters, who will no doubt be returning in numbers to the same venue for that forthcoming clash against Kilkenny.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Sam Cahill; James Gaire, Marcus Kiely, Shane Fata, Donal Conroy; Samuel Prendergast, Cormac King; Peter Leavy, Fintan O’Malley, Benjamin Watson; Patrick O’Flaherty, Diarmuid Mangan; Mark Dennis, Conor McGroary, Donough Lawlor.
Replacements: David O’Sullivan for Fata, Geoff McNelis for O’Malley, Zia Ahmed for Watson (all 39), John Shanahan for Cahill, Luke Dunleavy for Dennis (both 58), Luca Borgonova for Leavy (61), Conor Halpenny for King, Harry Masterson for O’Flaherty (both 65).
CBC MONKSTOWN: James Brindley; Mark Newman, Robbie Browne, Sean Cronin, James Newman; Eoin Quinn, Ewan Watson; Calum McCoy, Seamus Flannery, Conor Eivers; Jamie Balmaine, Hugh Ross; Conor Anderson, Sam Montayne, Liam Forster.
Replacements: Michael Donnelly for Balmaine (42), Peter Duffy for J Newman (46), Harry O’Neill for Anderson (55), James O’Donoghue for Quinn, Jack Reynolds for Montayne (both 58), Sam Cassidy for Browne (63), Alex Lee for M Newman, Sean Comiskey for McCoy (both 68).
Referee: Glenn Sheridan (Leinster Rugby Referees).