St Mary's College successfully negotiated the penultimate hurdle, in itself a significant landmark for a club weaned on disappointment at the business end of AIB League Division One rugby. The catalogue of failure had spawned a psychological millstone, a cloying emotional grip that threatened to suffocate obvious talent.
On Saturday at Templeville Road they accomplished this task in defeating a gallant Ballymena team, not perhaps in the manner in which they had hoped but with a requisite amount of grit, determination and character: a case of enjoy the victory, never mind the quality. St Mary's did produce some fine passages en route to next Saturday's final at Lansdowne Road but Ballymena's brand and expanse of rugby offered far greater entertainment.
The Ulster side's coach, South African Andre Bester, said: "After today, I think it is fair to say that Ballymena are the flag bearers of running rugby in Irish rugby." It is a claim that St Mary's might care to dispute but at a much later date.
Ballymena's midfield axis of outhalf Simon Broughton and centres, the excellent Rhys Botha and Shane Stewart, proved the catalyst for the Ulster side's best moments. Botha in particular offered a huge presence in both attack and defence.
On a limited diet, both caused St Mary's considerable discomfort. Ballymena could never quite ape the platform achieved by the Dublin team up front, despite a decent scrummage: their Achilles heel the lineout where Malcolm O'Kelly and Victor Costello reduced Ballymena hooker Adrian Stewart to a nervous wreck.
It enabled St Mary's to profit from a high percentage of turnover possession. That they were unable to find greater remuneration from this lucrative supply epitomised their performance. If the team is to succeed in the final then halfbacks Philip Lynch and Mark McHugh are going to have to be more authoritative in demanding the ball.
Time and again Mary's overplayed the driving option, ignoring numerical advantage out wide for another tilt at the "black wall." It is a weakness that has periodically affected their play during the season. Coach Brent Pope admitted that his side should have been less one-dimensional but preferred to dwell on the mental hurdle, which the team had negotiated. "This was a huge psychological hurdle and be honest a victory was the most important thing. The team didn't play as well as it could but there was huge pressure. We created enough chances and the important thing was that we took enough to win.
"I thought they played fabulous rugby, the way the game should be played and I take my hat off to them for that." Once again the garlands of victory have found familiar homes in St Mary's context. Malcolm O'Kelly was once again brilliant, openside flanker Ross Doyle equally effective and the front row of Peter Coyle, Peter Smyth and David Clare demonstrated a tireless appetite for graft.
But in Victor Costello St Mary's boasted a player apart over the 80 minutes. His ability to make the hard yards, provide impetus to static possession and frequently leave a debris of defenders in his wake is peerless in Irish rugby. His work-rate has improved significantly and several Ballymena players will attest to his defensive assurity.
Many will remember his try, taking Lynch's pass from an O'Kelly lineout, swatting aside three defenders and galloping 35 metres to the posts. It was the pivotal moment of the match for the game's pivotal figure.
The introduction of Fergal Campion at outhalf with McHugh moving to the centre provided the St Mary's backline with greater fluency and brought a strong running John McWeeney into the game to greater effect. The home side began impressively, steamrolling forward from the kick-off only to be halted by the concession of a penalty close to the Ballymena posts.
They deservedly took the lead from McHugh's neat drop goal on three minutes but could not translate territorial dominance into points. Ballymena's response was a try from Broughton, the outhalf cleverly taking a quick tap penalty, linking with McDowell, and then receiving a return pass. Mason, arguably the finest ever placed ball exponent in Irish rugby, missed the conversion, heralding an indifferent afternoon with the boot.
A McHugh penalty and a try from O'Kelly gave St Mary's a 13-5 interval lead and the compelling nature of the contest was illustrated on the resumption when Ballymena grabbed two tries, from Dion O'Cuinneagain and James Topping to one from McWeeney to leave the match delicately poised at 20-19.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: McHugh drop goal, 3-0; 17: Broughton try, 3-5; 23: McHugh penalty, 65; 44: O'Kelly try, McHugh conversion, 13-5. Half- time: 13-5. 46: O'Cuinneagain try, Mason conversion, 13-12; 49: McWeeney try, McHugh conversion 20-12; 53: J Topping try, Mason conversion, 20-19; 67: Costello try, McHugh conversion, 27-19; 73: Mason penalty, 27-22; 78: Smyth try, 3222.
St Mary's College: P McKenna; J McWeeney, G Gannon, R McIlreavy, D Hickie; M McHugh, P Lynch; P Coyle, P Smyth, D Clare; I Bloomer, M O'Kelly; T Brennan (capt), V Costello, R Doyle. Replacements: F Campion for McIlreavy (half-time); P Sullivan for Brennan (54 mins); E Byrne for Clare (62 mins).
Ballymena: S Mason; J Topping, S Stewart, R Botha, S McDowell; S Broughton, M Edwards; N McKernan, A Stewart, C Millar; M Blair, G Longwell (capt); A Graham, D O'Cuinneagain, D Topping. Replacements: W McAllister for Millar (21 mins); J Parke for Mason (79 mins); J Wells for Edwards (79 mins); A Dougan for D Topping (79 mins); D O'Kane for A Graham (79 mins); B Young for McKernan (79 mins).
Referee: D McHugh (Munster).
