St Mary's edge out Blackrock in epic Senior Cup final replay to end drought

ST MARY’S COLLEGE 25-22 BLACKROCK COLLEGE

It took a 61st-minute penalty by Paul Neary for St Mary’s College to grind, scratch and claw out their first Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Boys Schools Senior Cup title since 2002 in an epic replay at Energia Park on Monday.

Last week produced the sixth draw in the final. St Mary’s headed into their fourth such occasion, having lost two (1977 and 2003) and won one (1994).

St Mary’s could not ignore the second-half impact of James Whitty in that first match up, promoting the second row to start with Eoin Farrell dropping to the back row and Eoghan Brady moving to the bench.

Blackrock College lost number eight Thomas Keaveney to injury and right wing Aiden Vetjens to the bench, with Geoffrey Wall and Rhys Keogh, respectively, stepping up to start.

A ferociously frantic opening sequence saw St Mary’s front rowers David Kenny and Joe Christle combine to breach the first line of defence.

Blackrock were not quick enough to respect the rules at the breakdown. Paul Neary slammed over the penalty in the third minute to open the scoring.

The defending champions were not dealing well with the balls in the air until Cael McCloskey recovered Jack Fogarty’s box kick.

The ball was whipped left for Rhys Keogh to have a go. Continuity was clean enough for Luke Coffey to find Geoffrey Wall on the rampage. The number eight’s pass was taken home by Bernard White for the first try of the game, with Coffey’s conversion putting Blackrock up 7-3 in the seventh minute.

St Mary’s sent forth the one-out runners, breaking the gainline through the likes of Whitty, Christle and Conor Cantwell.

A five-metre scrum was defended miraculously by Blackrock until a penalty invited St Mary’s to go to touch in the corner. The maul, a weapon disrupted by the heavy wind last week, was rolled in by Max Egan, and Joe Christle got around in support for the try to push St Mary’s back ahead 8-7 in the 13th minute.

A hint of hesitation by Blackrock along the three-quarter line was compounded by Whitty’s presence for a penalty. Number eight Sean Thornton slipped through a gap. Eoin Farrell was merciless in his clear-out. Christopher Maguire was stopped a metre short by Keogh.

Blackrock were disciplined in defence, forcing a knock on for Coffey to clear with conviction.

A counter-ruck by White led to the ball popping out of a ruck. James Browne broke away. Alex Aschenbrenner was in support to muscle in the try, converted by Coffey as Blackrock re-took the lead at 14-8 in the 22nd minute.

But momentum would swing back the other way as Conal Power was shown a yellow card for a late hit on Neary. St Mary’s could not capitalise as their lineout malfunctioned inside the 22.

Soon, St Mary’s were finding their groove. Egan broke in behind before Blackrock were reduced to 13 players when Aschenbrenner was shown his side’s second yellow card in question succession, this time for a deliberate knock on to prevent a try.

St Mary’s sent the ball to the corner and the inevitable maul rolled on for Christle to peel away and dive through in the left corner for his second try. Neary nonchalantly converted to re-establish the St Mary’s advantage, this time at 15-14 in the 27th minute.

The iron grip of Paddy Agnew rescued a penalty on the floor just as Power returned ‘Rock to 14 players. They also had the position they were looking for. Paddy Scally’s looping pass enabled Cael McCloskey to fend off Josh Kelly on his way to the line for Blackrock’s third try, just as Aschenbrenner came back on in the 33rd minute.

St Mary’s still had enough left to strike before the break. A poached penalty by Farrell set in motion the maul and a relentless attack in which, eventually, Andrew McGauran punctured a defiant defence for the try. Neary converted again, giving St Mary’s a 22-19 lead at half-time.

It was all to play for, Coffey catching St Mary’s unawares with a restart to the right. Christle came charging away from an overthrown lineout. Browne knocked on an unsympathetic pass.

Agnew was a menace at the ruck. That man Christle snapped up another loose lineout. But St Mary’s couldn’t hold on to it. Scrum Blackrock.

Scally improvised a chip over the top and Browne outfoxed Kelly to claim it. But as he raced towards the line, he was caught by his opposite number, Conor Cantwell, who forced a knock on in the process.

Egan got his mitts to ‘Rock’s lineout. Aschenbrenner came charging. Egan and McGauran caused a turnover by holding up the ball carrier for a scrum.

The physicality of the game was taking its toll. McGauran threaded the eye of a needle for a turnover penalty.

Scrum-half Fogarty was too high into contact when trying to take down Aschenbrenner, giving Blackrock a penalty. Another high tackle, this time by Christle, enabled Coffey to make it 22-all from the tee in the 51st minute.

Lucas Hill’s intervention at the breakdown delivered a penalty which Coffey slammed inside the 22 for another Blackrock onslaught. This time, St Mary’s would bend, but not break.

Captain McGauran came up for air with a vital penalty over the top of Ashenbrenner. Pressure born out of brave passing weighed lightly on Neary’s shoulders, who struck a penalty from 35 metres to push his side back in front at 25-22 in the 61st minute.

Coffey almost put Aiden Vetjens away on the touchline. Somehow, McGauran wrestled away another penalty at the ruck.

A remarkable ripping turnover by Rory Noonan was followed by the nuisance value of Christle that tempted ‘Rock to leave their feet at a ruck.

St Mary’s had the composure to roll through numerous rucks before Neary booted the ball to the terraces to signal a delirious celebration as their 24-year wait for the Senior Cup finally came to an end.

ST MARY’S COLLEGE: Josh Kelly; Christopher Maguire, Conor Cantwell, Daniel Tourish, Nicolas Sheehan; Paul Neary, Jack Fogarty; Thomas Quigley, Joseph Christle, David Kenny, James Whitty, Max Egan, Eoin Farrell, Andrew McGauran (Captain), Sean Thornton.

Replacements: Eoghan Brady for Egan 43 mins; Rory Noonan for Thornton 50 mins; Rob Flaherty for Whitty 64 mins.

Scorers: J Christle 2 tries; A McGauran try; P Neary 2 pens, 2 cons.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Cael McCloskey; Alex Aschenbrenner, James Browne, Bernard White, Rhys Keogh; Paddy Scally, Luke Coffey (Capt); Louis Magee, Harry O’Neill, Ben Guerin, George Eggars, Cian McCarron, Conal Power, Paddy Agnew, Geoffrey Wall.

Replacements: Lorcan Golden for Magee, Aiden Vetjens for McCloskey ht; Lucas Hill for Wall 41 mins; Donnacha Walsh for Agnew 44 mins; Stephen Moloney for Scally 62 mins; Luka Kelly for Guerin 66 mins; Paddy Scally for Keogh 68 mins.

Scorers: B White, A Aschenbrenner, C McCloskey try each; L Coffey pen, 2 cons.

Referee: J MacNeice, Leinster Branch.