Sligo Grammar turn on the style to lift cup

CONNACHT SCHOOLS' SENIOR CUP FINAL/Sligo Grammar 26 Colaiste Iognaid 11:SLIGO GRAMMAR School turned on the style to capture the Connacht Schools' Senior Cup title after a thrilling showdown at the Sportsground yesterday. The Sligo side captured their ninth title and their first since 2003, having lost four finals in the interim.

Coláiste Iognáid, bidding to complete a three-in-a-row for the first time, led 11-8 at half-time but could not contain a Sligo side for whom outside centre David Butler was the pick of a team laden with quality.

Butler crowned a man-of-the-match display with a stoppage time try after intercepting inside his own 22. But the title was already heading up the N17 by then as the superior Sligo pack got on top in the second half and out-half Pat Hughes and fullback Scott Oates used the possession superbly. Sligo’s success was all the more noteworthy given they had three players sin-binned in the course of a game where neither side gave an inch but which was always played in a sporting fashion.

Oates followed winger Shane Creamer into the bin before the break but he produced the decisive moment of the game on his return when he burst down the right wing to score in the corner after 45 minutes. That put Sligo 13-11 to the good and they never surrendered the lead.

Hughes added a penalty five minutes later to extend the advantage but not even the binning of influential flanker Aaron Spring could halt their march to the crown as they defended a 16-11 lead going into the closing stages.

Hughes made the game safe with a superb drop goal from 35 metres before Butler sealed the win with his breakaway try.

Coláiste Iognáid defended well initially but the pressure finally told and winger Peter Laffey did well to finish in the left corner after a skip pass put him through.

The Jes response was good with Conor Murphy, Aaron Conneely and Rory Cunningham showing what their backrow could produce and it yielded an equalising try when Conneely gathered a lineout and a good drive finished with Murphy touching down.

While the game remained in the melting pot right up to stoppage time, it was not a surprise when Sligo’s superiority was finally reflected on the scoreboard as Hughes nailed his drop goal and Butler completed a great final with his intercept try at the death.

SLIGO GRAMMAR SCHOOL: S Oates; S Creamer, D Butler, S Butler, P Laffey; P Hughes, O van der Grijn; T Ferrari, G McConnell, J Gill; J Clarke, E O’Donnell; A Spring, T Callaghan, D Qualter. Replacements: J Healy for Creamer, 46 mins.

COLÁISTE IOGNÁID: N Murphy; J Dooley, F Bourne, B Dixon, C Divilly; R Butler, D O’Meara; B Madden, R Murray, C Qualter; J Healy, J O’Donnell; C Murphy, A Conneely, R Cunningham.

Referee: D Connolly (CBIRFU).