Leinster Schools Senior Cup:Belvedere College 19 St Gerard's School 0 HOLDERS BELVEDERE College made a statement of intent by wiping out brave St Gerard's School in the first round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup at Templeville Road yesterday.
HOLDERS BELVEDERE College made a statement of intent by wiping out brave St Gerard’s School in the first round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup at Templeville Road yesterday.
The Tony Ward-coached mid-ranking school came into this quietly confident of a shock following a fine season. However, Belvedere were clearly well briefed by their coach, former Ireland lock Gabriel Fulcher, as they set about closing down the opposition’s desire to generate quick ruck ball.
Inevitably, the helter-skelter nature of the Schools’ Cup took over for the first quarter with a war of wills waged between two committed packs. The heavy pitch required players to let the ball do the work in moving it through precise passing and astute kicking.
Belvedere’s opening try came in the 23rd minute when the ball was swiftly transferred from a scrum on the left into the hands of wing Richard Sheridan. The effect was devastating as St Gerard’s were stretched to the limit to cover the move out wide.
When the ball was shifted back left, their dwindling defence, minus their captain Jordan Egan, who had come out the worst of a collision with Ben Woods, could not cope with the direct route taken by centre Cian Kennedy. Outhalf Matt D’Arcy made the rudimentary conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Then, St Gerard’s replacement Lorcan Byrne took a calculated gamble in coming in off the wing to cut down Woods in motion. It worked perfectly, Woods knocking the ball on in contact. The Wicklow school was under the kosh. It would take all their resolve to stay in the game.
To compound matters, Belvedere were beginning to exert pressure at the scrum where props Chris O’Brien and Dylan Casey were not shy in attending to their primary jobs. From one such situation, St Gerard’s number eight Darragh Duggan was forced to tidy up at the back of a retreating scrum.
The ball was hastily cleared to touch only for the Belvedere lineout and maul to exact maximum retribution with a try from hooker Cathal O’Flynn, converted magnificently by D’Arcy for a lead that was never likely to be relinquished. An outstanding individual effort from centre Woods put the icing on the cake.
BELVEDERE COLLEGE:B Woods; D Murray, C Kennedy, C O'Shea, R Sheridan; M D'Arcy, H Nolan (capt); C O'Brien, C O'Flynn, D Casey, E McCarthy, G Slattery, A D'Arcy, M Oyuga, B Geraghty. Replacements: P Gilsenan for Casey, G Farrelly for Geraghty (both 60 mins); J Fitzgerald for M D'Arcy (62 mins); S Doyle for Kennedy (65 mins).
ST GERARD'S SCHOOL:J Egan (capt); C Farrell, S Toal-Lennon, J Crosbie, C O'Meara; J Glynn, R Glynn; C Lyons, J Fullam, H Sherry, A Bowtell, R Maxwell, C Cafferky, P O'Donnell, D Duggan. Replacements: C O'Rourke for R Glynn (22 mins); L Byrne for Egan (27 mins); H Quilty for Toal-Lennon (65 mins).
Referee:P Dennehy (Leinster Branch).
