THE mood in the Terenure College dressing room following yesterday's first round tie at Donnybrook was a sombre one, to say the least.

They had been expected to run in a hatful of scores against St Paul's but, with pride very much at stake, the Raheny school were Just nine points adrift of their opponents come full time.

Terenure's game plan on another day would have seen them dumped out of the cup, but St Paul's, for all their spirit and aggression, simply did not have the players to deliver what would have been a sensational victory.

St Paul's got off to a dream start after just five minutes when fullback Donovan Rossi touched down under the posts following a scrum in the Terenure 22.

Niall Glackin's conversion extended his side's before an explosive four minute spell from Terenure saw them charge into the lead with tries from Bernard Broderick and Barry Healy.

The second half proved an uninspiring affair with two penalties from Terenure out half John English failing to lift his rather jaded team mates.