Leinster Senior Cup: Monkstown hold their nerve with late penalty

CBC Monkstown 15 ST Gerard’s School 13

Captain Robert Jordan overcame his inconsistent place-kicking to strike the winning points for CBC Monkstown in the 68th minute to ensure passage to the Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final at Donnybrook on Monday.

The superior firepower up front paid handsome dividends as early as the seventh minute for CBC when hooker Alex Holmes connected with Jack McAteer to set in motion a maul that concluded when number eight William Fay grinded out a try.

Just for a moment, there was the thought of a mismatch. It didn’t work out that way as St Gerard’s traded on their swift movement of ball, doing more with less of it.

Their scrum-half Cormac Foley cracked the cover on a break through the middle.

Sensing danger, CBC killed the ball at the next ruck and Tom Foley sliced the posts to make it 5-3 in the 10th minute.

The heavier set Monkstown forwards were a force in the maul where St Gerard’s used fine technique to limit their exposure to the many drives that came their way.

This did leave space for the CBC backs and they came closest to a second breakthrough when wing Patrick Rogers came within a fingertip of sending full-back Darragh Porter to the corner.

They made a better fist of their next gilt-edged chance when Fay powered over from a cleverly worked lineout for Jordan’s conversion to make it 12-3 in the 39th minute.

It was then St Gerard’s hit back with two unanswered tries from out-half Tom Foley and centre Marc Baker in the 46th and 68th minutes to take a one-point lead as the tension rose to fever pitch.

The outstanding Fay was at the hub of CBC’s final attack. It drew a penalty which Jordan converted for a place in the last eight.

Monkstown: D Porter; P Rogers, T O'Callaghan, D Foster, T Kelly; S O'Hanrahan, R Jordan (capt); C Kavanagh, A Holmes E Clarke, J McAteer, A Byrne, K Kouadri, Z Sattar, W Fay.

Replacements: D O’Regan for Kavanagh 47 mins; G Mahon for Kelly 68 mins.

St Gerard's: B Kealy; M Dalton, D Hodgkins, M Baker, A Kingston; T Foley, C Foley; R Buckley, S Gallagher, C Walsh, S Burke, C Symonds, C O'Farrell, E Baxter, B O'Reilly (capt)

Replacements: J O’Sullivan for Baxter 52 mins; M O’Brien for C Foley 69 mins.

Referee: G Crawford, Leiinster Branch