The formbook was ripped to shreds as Belvedere College negotiated a passage to the Leinster Schools' Senior Cup final on St Patrick's Day. There was nothing fortuitous about their victory.
There was a rare quality to Belvedere's display that couldn't possibly have been discerned in a previous outing. The introduction of Colin Murphy at fullback and scrumhalf Paul O'Donohue to the starting line-up could have been the catalyst as the latter in particular was a very effective link between backs and forwards but it was probably more attributable to the way Belvedere embraced the task in hand.
Belvedere began in a positive vein and rarely deviated from that mindset for the ensuing 74 minutes or so. They adopted an expansive approach, prepared to use the full width of the pitch, while at the same time mixing the point of attack cleverly.
They absorbed setbacks with remarkable composure and displayed cussedness in defence that ultimately earned them their win. St Mary's started slowly, rallied briefly, laboured long and ultimately finished strongly as they sought an unlikely redemption. Mary's primary weapon was a driving lineout maul, technically superb and hugely effective but one-dimensional. As it constituted the only way they could make serious progress - it also yielded their two tries - it put the onus on Belvedere not to give away lineouts in their own 22. Mary's backplay simply wasn't of the requisite standard.
This was in marked contrast to Belvedere who received the perfect start, taking the lead inside the first 90 seconds. Having won a lineout, outhalf Ian Keatley took a leaf from the England playbook, opting for a cross-kick.
Right wing Peter Woods won the aerial contest, shirked off a couple of brittle tackles before scampering over for a fine try.
Keatley missed the conversion but would be a calming influence all afternoon, displaying good footballing nous. Centres Eoin O'Malley and Brian Moran were also conspicuous with and without the ball. Up front number eight David Gilchrist carried ball powerfully, so too hooker Cian Healy while the set piece play was generally excellent.
Belvedere edged further ahead on 15 minutes, Keatley making the initial breach before Moran and O'Malley combined to send Murphy over in the corner for a well executed try. Mary's appeared bemused and were fortunate not to fall further behind when the excellent O'Donohue lost the ball over the line after another bruising surge from Healy. Keatley missed a long range penalty as his side continued to flourish.
Mary's, though, couldn't be shackled indefinitely especially not with players like second row and captain Conor McInerney, tighthead prop Richard Sweeney, Kevin Gallivan, Marc Aboud and lively scrumhalf Mathew Conway in the van. It was apposite that their response should come from a lineout, caught by McInerney with the pack driving Aboud over.
With just six minutes to the interval and having hauled themselves back to just 10-5 behind having played into the strong wind it seemed that Mary's had recovered their poise. It was shattered from the kickoff, their troubles starting with a turnover just inside their own 22 and ending when Belvedere centre Brian Moran crashed over close to the posts. Keatley added the conversion and Belvedere had wrestled a 17-5 interval advantage.
The strength of the wind meant that the outcome was by no means a foregone conclusion but Mary's huffed and puffed for long periods without quite managing to get the foothold they craved inside their opponents' 22. There were a couple of hairy moments for Belvedere but not as many as they might have anticipated.
It wasn't until two minutes into injury time that McInerney plunged over from another lineout/maul amalgamation. Neil Cowhey's brilliant touchline conversion merely served to tantalise.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 1 min: Woods try, 5-0; 15: Murphy try, 10-0; 29: Aboud try, 10-5; 32: B Moran try, Keatley conversion, 17-5. Half-time: 17-5; 72: McInerney try, Cowhey conversion, 17-12.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: C Murphy; P Woods, E O'Malley, B Moran, L Power; I Keatley, P O'Donohue; M Cuddy, C Healy, E Byrne; C Pendred, G O'Rourke; R Fitzgerald, R Carson (capt), D Gilchrist. Replacements: P McCabe for Byrne (60 mins).
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, B O'Flanagan, K Gallivan. Replacements: R Bowe for O' Connell (42 mins), R Good for Morris (47 mins), D Fanning for Hannigan (65 mins).
Referee: A Rogan (Leinster).
