Leinster Schools' Junior Cup Semi-final/ St Michael's College 10 Gonzaga 5:St Michael's College had to survive the intensity of Gonzaga College before advancing to a Leinster Schools' Junior Cup final showdown with Clongowes Wood College at Donnybrook on Friday, March 14th.
Gonzaga captain Stephen Murphy was composed under pressure and elegant on the ball as his forwards stood up to the challenge, particularly in one instance in the 19th minute when they resisted a series of drives to their line.
Soon, they were making ground to the left from where Andy O'Reilly burst to the line for the crucial first try. It may have been constructed against the run of play, but it was due reward for their discipline in defence.
The counter-rucking of Gonzaga and general nuisance factor at the breakdown broke up promising attacks until the hard-running of Ross O'Neill led to a penalty, pushed wide by St Michael's outhalf Luke McGrath to leave it 5-0 to Gonzaga at the break.
The light blues knew they needed a solid start to the second half and McGrath made up for his earlier indiscretion by shooting on target. Fullback Mark Corballis and wing Rory Kavanagh began to make their presence felt in a drive that ended with Kavanagh cleverly diving over the top of a ruck to touch down. McGrath converted to make it 10-5 in the 37th minute to complete the scoring on the day.
SCORERS - St Michael's College: R Kavanagh try; L McGrath pen, con. Gonzaga: A O'Reilly try.
ST MICHAEL'S COLLEGE: M Corballis; R Kavanagh, K Devin, J Redmond, P Cleary; L McGrath, B Butler; T O'Connell, J O'Driscoll, T Grealis, J Gallagher, M Hanrahan (capt), R O'Neill, J Headon, C Daly.
GONZAGA COLLEGE: R Lenehan; R Cooke, D Brannagan, B Daly, F Meagher; S Murphy (capt), A McEvoy; K Hargaden, C McDowell, I O'Muirthile, C O'Leary, H Mays, D Moriarty, A Clarke, A O'Reilly. Replacements: D Lawler for Moriarty (41 mins), E Grogan for Cooke (41 mins),
Referee: J Carvill(IRFU).
