Winning is everything, the rest is gossip. This was a poor final, they usually are, but while it won't have taken more than a few hours to forget the game itself, the record books and the club walls will assure this team of their little piece of immortality. St Mary's have reached their holy grail at last.

Over the decade to a degree, unquestionably over the season and just about on the day, St Mary's finally obtained their just deserts. By Saturday tea-time that was all that mattered to them. From the cognoscenti in Munster to Ulster, and throughout Leinster (if less so in Lansdowne) by popular consent St Mary's have been the best club side in the land over the campaign.

True, they've entertained us more in previous seasons, and certainly more so in previous games, but then that's often the way of things. Indeed, the previous near misses, in the last-day decider against Young Munster in 1993 and semi-final defeats in Limerick over the last two years, contributed to their constrained, and initially nervous display.

St Mary's came into this game with a lot of demons to exorcise. Winning was indeed everything, and striking stealthily in the third quarter when utilising the space and 14-13 numerical advantage they had at that juncture (due to the sin-binning of opposing props Reggie Corrigan and David Clare, quickly followed by the Lansdowne flanker Aidan McCullen), they just about did enough to withstand a late Lansdowne rally.

It was neither a vintage performance nor a vintage final, but then it was never likely to be. In content and style (or rather lack of) it panned out pretty much as expected. With such high stakes and so much familiarity, the opening half-hour was reduced essentially to a kicking duel between Mark McHugh and Barry Everitt.

Aside from one of those typically tricky Lansdowne Road winds - which contributed to a couple of missed throws by Peter Smyth and a hatload of embarrassing kicks out on the full - the game's most disruptive element was the set scrum, which was an utter mess.

Lansdowne were livid with Alan Lewis about a number of things, and this was no exception. They felt Angus McKeen was unfairly targetted from the off, indeed he was penalised at the first put-in, but for a while St Mary's were found more guilty, and were penalised at their first three put-ins.

Ultimately they panned out about even, with at least 10 penalties at scrum time. Lansdowne undoubtedly looked the likelier to get a shove on, and felt that Lewis' officiating denied them this chance. Even Brent Pope himself expressed his surprise and relief that Lansdowne didn't opt for an attacking scrum or two instead of close-in lineouts, as was the case after a key moment in the 34th minute.

The outhalves had traded three penalties apiece at that juncture, and Shane Horgan finally brought the game to life when taking the ball strongly up the middle to put Mary's on the back foot. Had Aidan McCullen moved the ball out rather than back inside from the recycle, Lansdowne would surely have scored with their sizeable overlap. As it was, from the next ruck, Gordon D'Arcy was bundled into touch short of the flag following the combined efforts of John McWeeney and Ross Doyle.

The former's tackle was rightly decreed high, which left Lansdowne captain David O'Mahony furious that Lewis didn't award a penalty try. It was a tough call either way, and a huge one. Everitt scuffed an ensuing drop goal from the abortive lineout maul, and Mary's broke upfield for McHugh to give them a flattering lead at the break.

Mary's could argue that this was counter-balanced by Lewis' unintentional blocking of Peter McKenna soon after the resumption, but Lansdowne would be aggrieved again about the pivotal 51st minute binning of McCullen for stamping. Using the greater space to launch Denis Hickie out wide, and the numerical advantage up front to rumble over from another Malcolm O'Kelly take, at 22-9 St Mary's had effectively put themselves out of sight.

Typically, only when it was virtually too late did Lansdowne start playing the game through the hand, attacking through Horgan and D'Arcy, and creating an overlap for Ray Niland. For much of the time they seemed to be playing the game as if it was on a blackboard rather than a pitch - overusing tactical kicks, made all the more puzzling in that they had quicker and smoother distribution at half-back and a real gain-line breaker in the potent Horgan. Thus they never got their patterns going, and so failed to use the continuity play of Liam Toland and their back row. It'll puzzle them for some time.

In mitigation, St Mary's retained the ball much better during their decisive third quarter push for victory when effectively simplifying their game, while their defence and tackling were first-rate; their physical impact up front and around the fringes prevented Lansdowne getting into the game.

Trevor Brennan led from the front in characteristic fashion, throwing himself into tackles like a human missile to ruffle Lansdowne's feathers and win a fair few turnovers. They had the better of the game territorially, largely had the better of the lineouts and the restarts through the good work of Malcolm O'Kelly, were rock solid in midfield and provided a more occasional threat out wide, where McKenna too had a very good game. Superb under the high ball, he saved a couple of tries with a huge covering tackle on the dangerous Gordon D'Arcy and raced to the touchdown from Liam Toland's kick ahead, and would have scored himself but for Lewis after his brilliant and pacey intrusion.

However this performance was about defence and other more prosaic virtues. The video can be swiftly chucked into the bin, but the first title of the Millennium is theirs for ever more. The rest is gossip.

St Mary's College: P McKenna; D Hickie, R McIlreavy, G Gannon, J McWeeney; M McHugh, P Lynch; P Coyle, P Smyth, D Clare; I Bloomer, M O'Kelly; T Brennan, V Costello, R Doyle. Replacements: E Byrne for Clare (56 mins), A Conboy for McWeeney (78 mins), F Campion for McIlreavy (79 mins).

Lansdowne: G D'Arcy; R Niland, G Hamilton, S Horgan, R Dolan; B Everitt, D O'Mahony; R Corrigan, O Ennis, A McKeen; B Cusack, G Quinn; A McCullenC McEntee, L Toland. Replacements: G Fulcher for Cusack (61 mins), S Rooney for McCullen, E Bohan for Corrigan (both 72 mins). C Egan for Ennis (75 mins).

Referee: A Lewis (Leinster).