The improbable passage of St Columba's into the quarter-finals looked a distinct possibility half an hour into this bruising encounter at Lakelands Park yesterday. But King's Hospital then realised that a shock was a possibility and reacted accordingly.

Out-half Michael O'Sullivan's 14th minute penalty put St Columba's 3-0 ahead and they had opportunities to increase that lead but the swirling wind made it difficult to play constructive rugby.

King's Hospital's decision to use runners close to ruck and maul paid off in the 32nd minute when Michael Dwyer dived over for the first of his two tries. Geoghegan converted and one sensed that the battle would drain away from St Columba's.

It didn't. They kept to their game plan. Adrian Keane supplied a steady supply of ball out of touch and O'Sullivan sought to put full-back John Flynn into space whenever the occasion presented itself. This in itself was a little predictable and after the break King's Hospital sorted out their alignment in defence and a surprising scrummaging frailty.

Scrum-half Niall Geoghegan, excellent number eight Peter Gibson and centre Dwyer scored the all-important tries and Hugh Geoghegan slotted over two of the conversions and a penalty to give the scoreline a somewhat flattering look.

KING'S HOSPITAL: D Watkins; E Bolton, B McGeever, M Dwyer, R Sheridan; H Geoghegan, N Geoghegan; R Milligan, D Murphy, B Curran; R Darlington, T Lennon; J Wills, J Bagnall, P Gibson.

ST COLUMBA'S: J Flynn; N Denham, N Wolfe, P McKinley, P Taggart; M O'Sullivan, H Passmore; C Langley, C Pierce, D Dobbs; A Roberts, A Keane; N Patton, P Syme, C Byrne. Temporary replacement: M Waldburg for Flynn (44 mins).

Referee: P Fagan (ARLB).