Slingshot will not stop this Goliath

RUGBY: LEINSTER SCHOOLS' SENIOR CUP FINAL: Clongowes Wood v Cistercian Roscrea:THE CLICHÉD biblical reference of David (Cistercians) against Goliath (Clongowes Wood) is not valid here.

If that were the case then David would never have been crowned king of Israel, as not even the dead-eye accuracy of Bill Duggan’s slingshot looks like being enough to slay this particular Goliath.

It will take an almost inconceivable reversal of form for the Leinster Schools Senior Cup to be making its way to the border of Tipperary and Offaly this evening.

A golden era of rugby at Clongowes is widely expected to reach a highwater mark today.

The statistics have prompted the bookmakers into a 20-point handicap. Clongowes are seeking their eighth title from 21 finals since first winning “The Cup” in 1926. In contrast, Roscrea have contested only one decider, back in 1999, when current Connacht fullback Gavin Duffy and Wexford footballer/hurler Redmond Barry were unable to deny Blackrock.

Seven Clongowes players return from the 22 that destroyed St Michael’s 38-20 in last year’s St Patrick’s Day showpiece. That same scoreline was inflicted upon 2009 champions Blackrock in their recent quarter-final, and, when finally stretched by the tournament’s second-best side, St Michael’s, on March 4th, their response was chilling in its accuracy.

The initial surge of power is generated by the Byrne twins, Edward and Bryan, in the scrum, while older brother Thomas calls the lineout. Considering today potentially represents their last game together, it should ignite ferocious performances from all three.

The same can be said of Cistercians’ O’Dwyer and Moloney siblings.

However, the Clongowes epicentre is their backrow. Conor Gilsenan is a natural leader on the openside flank, the athletic Jordan Coghlan consistently delivers yardage past the gainline, while Nick McCarthy does a little bit of everything extremely well. All three could well be snapped up by the Leinster Academy this summer, although Coghlan also holds representative ties to Irish cricket.

That McCarthy’s shoulder has seen him depart, in agony, in both the quarter and semi-final looks like a potential weakness, although big Diarmuid Kennedy’s impact has been immediate and impressive.

The Roscrea men arrive by dint of a stubborn pack, in which Colin Maloney and Denis O’Dwyer have excelled, but it was the Christian Cullen-type broken-field raids of fullback Philip O’Dwyer (still only a fifth year) which stung Terenure and St Gerard’s into submission.

The concerns about them are two-fold. They were unable to put St Gerard’s away in the semi-final, despite building an 18-3 lead. Not only did they fail to even threaten a second-half score, but their defence was porous when St Gerard’s sucked in centre pairing Shane Layden and captain Conor Finn before attacking out wide.

Layden and Finn are quality operators who, like O’Dwyer, were cleverly snapped up by Connacht’s underage system – Layden also joined Gilsenan in the Irish under-19s line-up that played England in December.

Still, it is all about Clongowes. This side have dominated the schools landscape for a generation and require one more victory to leap Des Dillon’s 1998 vintage as the most celebrated group in the purple-and-white’s long and storied history.

Their memorable, 36-0 thumping of St Michael’s in the 2008 Junior Cup final (they beat Roscrea 27-14 in the semis) was achieved thanks to contributions from the since departed Ó Súilleabháin twins, Oscar and Gareth, and Stephen MacAuley, who signed for the Leicester Tigers last summer. They seemed to have left a void in the backline, but recent performances by Conor Joyce and David Quirke indicate otherwise.

Once Gilsenan’s pack are done with the ball, the 10-12 combination will be tasked with putting Jamie Glynn and the back three into space.

If this happens early it could get ugly.

If, and it is a huge ask, Cistercians somehow disrupt the Clongowes supply lines, Duggan kicks the lights out and O’Dwyer and Layden produce something special then anything is possible. Some advisable pre-match viewing would be the French triumph over the All Blacks in Cardiff from 2007.

Really, though, Clongowes will aspire for nothing less than replicating their final performances of 2008 and 2010. And that means a landslide is coming.

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE:H Burns; G Murray, J Glynn, C Joyce, C Mahony; D Quirke, C McQuaid; C Frayne, B Byrne, E Byrne; B Phelan, T Byrne; N McCarthy, C Gilsenan (capt), J Coghlan. Replacements: D O'Byrne, T Collis, P Timmons, D Kennedy, M McFarland, S Fromm, B Grehan.

CISTERCIAN COLLEGE, ROSCREA:P O'Dwyer; C Brennan, S Layden, C Finn (capt), M Mellotte; B Duggan, G Gallagher; G Fallon, D O'Dwyer, C Farrell; A McGrath, R Moloney; A Henderson, E Quirke, C Maloney. Replacements: O Heffernan, S Moran, J Fitzgerald, R Enraght Mooney, A Wheatley, M Fitzgerald, J O'Driscoll.

Referee: K Beggs (ARLB).

TMO: A Rogan.

Paths to the final

ROUND ONE

Cistercian, Roscrea 16 Castleknock 3: Captain Conor Finn crossed for the only try, but it was the boot of outhalf Bill Duggan that kept Castleknock at arm’s length.

Clongowes Wood 23 Presentation Bray 0: A controlled display by the all-star backrow (flankers Conor Gilsenan and Nick McCarthy muscled over) and two tries from place-kicking winger Conor Mahony provided the ominous first sign of the Clongowes power-game.

QUARTER-FINALS

Cistercian, Roscrea 15 Terenure 11: Fullback Philip O’Dwyer proved the difference here with two thrilling, broken-field runs leading to tries for Maurice Fitzgerald and Denis O’Dwyer.

Clongowes Wood 38 Blackrock 20: The old enemy were dispatched with outhalf David Quirke and centre Conor Joyce impressing, while Gilsenan marshalled another dominant show from the pack.

SEMI-FINALS

Cistercian, Roscrea 18 St Gerard’s 14: Three first-half tries – Cormac Brennan, an excellent individual effort from Shane Layden and more Philip O’Dwyer magic – allied by resolute second-half defending put Roscrea into their first final since 1999.

Clongowes 34 St Michael’s 20: A superb advertisement for schools rugby. When stretched to the limit, trailing 10-15 early in the second half, Clongowes responded with three tries in a ruthless 10 minutes where number eight Jordan Coghlan was immense, crossing for two of them.