Leinster Rugby Schools Senior Cup Final: Blackrock v St Mary’s, Tuesday, 1.30pm, Tallaght Stadium
It is 49 years since Blackrock and St Mary’s last met in a Leinster Rugby Schools Senior Cup final. This St Patrick’s Day collision is well overdue.
On that occasion, ‘Rock triumphed after extra time, with a mini pitch invasion occurring just before the final whistle. It mattered not, with Hugo McNeill kicking his side to glory.
This afternoon’s final is Blackrock’s fifth on the spin, so the occasion will be far from a novelty for a team that is expected to start with six players who featured in last year’s decider against Terenure, with another to come off the bench.
The competition’s most successful school – victory today would bring their tally of final wins to 73 – is striving to complete a first three-in-a-row since 1964. That brings its own pressure.
READ MORE
St Mary’s, meanwhile, haven’t made it this far since 2008, and the Rathmines school last lifted the trophy six years before that.
Still only 16 years of age, Johnny Sexton came off the bench to nail an insurance drop goal against Belvedere in a final played in atrocious conditions at Lansdowne Road.
With the RDS Arena still under redevelopment, Tallaght Stadium will host the final for the second consecutive year.
The kicking battle could well be crucial, with Irish Schools halfbacks Luke Coffey and Paul Neary on opposite sides.
This is the pair’s third year at this level, with St Mary’s outhalf Neary and ‘Rock scrumhalf Coffey first coming up against each other in the 2024 semi-final, comfortably won by the latter’s side.
Neary is the star performer in the St Mary’s line-up, a pivot who takes the ball to the line and who knows when to turn a defence with his accurate kicking game. He has already played for the Leinster and Ireland under-19 sides.
Kieran Moloney’s charges will have taken plenty from their comeback win over competition favourites Terenure in the semi-finals after falling 10 points behind, but St Mary’s know they cannot afford a similarly slow start.
Blackrock scored 126 points in their last three outings and if allowed to get into their attacking flow behind an ultra-strong pack – and if Coffey can dictate the tempo of the contest – Justin Vanstone’s side can do damage on the scoreboard.
St Mary’s will rely on their impressive defence and physicality to gain parity in the maul and lineout. The question is whether they will be able to maintain that for 70 minutes.
With the school’s junior side recently beating ‘Rock in their semi-final, the opportunity remains for a first double for St Mary’s. Banking the first leg today will require a mammoth effort, but this final could go down to the wire.
