A score-line which speaks for itself unfolded in two acts yesterday at Donnybrook. The first, an opening spell in which St Paul's dominated territorially but failed to land a serious blow on Clongowes; the second, the final half hour when a rampant Clongowes shook off their ties to gallop away.
Six tries, one of them a beauty in the closing stages - lock James Collins picked up a loose ball in his 22, shook off the first tackle and ran the length of the pitch, leaving even the fleet Gareth Rossi in his wake - put paid to St Paul's hopes of meeting either Blackrock or High School in the third round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
Those teams meet today in Donnybrook in a rescheduled match, which was called off last week because of the frozen Donnybrook pitch.
For St Paul's it was a case of hope on the day that they could fell one of the perennial runners in the competition. Yesterday, for a while, it appeared that this game could run a different course than most in the Leinster ground would have expected. Most of the crowd had come to witness one of the strongest sides in the competition strut their stuff and, despite a stuttering beginning, ultimately they were not disappointed.
The losers, however, will look back to a first half where their territorial advantage might have presented more than just frustration. Two penalties in the opening five minutes were missed by St Paul's in an opening fracas where they both surprised the winners with their vigour and forced them into defending their 22. Inevitably, though, Clongowes tentatively got into stride, and in what must have been a deflating blow for St Paul's landed a sting in their first attack of the match.
It came from a Clongowes' lineout in the right corner. A safely delivered ball to William Wallace was secured before a quick rolling maul forced the number eight in for the first score of the game after just eight minutes. It took another quarter of an hour for the second try to arrive, after the deft Justin Meagher broke from his 22 only to be tackled late having chipped ahead. Again Clongowes usefully kicked to touch before the co-ordinated strength of their bulldozing pack shoved St Paul's back. This time flanker Aidan Proctor emerged in possession.
Captain Henry Bourke landed the first successful kick of the day to bring the half to a close, with Clongowes 13-0 ahead.
But St Paul's were far from spent, Rossi, who didn't get as much ball as he wanted at outside centre, and scrum-half Owen Brady, who robustly took on more than just a servicing role, continued to ensure a lively contest.
But Clongowes had too much depth and strength from the running full-back Philip Tracy, wingers Brendan O'Keefe and Meagher and centre John Smyth, who claimed Clongowes third and fourth tries as the Kildare side hammered away at the St Paul's line.
It was a result of the pressure exerted by the front eight that finally sucked St Paul's into a series of battles in the left corner, only for the ball to be delivered wide for the athletic Smyth to twice show his balanced running into space..
It was Proctor who again entered the limelight just after the hour for the fifth score. before Collins finished with an impressive final flourish.
Scoring sequence: 8 mins: W Wallace try 50; 24: A Proctor try 10-0; 34: H Bourke pen 13-0. 38: J Smyth try, Bourke con 20-0; 57: J Smyth try Bourke con 27-0; 63: Proctor try 32-0; 65: J Collins 37-0.
Clongowes: P Tracy; B O'Keefe, J Smyth, D Claviv, J Neagher; R O'Connor-Nash, O Brady; C Hussey, M Kelly, H Bourke (capt), J Collins, D Hickey, A Proctor, L Manning, W Wallace. Replacements: R O'Toole for Manning (32 mins); E Lacey for Brady (57 mins); D Redmond for Hickey (57 mins); S Kiernan for Clavin (63 mins); M Rooney for Collins (64 mins).
St Paul's: E Carroll; P Duane, G Rossi, J Quinn, JJ Grogan; M Duignan, M O'Shea; P Henry, T Kelly, S Lynch, M Cahill, C Staunton, B Cole, D O'Siochain (capt), T Markham. Replacements: A Yule for Kelly (half-time); B Stokes for Cahill (50 mins).
Referee: S Buggy.
