Belvedere 15 St Michael's 9Twelve months on from their last encounter, the schools in question produced another compelling contest, the weather equally severe at Donnybrook yesterday, squalls of rain giving way to snow, exacerbated by a biting wind.
The pitch was a morass, the patches of greenery easily identifiable, making the underfoot conditions difficult in the extreme.
There could have been no expectation of quality fare against that backdrop, yet both teams rose above their environment.
St Michael's College will reflect on what might have been but shouldn't torture themselves with recriminations. For most of this Leinster Schools Senior Cup match, they dominated territorially and enjoyed greater continuity. What denied them victory was lack of a cutting edge.
The psyche and attitude of the teams were in stark contrast. Michael's were the pugnacious underdogs, scrapping for every ball, embracing confrontation aggressively.
Belvedere ran the playbook, excelled technically, particular up front, and relied on the counter-punch.
Their tackling behind the scrum for the most part was passive, allowing the runner to come on; at times they overplayed possession metres behind the gain line.
Still there was no denying their latent quality, very much in evidence in the two tries they scored.
The first came after two minutes, right wing Kevin Barden accelerating between two players on a wide arc before releasing fullback Eamon Fitzgerald.
The fullback stepped inside the first tackler but not St Michael's right wing Frank Kearney, covering brilliantly.
From the ruck eight metres out, Belvedere enjoyed a numerical superiority and centre Marcus McAllister slid over for a try afterspeed of hand gave him the space. Fitzgerald missed the conversion.
The second try, and undoubtedly the key moment of the afternoon, came after 34 minutes, some 90 seconds after Fitzgerald had kicked a penalty to nudge his side 8-6 in front.
Clean ball off the top at a lineout 30 metres out, an exquisite angle chosen by flanker and captain Cliff Murphy arriving between the centres, and an offload that left Barden with a straightforward finish.
Fitzgerald's conversion meant Belvedere had scored 10 points in the final two minutes of the half and rescued what up until then had been a potentially perilous situation.
Having had first use of the wind, they had trailed 6-5 - Michael's outhalf Peter McGibney had kicked a brace of penalties - until that flourish.
When McGibney kicked his third penalty on 44 minutes Michael's were back in touching distance. Although seeing less of the ball they still managed good field position, especially late in the game, but could not breach a well organised Belvedere defence.
Only their excellent second row Royce Burke Flynn could make any headway in terms of frontal assault, the Michael's pack physically dwarfed by their opponents.
While they couldn't break down the door, ultimately they couldn't pick the lock either, despite some strong running from captain Philip Howard and the under-used wings Kearney and Tim Moylan.
Belvedere for their part never looked in control despite some superb mauling and an excellent lineout, hooker Niall Gallagher throwing brilliantly in the wind.
In the second half the strength of their pack provided significant headway, but their backs relied too much on the crash ball or complicated loops.
Murphy was their outstanding forward, Dan O'Kane the premier lineout option and the front five hard-working and productive. The introduction of first-choice outhalf Colman O'Loughlen midway through the second half gave the backline a little more assurance.
With St Michael's it really was a fine team performance, the collective ethic at the expense of individual moments.
They are a young side and yesterday should have convinced them they are capable of competing against top quality teams.
Belvedere may be on a slow-burning fuse but in the days and weeks ahead they will have to unearth a passion to match their technical precision.
SCORING SEQUENCE
2 mins: McAllister try, 5-0; 6 mins: McGibney penalty, 5-3; 29 mins: McGibney penalty, 5-6; 33 mins: Fitzgerald penalty, 8-6; 34 mins: Barden try, Fitzgerald conversion, 15-6. Half-time: 15-6. 44 mins: McGibney penalty, 15-9.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: E Fitzgerald; K Barden, M McAllister, C O'Shaughnessy, I Flynn; D Kiernan, B O'Neill; H Duffy, N Gallagher, C Mitchell; B Kennedy, L McGrath; C Murphy (capt), D O'Kane, R Bowe. Replacements: C O'Loughlen for Kiernan 57 mins; E Weigel for Mitchell 64 mins.
ST MICHAEL'S COLLEGE: P Howard (capt); F Kearney, G Byron, S Mitton, T Moylan; P McGibney, D McKillen; A Murphy, A Skehan, N Best; R Burke Flynn, P Foley; C Rowan, J McCarthy, A Kelly. Replacement: K Clarke for Skehan 16 mins.
Referee: W Sheridan (Leinster)
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