Castleknock College finished strongly at Donnybrook yesterday to win an exciting Leinster Schools senior league final. Down 7-0 at the interval, they pulled away in the final seven minutes as Kilkenny faded after a bright start.

Kilkenny posed all sorts of problems for their opponents in the opening period, with Castleknock struggling to make any sort of impact. They went ahead after six minutes when a reverse pass from centre Colin Peavoy saw right wing Rory Deverell come in at pace to score under the posts.

Outhalf Greg Jacob converted and they then continued to keep Castleknock at bay with some terrific tackles. But the Dublin side turned things around in the 63rd minute when number eight Simon Crawford converted his own try following good work by Tim Rhodes Vivour.

A drop goal and two subsequent penalties from Crawford saw Castleknock increase their lead before their captain and centre Colm Manning sealed victory with a touchdown in the last minute.

Castleknock College: H Morrin O'Rourke; D Stone, C Manning (capt), P Daly, C Mescal; G Stafford, A Barry; C Byrne, J Reid, J Challenor, S O'Reilly, K O'Neill, P Duffy, K Collins, S Crawford. Replacements: J Louth for Challenor, T Rhodes Vivour for Stone (both half-time).

Kilkenny College: S Holland; R Deverell, R Bergin, C Peavoy, G Green; G Jacob, R Jones (capt); G Roe, B Thackaberry, B Thompson, T Langley, I Deverell, P O'Connell, R Porter, J Harvey. Replacements: R Hanridge for Roe (10 mins), C D'Alton for Green (43 mins), I Corrigan for O'Connell (46 mins), N Patterson for Hanridge (60 mins).

Referee: P Gray (ARLB).