Blackrock College v Terenure College:A FINE lesson in how to overcome this almost great Blackrock side was shown in the semi-finals by a Belvedere team that was expected to suffer the indignity of a heavy thumbing, à la CBC and St Michael's before them .
It was a simple approach, built on a solid defensive alignment with an emphasis on stymieing Blackrock’s unrivalled continuity game. Basically, they were borderline illegal on the ground and the tackler always had a helper to spoil the offload. The supposed champions-elect, a grave insult to a technically-excellent Terenure outfit, trailed 6-5 at the interval only for Andrew Conway to leave his imprint on the second half.
Conway is the real deal, with shades of Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald during their school careers. Different to both, he has that Christian Cullen walk-on-water running style and always seems to beat the first, second and usually third defender, or at least get the pass away. A sixth year, he is eligible to play in the Leinster Schools’ Cup next season but by then should be honing his skills in the Leinster Academy.
Conway’s presence will make life difficult for Terenure outhalf James Thornton and fullback James O’Donoghue; both accomplished territorial kickers, they’ll need to be unerring to deny the Blackrock fullback the option to run from deep as the ELV-inspired ping-pong approach hardly registers in his mindset.
However, to over-hype Conway would be wrong as a wealth of highly-talented players are on display this afternoon at the RDS (tickets will be available on the gate with sales approaching 10,000 last night).
Thornton is Terenure’s jewel but arguably the most important figure for Blackrock is captain Jordi Murphy. A lock in name, Murphy is a natural-born openside scavenger – but so is Richard Liddy so they rotate at scrum time.
For the last two rounds coach Frank Macken has selected five backrowers but Tom Parsons (a hooker for the Leinster under-18s) makes way for secondrow Jack O’Beirne as Blackrock seek to counter the all-powerful Terenure lineout.
Number eight Conor Barry is having a fine cup campaign but tearaway Ciarán Shanahan and his fifth-year backrow colleagues will look to deny Paul O’Shea quick ball at source.
Dudley Phillips will have his work cut out today although both teams like to play rugby.
Terenure build most of their assaults around the twin towers of captain Robert Duke and Cathal Deans. They appear to have the competition’s smartest scrumhalf in Kevin O’Neill, while Thornton (son of coach Des) can launch the powerful midfield duo of Ross Williamson and Dominic O’Dowd when necessary.
But another potential Academy recruit, Brendan Macken (son of coach Frank), is sure to welcome them down his channel, possibly leading to a stalemate only punctuated by a moment of genius, which could come from several quarters.
Conway is the favourite as even a half break usually leads to his flying wingers ruthlessly completing the job.
Terenure should be fearless, having beaten Blackrock last October at home. They also have the benefit of a summer tour in South Africa, where they were moulded into a highly-efficient unit.
They will probably opt for Thornton’s boot to give them a platform but showed against Castleknock (43-5) in round one the expansive game suits them just fine. Maybe they will even go for broke and seek to let their defence nullify Conway as it did Clongowes’ impressive fullback Gerard Mullen.
If that option is taken, however, Blackrock may well cut loose.
That may occur either way. The manner in which they annihilated St Michael’s and CBC was an example of how schools rugby should be played.
That said, the nine-point handicap spread, while feasible, should provide motivation for Terenure, especially considering they have not reached the mountain top since 2003. Blackrock’s last title was the Fitzgerald-inspired 2006 side.
Hard to predict a margin of victory but Blackrock, in full flow, should have too many match winners. A classic awaits. As does a remarkable 66 titles.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: A Conway; L McHugh, B Macken, K Curran, C Rowden; B Kingston, P O’Shea; D Buckley, P Kilcoyne, A Lyons; J O’Beirne, J Murphy (capt); D Fawsitt, R Liddy, C Barry. Replacements: M Duncan, T Parsons, C Walsh, D Heffernan, M Walsh, D Godfrey, C Fitzpatrick.
TERENURE COLLEGE: J O’Donoghue; C Kelly, R Williamson, D O’Dowd, H Moore; J Thornton, K O’Neill; P McCormack, S Reid, R Burdock; R Duke (capt), Cathal Deans; A Clarkin, C Shanahan, E Joyce. Replacements: A Byrne, B Mooney, G O’Doherty, S Doherty, N Casey, M Hyland, G Douglas.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (ARLB).
Odds (Paddy Power): Blackrock 2/9; Terenure 10/3; draw 16/1. Handicap: Blackrock -9 10/11.
Verdict: Blackrock win.
