Clongowes' early blitz sets the tone for victory

SCHOOLS RUGBY LEINSTER MUNSTER ULSTER SENIOR CUP FINAL/Clongowes 38 St Michael's 20:THE PERFECT feast after a 10-year famine. The history of rugby has shown that a team with an expansive philosophy can be suffocated by superior physicality. Clongowes Wood reiterated this point yesterday before ripping St Michael's asunder late on.

Right out of the traps the bigger pack turned the screw. Granted, the quickest try ever seen in a Leinster schools final came via two St Michael’s errors and, while they admirably fought back, ultimately they were outclassed in the North Kildare boarding school’s relentless march to a seventh title.

Every Clongowes player delivered, but particular mention must go to the place-kicking of centre Garret Ó Súilleabháin, behemoth tighthead prop Ian Prendiville and classy fullback Stephen MacAuley.

It was 5-0 with just 1.11 on the clock. The St Michael’s secondrows collided off Ó Súilleabháin’s hanging kick-off, presenting an attacking scrum, but Clongowes coughed up possession, allowing St Michael’s outhalf Cathal Marsh to clear. He missed touch.

The ball was sprayed into the right corner by David Quirke, where fullback Cormac Diamond retreated to do what he normally does best.

Oscar Ó Súilleabháin raced up to block Diamond’s clearance and the ball ricocheted into the welcome arms of Oscar’s twin, who slotted the touchline conversion.

Five minutes on the clock and a St Michael’s attack broke down in the 22. Garret Ó Súilleabháin punted down field, winning the race to envelope Diamond 10 yards from the line. Marsh’s broken-field running has been a revelation throughout the competition, but under intense pressure another clearance gave Clongowes captain Robert Hynes an attacking platform just six metres out.

Evan Lewis floated his throw to the soaring Tadhg Beirne and the maul was halted inches short. Lewis carried, then Hynes, before Conor Gilsenan sucked in three tacklers by switching to the openside. Prendiville picked next to batter through two men. Ó Súilleabháin’s fine strike made it 14-0.

St Michael’s were shell-shocked. Thankfully, from the neutral’s view, they had the heart and quality to make a contest of it.

Marsh began to vary the attack, although their marquee strike-runner, Alex Kelly, was constantly used as a decoy. Kelly is already proven a quality centre, but he was anonymous here. This is to the immense credit of the Clongowes midfield and backrow scramblers.

On 14 minutes Mark Craig, St Michael’s centre, sprinted onto a well-disguised Marsh delivery to go over beside the uprights.

After a rampaging run from the excellent, 15-year-old flanker Daniel Leavy, Marsh added a penalty to make it 14-10 as half-time approached. Number eight Paddy Dix was another making headway.

But the Clongowes lull didn’t last long. MacAuley served notice for what was coming with a line-break, before the St Michael’s scrum coughed up possession.

Clongowes went to the lineout maul and the third try, Prendiville’s second, came off the first rumble. Ó Súilleabháin hit another difficult conversion.

A crucial score arrived three minutes into the second half and was a cruel blow as St Michael’s scrumhalf Luke McGrath tackled his opposite number, Dermot O’Meara, after a quick tap penalty, without retreating the 10 metres.

This brought the shot into Ó Súilleabháin’s range.

MacAuley landed the killer blows with two expertly finished tries, sidestepping the isolated Diamond on both occasions, first off his right and then his left. The fourth try came off turnover ball by openside Nick McCarthy.

In a dying riposte, David Egan touched down in the left corner.

Conceding 14 points in the opening five minutes, one unlucky but the other unstoppable, is a nightmare, but any debate about the best team in Leinster this year was put to bed emphatically.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 1 min: G Ó Súilleabháin try, conv, 7-0; 6: I Prendiville try, G Ó Súilleabháin conv, 14-0; 14: M Craig try, C Marsh conv, 14-7; 31: C Marsh pen, 14-10; 35+1: I Prendiville try, G Ó Súilleabháin conv, 21-10; 35+7: C Marsh pen, 21-13. Half-time. 38: G Ó Súilleabháin pen, 24-13; 51: S MacAuley try, G Ó Súilleabháin conv, 31-13; 59: S MacAuley try, G Ó Súilleabháin conv, 38-13; 64: D Egan try, C Marsh conv, 38-20.

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: S MacAuley; O Ó Súilleabháin, J McMahon, G Ó Súilleabháin, A Thompson; D Quirke, D O’Meara; E Byrne, E Lewis, I Prendiville; T Beirne, R Hynes (capt); C Gilsenan, N McCarthy, J Coughlan. Replacements: S O’Keeffe for Lewis, S Burke for McCarthy (both 60 mins), T Collis for Byrne, M Maxwell for Thompson (both 65 mins), N Jones for McMahon (66 mins), T Byrne for Beirne, S O’Riordan for O’Meara (both 68 mins).

ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE: C Diamond; M Corballis, A Kelly, M Craig, D Egan; C Marsh, L McGrath; K Duffy, F Barry, D Reynolds; S O’Connor, E MacMahon (capt); D Leavy, C Kenna, P Dix. Replacements: S McGarry for Dix, S Hogan for S O’Connor (both 53 mins), A Murphy for F Barry (56 mins).

Referee: J Carvill (ARLB).