Schools rugby: Leinster Senior Cup quarter-final: Bravery and resilience can only take a team so far against technical superiority. Unfortunately for Roscrea, they never got a chance to rely on these attributes as their challenge ended yesterday before it had even begun, with a try in the opening minute evaporating dreams of a semi-final berth in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
It got worse. Before the interval arrived, St Mary's fans were contemplating their next match against Belvedere College on February 28th after the pack had engineered a further three tries, all stemming from the lineout platform.
They also have a potent back line, but the blustery conditions dictated the three-quarters became spectators until, that is, the final minutes. At least they have a day in the open spaces of Lansdowne Road ahead.
St Mary's finished with six tries, and only the final contribution from outhalf Neil Cowhey came from a running move.
The first ominous sign that this was to be a one-sided affair came right from the kick-off as a nervous Roscrea coughed up a lineout after centre Giles Boland scrambled a kick to touch. What came next was straight off the training paddock.
Hooker Brian Moran did a one-two with jumper Patrick Morris to set up openside flanker Barry O'Flanagan to cross unopposed in the corner.
Moran then got on the try sheet himself after his forwards did a fairly accurate impersonation of the Irish eight in Edinburgh on Saturday. Tighthead prop Richard Sweeney was next in line as he came up with the ball to further exploit the weak Roscrea underbelly. Cowhey put the Holy Ghost college 17-0 up on 20 minutes with the only conversion of the afternoon.
To Roscrea's credit, and to a man, they went down fighting. Sheer tenacity got Ciarán Egan over the opponents' line on the eighth phase. It gave them a glimmer of hope with the wind coming on their backs in the second half.
But just like the opening 35 minutes, handling errors ensured they made little profit from the scant possession they wrestled from the well-drilled opposition.
St Mary's broke their back on 41 minutes when Conor McInerney rumbled over after another succession of textbook pick-and-driving. His second row partner Morris followed suit nine minutes later. Again, Roscrea's pride brought them pfield as Tom Bennett forced a gap in the St Mary's defence.
With the game petering out, glimpses of a dangerous back line from St Mary's became evident as Conor Hogan and Stephen Hannigan made yardage, all directed by scrumhalf Matthew Conway. Centre Robert Gannon then drifted outside the cover before giving Cowhey a clear route to the line.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 1 min: B O'Flanagan try, 5-0; 12: B Moran try, 10-0; 19: R Sweeney try, N Cowhey conv, 17-0; 26: C Egan try, 17-5. Half-time. 41: C McInerney try, 22-5; 50: P Morris try, 27-5; 57: T Bennett try, 27-10; 62: N Cowhey try, 32-10.
ST MARY'S COLLEGE: A Dalton; R Kilcoyne, S Hannigan, R Gannon, C Hogan; N Cowhey, M Conway; S O'Connell, B Moran, R Sweeney, C McInerney (capt), P Morris, M Aboud, K Gallivan, B O'Flanagan. Replacements: R Good for S O'Connell (32 mins), R Bowe for P Morris, D Flood for B O'Flanagan (both 64 mins), K Quinn (65 mins), R Maher for R Sweeney, G Meehan (both 66 mins), D Fanning (72 mins).
ROSCREA: J Corcoran; R Campion, G Boland, B O'Donnell, T Breen; P Durcan (capt), M O'Riordan; C Egan, A Thompson, T Bennett, N O'Donoghue, M Staunton, A McIntyre, M Staunton, N McCarthy. Replacements: A Sherry for N McCarthy (53 mins), A Ralph for A McIntyre, E Finn for T Campion (both 65 mins).
Referee: David Keane (ARLB).
