Occasionally you watch a schools match and leave the ground thinking that such was the quality it should have been the final. Yesterday's Leinster Senior Cup game between Blackrock College and Clongowes was as absorbing a rugby game as any played this season. Lansdowne Road on St Patrick's Day would have been the perfect setting for a contest that rocked one way and then the other before the 1996 champions, Blackrock, building from a fearsome pack, finally edged out last year's winners by six points.
That Clongowes took the game so close was testament to their commitment and cunning in the face of a Blackrock front eight that will surely set the tone for their next encounter in the semi-final against either Belvedere or St Mary's.
In hindsight they will look to the closing stages of the first half as the phase when the game slipped too far. Leading 11-3 and with the wind behind them Clongowes let Blackrock in for two late tries to go into the second half 11-15 down and facing a bitter breeze.
That Blackrock allowed their opponents into the match in the second half to again take the lead injected even more tension into this drama, which was played out in front of as many people as turned out to see Ireland A play France A before this year's Five Nations opener. Donnybrook was jammed.
Clongowes set the early pace when number eight David Lennon came off the base of a scrum to post a five-point lead on seven minutes before captain Henry Bourke added three more points from a long-range penalty.
Full back Paul Drew pulled Blackrock to 8-3 before Bourke was again accurate as Clongowes swept to an 11-3 advantage.
It was then Blackrock snatched their two vital scores. On 33 minutes right wing Conor Buckley shook off two tackles to break the Clongowes cover inside the 22. Drew's conversion brought the teams to within a point before Blackrock added another sting a minute into injury-time, this time captain Tom O'Donohue punched through the Clongowes cover from the fringe of a scrum five yards out.
Given the wind advantage, it was a bitter blow for Clongowes. But from there both teams continued to play with intelligence, Blackrock through Drew and outhalf Andrew Frame, using the gusts for long, angled kicks and Clongowes running everything, grinding out yardage.
That Clongowes tactic finally paid off as they pummelled the steady Blackrock defence on their line. Following a series of rucks, scrum-half Owen Brady picked up a loose ball and scrambled through the stretched defence to give Clongowes the lead for the second time. They were now 1615 ahead with 17 minutes remaining.
Again Blackrock showed little willingness to panic, keeping Clongowes on their toes and generally turning up the pressure. That strategy finally paid dividends when Frame opted for a kick to touch from a penalty inside the Clongowes 22 to set up a line-out in the right corner. Once more it was the Blackrock pack which showed its worth as back row Mark Cooney gathered and was driven over the Clongowes line with a mountain of other bodies.
Drew's excellent conversion form the sideline left Blackrock 16-22 to the good, probably the right result on the day and certainly the best game of the series so far.
Scoring sequence: 7 mins: D Lennon try 50; 13: H Bourke penalty 8-0; 22: P Drew penalty 8-3; 29: H Bourke penalty 11-3; 33: C Buckley try, Drew conversion 11-10; 36: T O'Donohue try 11-15. 53: O Brady try 16-15; 64: M Cooney try, Drew conversion 16-22.
CLONGOWES: P Treacy; M Brides, J Smyth, D Clavin, E Lacey; J Meagher, O Brady; C Hussey, M Kelly, H Bourke (capt), J Collins, D Hickey, A Proctor, D Lennon, W Wallace. Replacement: M Keane for Clavin (half-time).
BLACKROCK: P Drew; C Buckley, G Brown, J Ronan, A Cahill; A Frame, J Walsh; P Dowling, D Laide, J Montgomery, J McGovern, R Lacey, M Cooney, T O'Donohoe (capt), S Fallon. Replacements: R Molloy for Walsh (32 mins); A Dalton for Ronan (50 mins).
Referee: T Redmond.
