All-Ireland Cup FinalIt will be an emotional occasion for the Cork club this afternoon at Lansdowne Road. The club would dearly love to claim the inaugural staging of the AIB All-Ireland Cup and honour the memory of the late Conrad O'Sullivan. In deference to their former team-mate Cork Constitution have retired the number 12 jersey for this occasion. The likelihood is that inside centre Conor Quaid will wear number 22.
Constitution certainly won't lack motivation but they'll have to harness those feelings in a productive manner in what should be an entertaining contest between two young teams. Frank Cogan leads a powerful pack while in Frank Murphy the team possess an under-rated scrumhalf.
The experienced figure of Anthony Horgan will provide a cutting edge out wide while in former Ireland under-21 international wing Richard Lane, Con - who employ him at fullback - have a player for whom they'll try to create space.
St Mary's College are fresh from their Leinster Senior Cup final defeat to Clontarf last Sunday and will be keen, now that they are reasonably safe in All-Ireland League Division One, to try to claim a cup success.
This was a point emphasised by centre Barry Lynn: "Once we knew we were safe in the league we said 'right we've got two finals coming up let's really go for them'. It didn't really work out last Sunday but it motivates you more to do well today."
Lynn will today play alongside Keith Douglas at centre.
The Dublin club are bolstered by two top-quality wings in captain, ex-Ireland and Leinster player John McWeeney and former underage international James Norton. Player coach Peter Smyth starts at hooker while Ciarán Potts is on the bench.
If league form is a barometer then Con are strong favourites to prevail. There appears to be three tiers in Division One with Clontarf, Shannon, Cork Constitution and Garryowen opening a sizeable gap in the upper realms.
The St Mary's view is that they are in the process of climbing from the third echelon to the second but still have some way to go. The club's recent McCorry Cup triumph, along with the youthful nature of their current side suggests that they are better placed than most to bridge that divide. But in terms of today's clash, Cork Con will be favoured to succeed and it will take an exceptional performance from St Mary's to buck that assertion.
The junior cup final between Rainey Old Boys and Youghal will serve as a curtain-raiser with a 2pm kick-off.
ST MARY'S COLLEGE: F Lynch; J Norton, K Douglas, B Lynn, J McWeeney (capt); J Sexton, J Kilbride; C O'Byrne, P Smyth, P Collins; Eoin Keane, G Logan; W Duggan, P Nash, A Copeland.
CORK CONSTITUTION: R Lane; A Horgan, T Gleeson, C Quaid, C Healy; D Lyons, F Murphy; T Ryan, D Murray, M Ross; S Cotterill, J Moloney; M O'Connell, B Cuttriss, F Cogan (capt).
Referee: G Clancy (Munster).
St Mary's v Cork Constitution
Lansdowne Road, today, 4.0
