Belvedere 12 St Mary's College 0:Tries from wing Cian O'Sullivan and flanker Senan McNulty earned Belvedere a Powerade Leinster Schools Junior Cup semi-final slot at Donnybrook yesterday.
The energy put into every carry and hit was right up there while the composure to hold on to the ball was not as constant because of the pressure exerted by both defences.
St Mary’s applied most of the early pressure coming up one legal pass short of a try in the ninth minute when there was an overlap created down the left.
The breakthrough eventually came when the Belvedere forwards charged forward going right and the ball was swung back into the hands of left-wing O’Sullivan, whose sharp straight line sliced St Mary’s open. James McKeown converted for a 7-0 lead in the 28th minute.
Danger zone
On resumption, a thrilling dart down the left by scrumhalf Hugh O’Sullivan put Belvedere right in the danger zone. St Mary’s stayed focused and disciplined to clear their lines with captain Niall Curran calling the shots.
Their centre Thomas Tierney showed neat footwork and a strong fend to make good ground before fullback Matthew Oliver’s head-on tackle took him down.
Belvedere passed up a kick at goal in favour of a five-metre lineout. It worked. They were smooth in the air and flanker Seán McNulty was the player in possession at the bottom of the maul for a 12-0 advantage in the 51st minute.
Centre McKeown missed the conversion but not the chance to exploit space as he sped outside the defence only to be caught by a swarming tackle by replacement Luke Duffy.
