After digging something of a hole for themselves, Roscrea clawed their way back from a 12-0 deficit in yesterday's Leinster Schools' Senior Cup semi-final to deservedly reach their first final in 58 years. With resilience like theirs, Roscrea will travel in hope to Lansdowne Road once more despite facing the might of Blackrock.
The Cistercian Brothers must by now have abandoned the curriculum. Showing due lack of thought for the school's 160-mile round trek to Dublin, the Leinster Branch have ordained that Roscrea must repeat the odyssey today for their re-arranged Junior Cup quarter-final at Donnybrook. Apparently there are no rugby venues outside Dublin.
Not that the school were baulking at the thought of an additional trek come St Patrick's Day, judging by the pitch invasion and manic celebrations at the end. Ironically, their one previous final in 1941 culminated in a 9-3 defeat to Newbridge after a replay following a scoreless draw in the original game.
Roscrea must have thought the omens were against them again as they partly contributed to that sizeable early deficit. Playing into the deceptive first-half breeze - for the third successive day it whistled into the Lansdowne Road end - Roscrea gamely sought to move everything through the hands of out-half Noel Moloney even from well inside their own half.
With their pack laying on some good ball - their line-out maul was ultimately the game's most potent and decisive weapon - Roscrea played some bright rugby in the opening quarter. However, it was a risky policy, all the more so given the very deep alignment and sometimes laboured passing of their backs.
This was grist to the mill of the Newbridge out-half Patrick Noble and his centres Hughie Garrett and Ryan Cunningham, whose impenetrable midfield line was often buttressed by their big-tackling number eight and captain John O'Sullivan. The Roscrea pack were frequently retreating to the breakdown in an often forlorn effort to prevent the inevitable turnover, and when the ball did reach right-winger Eamon Fox, he had to contend with the crunching tackles of Paul Jenkins.
However, the biggest damage came after 18 minutes when Cunningham made the cleanest of interceptions between the Roscrea centres on the latter's 22, and he sauntered in under the posts unopposed for a try which he also converted.
Better still followed for Newbridge eight minutes later, and entirely of their own making. Indeed, if St Mary's had scored the team try of the competition 24 hours before, then this must rank as the cheekiest individual try of the Cup. Gregor Townsend would have been proud of it.
Using two forward target runners on either shoulder, Noble showed the ball one way and then the other, and so bamboozled the Roscrea defence that he carved through untouched. He then extravagantly arced around the Roscrea full back Redmond Barry and left winger Barry Phelan, only to unluckily be ensnared by the retreating cover. Even then he extricated himself from the ensuing ruck, and was in position to flumox the Roscrea defence some more with a sway of the hips and an audacious touchdown.
Newbridge were jubilant, and continued to pen Roscrea into their own half, despite the best efforts of the straight-running Gavin Duffy at outside centre. Roscrea's second-half challenge might have been even beyond them when Noble, Garrett and Cunningham explored the blind side for the latter to make the incision and put Jenkins away. But the impressive Barry made sure of the try-saving, one-on-one tackle.
Adopting more of a mixed kicking and running game after the break, Roscrea immediately established a territorial foothold, and their cause was assisted by a heavy penalty count in their favour. Barry was unlucky to see a well-struck 48 metre penalty drift marginally wide, but was on target from 30 metres soon after. Game on.
With Moloney kicking long and diagonally, Roscrea upped the ante, and a superb follow-up tackle by Duffy led to Barry cutting the deficit to 12-6 from 35 metres.
The tide had turned. Roscrea won a line-out about 10 metres from the line and Barry McCann was at the sharp end of the scoring drive from Dan Kavanagh's catch.
Barry's conversion steered Roscrea ahead and another huge raking touchkick by Moloney seemed to re-inforce their vice-like grip of the game. But credit to Newbridge for working their way back upfield for Noble to take aim with a drop goal attempt in injury time from about 30 metres, only to see it charged down by Roscrea's tighthead Brian Hall.
Tight-heads don't often get to do the fancy stuff and Hall deserves all the plaudits that will come his way.
Scoring sequence: 18 mins: R Cunningham try and con 0-7; 26: P Noble try 0-12; 40: R Barry pen 3-12; 47: Barry pen 6-12; 62: B McCann try, Barry con 13-12.
Cistercian College, Roscrea: R Barry; E Fox, G Duffy, D O'Keeffe, B Phelan; N Moloney, S Connellan; S Byrne, J Phelan (capt), B Hall, D Farrell, A Spring, P Corcoran, P McCarthy, B McCann. Replacements: D Cavanagh for Farrell (4 mins); G Ross for Connellan (51 mins).
Newbridge College: R McCabe; R Kavanagh, R Cunningham, H Garrett, P Jenkins; P Noble, C Rees; D Kenneally, G de Bruin, T Buckley, J Fitzpatrick, P Turley, C Dempsey, J O'Sullivan (capt), J Toland. Replacements: - B Keogh for Kavanagh (60 mins).
Referee: C Brannigan (Leinster).
