The Leinster Schools Senior Cup Thread
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- Shane Jennings
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The Leinster Schools Senior Cup Thread
The Draw:
Round 1 (3pm)
A: St. Gerard’s School v St. Mary’s College (Donnybrook, 31st January)
B: Castleknock College v Qualifier 4 (Donnybrook, 1st February)
C: Presentation College Bray v St. Michael’s College (Donnybrook, 30th January)
D: Clongowes Wood College v Qualifier 2 (Templeville Road, 31st January)
E: Gonzaga College v Qualifier 3 (Lakelands, 30th January)
F: Qualifier 1 v Belvedere College SJ (Donnybrook, 2nd February)
G: Blackrock College v Terenure College (Donnybrook, 29th January)
H: Cistercian College Roscrea v Kilkenny College (Co. Carlow, 30th January)
Round 2 (3.30pm)
I: A v B (Donnybrook, 19th February)
J: C v D (Donnybrook, 20th February)
K: E v F (Donnybrook, 21st February)
L: G v H (Donnybrook, 22nd February)
Semi Final (4.15pm)
M: I v J (Lansdowne Road, 2nd March)
N: K v L (Lansdowne Road, 3rd March
Final (3.30pm)
Lansdowne Road, 17th March
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- Shane Jennings
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Blackrock expected to follow the script this time
Gavin Cummiskey
Leinster Senior Cup Preview: Herculean performances, injuries, natural disasters and lightning strikes aside, Blackrock College look well primed to lift their 65th title.
That's what everyone said last year until Belvedere College produced a tactically masterful display in the final.
Hard nuts are these Belvo' boys - making the expected rehash of last year's decider at the semi-final stage on March 3rd the most keenly anticipated of meetings. The outstanding players in last season's competition should also be renewing acquaintances that day.
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College) is the most exciting running back the competition has witnessed since Robert Kearney. Like Kearney, Fitzgerald is expected to have a bright future in the professional game and already draws obvious comparisons to the current Irish captain - although, that is the lot of every Blackrock player who shines at centre.
One esteemed member of the Leinster Branch fraternity described Belvedere prop Cian Healy as the most devastating ball carrying forward ever seen at schoolboy level. That's some compliment considering Victor Costello and Des Dillon have done some serious damage in their time. He's built like a prop but carries like a number eight. Forewarned doesn't necessarily mean forearmed.
So Belvo or Rock? Guess again. Simply because St Michael's, St Mary's or Clongowes from the top half will be waiting in the final. As the 2000 decider in particular proved, anything could happen on St Patrick's Day. That was when runaway favourites Terenure were caught cold by a Clongowes team with barely any representative players. So, it can happen.
This fate is unlikely to befall Blackrock in tomorrow's opener against Terenure, although Fitzgerald has been ruled out with a broken collarbone, sustained before Christmas, and is eyeing the quarter-finals on February 22nd for a return. At least Russian try machine Vasya Artemiev has recovered to line out at wing. Also, Terenure are not going to simply roll over.
Castleknock, led by returning Irish schools outhalf Brian Collins, have the ability to cause an upset as they aim to circumnavigate CBC Monkstown (LM!) before meeting St Mary's/St Gerard's on February 19th. Whoever prevails will face the winners of Clongowes and St Michael's on Thursday March 2nd at Lansdowne Road.
St Michael's can make the breakthrough many believed they should have made last year and duly progress to the final. Blackrock sunk them with a first-half blitz in 2005 but they should fend off the relatively unknown Clongowes with talent like outhalf Andrew Cummiskey and a pack led by Tyrone McKillen.
If all those combinations and permutations come to pass, and that is unlikely, Blackrock will meet their feeder school until the 1970s in a straight fight for the spoils. Blackrock RFC player-coach Dave Dillon is part of the St Michael's set-up, while the school's Director of Rugby Greg McWilliams coaches the Blackrock under-20s. They have been to the final twice before, 1988 and 1991, losing both times to Clongowes. Parity with the elite cannot be claimed until they break their duck.
As Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) said to Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) in the film Any Given Sunday when she tried to reminisce about her father and Tony winning a championship ring: "You got to win one firstjust win one."
Blackrock's David O'Connor to lift the Cup.
Gavin Cummiskey
Leinster Senior Cup Preview: Herculean performances, injuries, natural disasters and lightning strikes aside, Blackrock College look well primed to lift their 65th title.
That's what everyone said last year until Belvedere College produced a tactically masterful display in the final.
Hard nuts are these Belvo' boys - making the expected rehash of last year's decider at the semi-final stage on March 3rd the most keenly anticipated of meetings. The outstanding players in last season's competition should also be renewing acquaintances that day.
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College) is the most exciting running back the competition has witnessed since Robert Kearney. Like Kearney, Fitzgerald is expected to have a bright future in the professional game and already draws obvious comparisons to the current Irish captain - although, that is the lot of every Blackrock player who shines at centre.
One esteemed member of the Leinster Branch fraternity described Belvedere prop Cian Healy as the most devastating ball carrying forward ever seen at schoolboy level. That's some compliment considering Victor Costello and Des Dillon have done some serious damage in their time. He's built like a prop but carries like a number eight. Forewarned doesn't necessarily mean forearmed.
So Belvo or Rock? Guess again. Simply because St Michael's, St Mary's or Clongowes from the top half will be waiting in the final. As the 2000 decider in particular proved, anything could happen on St Patrick's Day. That was when runaway favourites Terenure were caught cold by a Clongowes team with barely any representative players. So, it can happen.
This fate is unlikely to befall Blackrock in tomorrow's opener against Terenure, although Fitzgerald has been ruled out with a broken collarbone, sustained before Christmas, and is eyeing the quarter-finals on February 22nd for a return. At least Russian try machine Vasya Artemiev has recovered to line out at wing. Also, Terenure are not going to simply roll over.
Castleknock, led by returning Irish schools outhalf Brian Collins, have the ability to cause an upset as they aim to circumnavigate CBC Monkstown (LM!) before meeting St Mary's/St Gerard's on February 19th. Whoever prevails will face the winners of Clongowes and St Michael's on Thursday March 2nd at Lansdowne Road.
St Michael's can make the breakthrough many believed they should have made last year and duly progress to the final. Blackrock sunk them with a first-half blitz in 2005 but they should fend off the relatively unknown Clongowes with talent like outhalf Andrew Cummiskey and a pack led by Tyrone McKillen.
If all those combinations and permutations come to pass, and that is unlikely, Blackrock will meet their feeder school until the 1970s in a straight fight for the spoils. Blackrock RFC player-coach Dave Dillon is part of the St Michael's set-up, while the school's Director of Rugby Greg McWilliams coaches the Blackrock under-20s. They have been to the final twice before, 1988 and 1991, losing both times to Clongowes. Parity with the elite cannot be claimed until they break their duck.
As Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) said to Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) in the film Any Given Sunday when she tried to reminisce about her father and Tony winning a championship ring: "You got to win one firstjust win one."
Blackrock's David O'Connor to lift the Cup.
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- Shane Jennings
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- Shane Jennings
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- Shane Jennings
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- Shane Jennings
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Cracking game between Michaels and Pres yesterday. Good atmosphere at the Brook and both teams played good enterprising rugby - a few too many knock ons but I'd put that down to 1st round nerves. Michaels backs were markably bigger than their Pres counterparts but it was still a good contest. The standout players for me were Pres's backrow Jason Harris-Wright and Michael's left winger - Patrick Brophy (bit fond of himself though!). Pres Out Half Roddy Carroll is a skillfull player and a lot tougher than he looks. Good game and well done to both teams.epaddy wrote:At Donnybrook
St. Michael's College 33 v 19 Presentation College, Bray
Michaels will probably face Clongowes in the next round. They've already beaten Clongowes this season but Clongowes notioriously only peak during the cup. The rumour doing the terraces was that it's the worst Clongowes cup team in 20 years - don't believe the hype.
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Howareya Statto -
The second half was much better than the first - although the hip flask of Hennessy was really kicking in by then.
The Pres team had fantastic handling skills - their first try was really classy as well. However there was a clear knock-on in the run up to their second try, but what the hell, it made a game of it and didn't affect the outcome in the end. The virtuoso try by Michaels 11 Patrick Brophy really killed Pres off but I'm not sure why our guys seem physically smaller these days - in Pres there was never an emphasis on getting the boys to bulk up, maybe we need to look at that.
The second half was much better than the first - although the hip flask of Hennessy was really kicking in by then.
The Pres team had fantastic handling skills - their first try was really classy as well. However there was a clear knock-on in the run up to their second try, but what the hell, it made a game of it and didn't affect the outcome in the end. The virtuoso try by Michaels 11 Patrick Brophy really killed Pres off but I'm not sure why our guys seem physically smaller these days - in Pres there was never an emphasis on getting the boys to bulk up, maybe we need to look at that.
Did you watch the replay? It's just that to me that was an excellent bit of play and reffing. Didn't look like a knock-on at all. Pres guy went to pick it, realised he'd knock on so didn't touch it, ball bounced off his shins and then he picked it up.However there was a clear knock-on in the run up to their second try
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- Shane Jennings
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Ah! Fair enough, only had one eye on the replay in Kiely's afterwards. Looked like a knock on at the ground, and the Michaels supporters were going nuts! Glad to hear that it wasn't!CM wrote:Did you watch the replay? It's just that to me that was an excellent bit of play and reffing. Didn't look like a knock-on at all. Pres guy went to pick it, realised he'd knock on so didn't touch it, ball bounced off his shins and then he picked it up.However there was a clear knock-on in the run up to their second try
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From the Irish Times by Gavin Cummiskey
St Michael's pass an uneasy test
Gavin Cummiskey at Donnybrook
Leinster Schools' Senior Cup / St Michael's 33 Pres Bray 19: This could so easily have gone horribly wrong for St Michael's College. Although leading throughout the seven-try affair, there were moments yesterday when the result hinged on a knife edge.
In the end they saw-off an abrasive, hard-working Presentation College, Bray, due to the extra facets of quality in their backline.
It must be pointed out the majority of breaks went with the Dublin 4 school. In particular, the loss of fullback Seán Quinn to injury after 31 minutes denied Pres an effective counter-attacking tool. It also encouraged St Michael's to continue employing a kicking game.
Still, they deserved the victory having led 10-0, 16-7 and 23-12 at different periods, but the sheer persistence of a Pres pack led by ferocious backrowers Jason Harris-Wright and John Downey denied them a comfortable afternoon.
Nine minutes in, the St Michael's pressure game had yielded two tries in either corner. The first came after Rajan Reilly blocked an attempted clearance from outhalf Roddy Carroll. The ball bounced kindly for the openside and St Michael's were away.
Three minutes later a Michael Twomey break resulted in Conor Cleary sending outhalf Andrew Cummiskey clear. Right wing Noel Reid missed two difficult conversions.
From the restart, Pres made it clear they were not going to roll over. After wrestling possession Leon Browne and Richie Mooney were both held up but before St Michael's could reorganise their defence a switch in play to the far wing saw Quinn put Ken Doherty in for the try. Browne added a difficult conversion.
Cummiskey did widen the deficit with a clever drop goal, when no other attacking opportunity presented itself, and Reid also found his range with a straight forward penalty to give St Michael's a 16-7 interval lead.
Many of this Pres side have the experience of reaching the junior final in 2004 so they had no intention of caving in. Three minutes into the second half it was a four-point game when a Harris-Wright pass saw Downey carry two defenders over the line.
St Michael's remained in the comfort zone thanks to scrumhalf Robert Shanley's clever blindside pass to Patrick Brophy. The winger still had to beat replacement fullback Peter Walsh but a classy sidestep took care of that. A Reid conversion made it 23-12.
However, Carroll directed Pres downfield with a Walsh try atoning for the missed tackle. Again, it was Harris-Wright, while drawing three tacklers, who delivered the perfect offload.
The endeavour of chasing the early 10-point deficit eventually proved too much for the Wicklow school as Twomey gathered a midfield chip to cross for the seventh try of the afternoon. Reid converted and added a late penalty after Cummiskey was high tackled.
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: R Reilly try, 5-0; 9 mins: A Cummiskey try, 10-0; 11 mins: K Doherty try, 10-5; L Browne conv, 10-7; 16 mins: A Cummiskey drp gl, 13-7; 26 mins: N Reid pen, 16-7. Half-time. 38 mins: J Downey try, 16-12; 44 mins: P Brophy try, 21-12; N Reid conv, 23-12; 51 mins: P Walsh try, 23-17; R Carroll conv, 23-19; 63 mins: M Twomey try, 28-19; N Reid conv, 30-19; 75 mins A Reid pen, 33-19.
ST MICHAEL'S COLLEGE: M Twomey; N Reid, C Cleary, N Reynolds, P Brophy; A Cummiskey, R Shanley; I Leonard, P Hynes, A Pollard; A Byrne, K McKenna; P Mallon, R Reilly, T McKillen (capt). Replacements: M Kelly for I Leonard (53 mins).
PRESENTATION COLLEGE, BRAY: S Quinn; T Corr, L Browne, K Grace, K Doherty; R Carroll, P Barry; R Mooney, R O'Sullivan, B Carlin; R Breslin, M Noone; J Downey, A Lewis (capt), J Harris-Wright. Replacements: P Walsh for S Quinn (inj, 31 mins), P Cunningham for P Walsh (inj, 53 mins).
Referee: D Keane (ARLB).
St Michael's pass an uneasy test
Gavin Cummiskey at Donnybrook
Leinster Schools' Senior Cup / St Michael's 33 Pres Bray 19: This could so easily have gone horribly wrong for St Michael's College. Although leading throughout the seven-try affair, there were moments yesterday when the result hinged on a knife edge.
In the end they saw-off an abrasive, hard-working Presentation College, Bray, due to the extra facets of quality in their backline.
It must be pointed out the majority of breaks went with the Dublin 4 school. In particular, the loss of fullback Seán Quinn to injury after 31 minutes denied Pres an effective counter-attacking tool. It also encouraged St Michael's to continue employing a kicking game.
Still, they deserved the victory having led 10-0, 16-7 and 23-12 at different periods, but the sheer persistence of a Pres pack led by ferocious backrowers Jason Harris-Wright and John Downey denied them a comfortable afternoon.
Nine minutes in, the St Michael's pressure game had yielded two tries in either corner. The first came after Rajan Reilly blocked an attempted clearance from outhalf Roddy Carroll. The ball bounced kindly for the openside and St Michael's were away.
Three minutes later a Michael Twomey break resulted in Conor Cleary sending outhalf Andrew Cummiskey clear. Right wing Noel Reid missed two difficult conversions.
From the restart, Pres made it clear they were not going to roll over. After wrestling possession Leon Browne and Richie Mooney were both held up but before St Michael's could reorganise their defence a switch in play to the far wing saw Quinn put Ken Doherty in for the try. Browne added a difficult conversion.
Cummiskey did widen the deficit with a clever drop goal, when no other attacking opportunity presented itself, and Reid also found his range with a straight forward penalty to give St Michael's a 16-7 interval lead.
Many of this Pres side have the experience of reaching the junior final in 2004 so they had no intention of caving in. Three minutes into the second half it was a four-point game when a Harris-Wright pass saw Downey carry two defenders over the line.
St Michael's remained in the comfort zone thanks to scrumhalf Robert Shanley's clever blindside pass to Patrick Brophy. The winger still had to beat replacement fullback Peter Walsh but a classy sidestep took care of that. A Reid conversion made it 23-12.
However, Carroll directed Pres downfield with a Walsh try atoning for the missed tackle. Again, it was Harris-Wright, while drawing three tacklers, who delivered the perfect offload.
The endeavour of chasing the early 10-point deficit eventually proved too much for the Wicklow school as Twomey gathered a midfield chip to cross for the seventh try of the afternoon. Reid converted and added a late penalty after Cummiskey was high tackled.
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: R Reilly try, 5-0; 9 mins: A Cummiskey try, 10-0; 11 mins: K Doherty try, 10-5; L Browne conv, 10-7; 16 mins: A Cummiskey drp gl, 13-7; 26 mins: N Reid pen, 16-7. Half-time. 38 mins: J Downey try, 16-12; 44 mins: P Brophy try, 21-12; N Reid conv, 23-12; 51 mins: P Walsh try, 23-17; R Carroll conv, 23-19; 63 mins: M Twomey try, 28-19; N Reid conv, 30-19; 75 mins A Reid pen, 33-19.
ST MICHAEL'S COLLEGE: M Twomey; N Reid, C Cleary, N Reynolds, P Brophy; A Cummiskey, R Shanley; I Leonard, P Hynes, A Pollard; A Byrne, K McKenna; P Mallon, R Reilly, T McKillen (capt). Replacements: M Kelly for I Leonard (53 mins).
PRESENTATION COLLEGE, BRAY: S Quinn; T Corr, L Browne, K Grace, K Doherty; R Carroll, P Barry; R Mooney, R O'Sullivan, B Carlin; R Breslin, M Noone; J Downey, A Lewis (capt), J Harris-Wright. Replacements: P Walsh for S Quinn (inj, 31 mins), P Cunningham for P Walsh (inj, 53 mins).
Referee: D Keane (ARLB).
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St. Gerard's 22 St. Mary's College 34
Bad week for Bray schools in the Senior Cup.
Mary's eventually won after a tough battle, scoring four tries through Ray Crotty, Jack Buggy, Padraig Lalor and Eamon Moran. Fly half Neil Cowhey put in a man-of-the-match performance as he controlled broken play, converted all four tries and added two penalties.
Mary's face the winners of today's tie between Castleknock College and CBC Monkstown in the next round.
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Clongowes hold out
Clongowes Wood - 15 King's Hospital Clongowes - 9: Wood were forced to fight all the way in the face of very stiff resistance before claiming a Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final place. The Co Kildare school came through thanks to their ability to conjure up tries and some excellent defending by their backs.
King's Hospital made most of the running in the opening period but promising early runs by Harry Murphy and Ciarán Donaghy were repelled by the Clongowes defence.
Clongowes's centre Kevin McKeown came close to crossing the King's Hospital line at the end of a counter attack but the Dublin side opened the scoring when Luke Feighery converted a penalty some 30 metres from the target in the 23rd minute.
Clongowes opened their account with a try by Eamon Mahoney five minutes later. Prop Ben Barclay and McKeown were involved in the build-up and Mahoney got his hand to the ball first beneath a pile of bodies after it went over the line.
King's Hospital began the second half trailing by 5-3 but they had reason to be grateful for Feighery's accurate kicking when he restored their lead five minutes after the restart with another penalty.
They were on the back foot soon afterwards, however, when Barclay scored a pushover try after a move initiated by Kevin Mahony.
Late in the game McKeown touched down for a fine individual try after a run up the left wing.
Feighery converted a third penalty before the end but Clongowes held out for a fully merited win.
CLONGOWES WOOD: D Kearney; K Mahony, K McKeown, T Fletcher, A Dillon; J Nagle, C McGann; C Spelman, J Davison, B Barclay; P Fannon, E Mahoney; J Lynch, B O'Keeffe, A Ray. Replacements: MJ McDonagh for Mahoney, T Connelly for O'Keeffe, M Kavanagh for Dawson.
KING'S HOSPITAL: H Murphy; J Pearson, T Spiers, C Donaghy, C Coyle; L Feighery, S Murphy; J Brady, A Darragh, F Ross; B White, R Evan; R Wallace, J Marron, K Young. Replacements: B Kontour for Spiers, P Davis for Coyle, D Russell for Evan.
Clongowes Wood - 15 King's Hospital Clongowes - 9: Wood were forced to fight all the way in the face of very stiff resistance before claiming a Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final place. The Co Kildare school came through thanks to their ability to conjure up tries and some excellent defending by their backs.
King's Hospital made most of the running in the opening period but promising early runs by Harry Murphy and Ciarán Donaghy were repelled by the Clongowes defence.
Clongowes's centre Kevin McKeown came close to crossing the King's Hospital line at the end of a counter attack but the Dublin side opened the scoring when Luke Feighery converted a penalty some 30 metres from the target in the 23rd minute.
Clongowes opened their account with a try by Eamon Mahoney five minutes later. Prop Ben Barclay and McKeown were involved in the build-up and Mahoney got his hand to the ball first beneath a pile of bodies after it went over the line.
King's Hospital began the second half trailing by 5-3 but they had reason to be grateful for Feighery's accurate kicking when he restored their lead five minutes after the restart with another penalty.
They were on the back foot soon afterwards, however, when Barclay scored a pushover try after a move initiated by Kevin Mahony.
Late in the game McKeown touched down for a fine individual try after a run up the left wing.
Feighery converted a third penalty before the end but Clongowes held out for a fully merited win.
CLONGOWES WOOD: D Kearney; K Mahony, K McKeown, T Fletcher, A Dillon; J Nagle, C McGann; C Spelman, J Davison, B Barclay; P Fannon, E Mahoney; J Lynch, B O'Keeffe, A Ray. Replacements: MJ McDonagh for Mahoney, T Connelly for O'Keeffe, M Kavanagh for Dawson.
KING'S HOSPITAL: H Murphy; J Pearson, T Spiers, C Donaghy, C Coyle; L Feighery, S Murphy; J Brady, A Darragh, F Ross; B White, R Evan; R Wallace, J Marron, K Young. Replacements: B Kontour for Spiers, P Davis for Coyle, D Russell for Evan.
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A: St. Gerard’s School v St. Mary’s College (Donnybrook, 31st January) : St.Mary's
B: Castleknock College v CBC Monkstown [Qualifier 4] (Donnybrook, 1st February) : Castleknock
C: Presentation College Bray v St. Michael’s College (Donnybrook, 30th January) : Michaels
D: Clongowes Wood College v Kings Hos [Qualifier 2] (Templeville Road, 31st January) : Clongowes
E: Gonzaga College v Wesley [Qualifier 3] (Lakelands, 30th January) : Gonzaga
F: Qualifier 1 v Belvedere College SJ (Donnybrook, 2nd February) : Gonna be Belvo
G: Blackrock College v Terenure College (Donnybrook, 29th January) : Rock
H: Cistercian College Roscrea v Kilkenny College (Co. Carlow, 30th January) : Anyone know who won this?
B: Castleknock College v CBC Monkstown [Qualifier 4] (Donnybrook, 1st February) : Castleknock
C: Presentation College Bray v St. Michael’s College (Donnybrook, 30th January) : Michaels
D: Clongowes Wood College v Kings Hos [Qualifier 2] (Templeville Road, 31st January) : Clongowes
E: Gonzaga College v Wesley [Qualifier 3] (Lakelands, 30th January) : Gonzaga
F: Qualifier 1 v Belvedere College SJ (Donnybrook, 2nd February) : Gonna be Belvo
G: Blackrock College v Terenure College (Donnybrook, 29th January) : Rock
H: Cistercian College Roscrea v Kilkenny College (Co. Carlow, 30th January) : Anyone know who won this?