Leinster Schools Senior Cup: It took a while for the defending champions to crank it up yesterday, but they eventually produced an exhibition of 15-man rugby to blow Gonzaga off the barren Donnybrook surface.
This performance, coming after the opening-day demolition of Newbridge, must install Belvedere as favourites to retain the crown they acquired last year for the first time since 1972. And that was one of two in a row.
The statistics are intimidating: 86 points and 13 tries in two outings. They have put it up to Blackrock, surely their semi-final opponents on March 3rd, to reply in kind against Kilkenny this afternoon.
An enthusiastic Gonzaga side matched them in the tight, early exchanges, only conceding a solitary try in the first half.
But what a try. It came on 19 minutes after a flowing backline move saw Belvedere's under-16 centre Conor Colclough offload expertly in the tackle for fullback Colin Murphy to provide the link to David Mongan.
Gonzaga number eight Sam Hodgins hauled the right winger down yards from the line, but a textbook pass out of the tackle put captain Paul O'Donohoe over unopposed.
The rest of the half was dominated, territorially at least, by Gonzaga, but they never looked like breaching a granite Belvedere defence.
Some ill-advised decision making and three long-range penalty miscues from Shane Gahan left it 7-0 at the turn.
The start of the second half was greeted by a downpour. Signs of Belvedere impatience were also evident. Their chief playmaker, centre Eoin O'Malley, put David Gibbons clear with a perfect cut-out pass only to knock on when the winger returned the favour.
Two minutes later they resorted to an all-powerful maul to break Gonzaga's resistance as the excellent blindside flanker Conor McGinn was forced over the line.
Quick hands produced the killer third try as Jonathan Slattery and O'Donohoe combined to give David Synnott a two-on-one scenario. The replacement lock dummied a pass to Cian Healy before touching down.
That Synnott was also a replacement on last year's side is further indication of Belvedere's strength in depth.
Despite the three-to-one penalty count in Gonzaga's favour, the game was up.
Belvedere emptied their bench but continued to attack in organised numbers, Mongan profiting from yet another classic offload from O'Donohoe.
Then Colclough got in on the act and Dufficy rediscovered his range after missing two previous conversions.
At 31-0 Belvedere were entitled to ease off, but they are a ruthless bunch and saved the sweetest try until injury-time.
O'Donohoe switched the point of attack to O'Malley, who stopped in a crowd of players before lobbing a delicious crossfield kick into the arms of McGinn for the flanker's second try.
The tryfest was, of course, the end product of much hard graft, in particular by Healy and Cathal Pendred at the breakdown. Repeatedly they snaffled up what initially appeared to be clean Gonzaga possession.
It was unyielding rugby and looks near impossible to counteract.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 19 mins: P O'Donohoe try, M Dufficy con, 7-0 (half-time 7-0). 43: C McGinn try, Dufficy con, 14-0; 55: D Synnott try, 19-0; 60: D Mongan try, 24-0; 65: C Colclough try, 29-0; Dufficy con, 31-0; 70: McGinn try, Dufficy con, 38-0.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: C Murphy; D Mongan, C Colclough, E O'Malley, D Gibbons; M Dufficy, P O'Donohoe (capt); C Healy, P Devitt, P McCabe; E Duffy, C Pendred; C McGinn, E O'Carroll, J Slattery. Replacements: D Synnott for O'Carroll (40 mins), J McDevitt for Gibbons (48 mins), D White for Duffy (52 mins), S Breen for Slattery (61 mins), M Keating for Mongan (62 mins), N Lovic for Healy (65 mins).
GONZAGA COLLEGE: W McEvoy; S Ryan, D Ó Cófaigh, S Gahan, C Burke; P O'Connor, M Healy; J Moriarty, R Hanion, J Gethings; B Flinn, D O'Sullivan; G Fitzgerald, D O'Shea (capt), S Hodgins. Replacements: D Kane for Fitzgerald (56 mins), S Corcoran for Hodgins, D McNamara for Gahan (both 65 mins).
Referee: P Haycock (ARLB).
