Three St Michael's College players lay on their backs in the closing stages of yesterday's second round clash at Donnybrook, the legacy of cramp. It offered a vivid testament to the bravery and character of their performance.
Physically out-muscled up front - with the exception of the lineouts, where second row Barry Holmes pinched several opposing throws - St Michael's doggedly refused to yield; their tackling was relentless and their combativeness forced several turnovers.
It didn't appear that they could sustain this effort indefinitely, and so it transpired, but the threatened try avalanche never materialised.
The St Michael's pack played with great commitment, with hooker Conor Geoghegan, Holmes and number eight Johnny Rockett outstanding. Behind the scrum, centre Ken Kennedy, their try scorer, and full back James Byrne proved effective ball carriers.
In saluting St Michael's performance, one must also recognise the quality of their opponents. Blackrock manufactured some fine scores, principally through the strong running of centre partnership John Ronan and the excellent John Quigley.
But the quality of their overall game was most impressive. The ability to recycle endlessly, guaranteeing continuity, might have yielded a couple of more tries.
The back row of Garrett Noonan, David Price and Colm Treston were particularly impressive, with Noonan a productive carrier as was Treston from the base of the scrum.
The opening 10 minutes of the match provided a homily to Blackrock's recycling ability, but no matter how many half-breaks they conjured they just could not manage a decisive breach.
It wasn't until the 19th minute that Blackrock managed to get on the scoreboard when Treston drove into the St Michael's 22 and, two rucks later, Ronan chose a good angle to find and gap and touch down under the posts. Keelan McGowan converted and added a penalty before his St Michael's counterpart, Nicholas Wiehe, replied with his third kick at goal.
Blackrock quickly increased their advantage after the interval with a try from flanker David Price following a superb break by Quigley. McGowan converted and again added a penalty to push his side 20-3 in front.
Ruairi Kerr was stopped inches from the line as Quigley and Conor Sharpe combined to open up the midfield, but it was the latter who grabbed the next score.
A great drive by Rockett in the Blackrock 22 culminated with Kennedy powering past two tackles to cross the line. Byrne missed the conversion but it hardly mattered as the winners swept downfield following a mistake from the kick-off and Noonan was on hand to force his way over. McGowan's conversion completed the scoring.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 19 mins: Ronan try, McGowan conversion, 7-0; 26: McGowan penalty, 10-0; 40: Wiehe penalty, 10-3. Half-time: 10-3. 43: Price try, McGowan conversion, 17-3; 49: McGowan penalty, 20-3; 63: Kennedy try, 20-8; 68: Noonan try, McGowan conversion, 27-8.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: C Sharpe; R Kerr, J Quigley, J Ronan (capt), J Waldron; K McGowan, D Geraghty; G Fitzgerald, O Busteed, M Whelan; D Gannon, A O'Reilly; G Noonan, C Treston, D Price. Replacements: J Mannion for Busteed (h-t); E Bennett for Fitzgerald (50 mins); A Henry for Kerr (51 mins); D O'Donovan for Noonan (69 mins); C Willis for Geraghty (72 mins).
ST MICHAEL'S COLLEGE: J Byrne; P Coughlan, K Kennedy, G Byron, D Herlihy; N Wiehe, N Kearns; G Maguire, C Geoghegan, J Traynor; B Holmes, B Hurley; P McKillen (capt), J Rockett, S Maguire. Replacements: P Monaghan for G Maguire (53 mins); G Doyle for Wiehe (62 mins).
Referee: D Woods (Leinster).
