Five minutes into injury time at the end of the match St Mary's College flanker Shane Jennings charged down Donal Crotty's punt, gathered the ball and raced 45 metres with the entire Belvedere College backline in vain pursuit. Stretching every sinew he made the line as he was enveloped by tacklers and touched down for a famous try, one that earned his team a place in the semi-final.
The end of the stand at Donnybrook populated by the blue-and-white bedecked St Mary's supporters erupted in exultation: it was a fitting embellishment to a pulsating closing final quarter.
That Jennings should apply the coup de grace was entirely appropriate, as the young Irish Schools international had enjoyed a superb match, whether in possession or forcing turnovers.
His prowess on the pitch is matched by his sporting instinct. As referee David Tyndall brought an end to proceedings following Kieran Lewis' unsuccessful conversion attempt, Jennings avoided the hordes of well-wishers - no mean achievement - and made straight for a crestfallen Crotty to offer a comforting arm and words of condolence.
Jennings' performance was immense. His offensive tackling was at the heart of several crucial turnovers and his ability to break tackles while being aware of his support central to St Mary's better moments.
In captain Louis Burke, Conor Queenan and Brian Brophy up front he had willing acolytes. Queenan in particular did an excellent job of securing the odd crumb of possession, a feat all the more laudable in the absence of first choice hooker Keith Rynhart for much of the match.
Behind the scrum, international centre Kieran Lewis enjoyed more of an impact when he switched from full back to the midfield, and made a couple of excellent breaks that might have culminated in tries had he looked outside.
Belvedere will wonder just how they managed to lose. Utterly dominant against nervy and error-ridden opponents, they dominated territorially and in possession for much of the first half. Martin Garvey and Eoghan O'Dwyer were excellent out of touch, and Sean Brophy carried the ball powerfully, as did number eight Damien O'Donoghue.
Crotty's well-weighted skip passes threatened to unhinge St Mary's, while centre James Downey punched holes in midfield.
Their demise may be attributed to a failure to take scoring opportunities, and in this respect the unfortunate Niall Murray endured a miserable afternoon with the boot.
But Belvedere failed to continue their expansive approach of the first 55 minutes, a ploy that had worked well, and instead attempted to hammer a way through physically, which made them easier to defend against. St Mary's forced the turnovers and eventually opportunities presented themselves. A superb tackle by Philip Costello on Murray saved a certain try on six minutes, and St Mary's fortunate escapes continued when Murray missed his first penalty attempt 60 seconds later.
Shane Lonergan was more accurate on 11 minutes with a 22metre effort to give the winners the lead against the run of play.
Belvedere finally received the reward that their approach play deserved when O'Donoghue forced his way over on 28 minutes after good ruck ball. Murray missed the conversion and was again off target one minute after the interval when Garry Kavanagh scored a fine try. The loser's pack had once again paved the way with excellent rucking.
Murray's failure to convert another penalty on 51 minutes would prove a final scoring opportunity for Belvedere. Lewis had earlier kicked a penalty from the 22-metre line for St Mary's, but on 56 minutes he missed with a similar strike from virtually the same spot.
Driven on by their increasingly vocal support, St Mary's adopted a more fluent approach, but with no tangible reward until Jennings' late late show.
Scoring sequence: 11 mins: Lonergan penalty, 3-0; 28: O'Donoghue try, 3-5. 36: Kavanagh try, 3-10; 46: Lewis penalty, 6-10; 75: Jennings try, 11-10.
St Mary's: K Lewis; J Norton, S Lonergan, S Nagle, P Costelloe; D O'Sullivan, P Madden; C Barry, B Moran, K McCabe; C Queenan, K McArdle; L Burke (capt), B Brophy, S Jennings. Replacements: D O'Neill for Lonergan (45 mins); E Higgins for McArdle (50 mins); K Rynhart for McCabe (66 mins).
Belvedere: N Murray; R Coakley, B O'Malley, J Downey, G Kavanagh; D Crotty, J McGee; C Sheehy, R Leyden, S Brophy; M Garvey, E O'Dwyer; M Kennedy, D O'Donoghue, A Cullen (capt). Replacement: O D'Arcy for O'Malley (71 mins).
Referee: D Tyndall (Leinster).
