One wouldn't have put a Coca-Cola bottle outside yesterday. The driving rain, exacerbated by a strong wind and the cloying mud of a sodden Lansdowne Road surface made conditions for the Leinster Schools' Senior Cup Final virtually unplayable.
That the game produced such a tense finale is down to the grit and resolution of both sides who refused to buckle in spirit. St Mary's College prevailed but the issue was in doubt right up until replacement outhalf Jonathan Sexton dropped a fine goal on 67 minutes. For a 16-year-old it took both presence of mind and a strong constitution.
It realistically signalled the end of Belvedere's hopes although they would once again carry the game to St Mary's in injury-time but could not breach the blue wall that had remained so resilient all afternoon. St Mary's appeared to have accomplished the more difficult half of their assignment when they led 7-6 at the interval having played into the strong wind.
However, Belvedere's campaign to the final has been hallmarked by an iron will in adversity and they dredged yet another combative, front-foot tackling display that shook possession loose time and again. The only problem was that they were limited to occasional forays into the St Mary's half and could never establish a foothold that would allow them consistent pressure.
Turnovers, as the conditions made handling a lottery, were extremely costly against the wind: a wind assisted punt was travelling 45 and 50 metres. St Mary's probably did marginally the better when facing the elements and crucially managed to score a try.
That came on seven minutes. Fergus O'Sullivan took a two-handed catch at a lineout six metres out, the pack drove him to within inches of the line and when scrumhalf Simon Gibney fed his halfback partner Joey Connolly, the diminutive outhalf ducked under one tackle and showed good footwork and strength to make the line.
Centre Michael Finlay kicked a superb conversion to nudge St Mary's 7-3 in front. Belvedere had taken the lead on four minutes with a beautifully struck penalty from fullback Eamon Fitzgerald and it was the same player that pushed them to within a point with another well-judged effort on 11 minutes. Indeed, Fitzgerald looked the one Belvedere back capable of making serious inroads into St Mary's territory.
Outhalf John Kennedy kicked prodigiously both with and against the wind, while centre Brian McLoughlin made one superb break on a cutback, taking him past several tacklers, that was eventually halted by a thumping tackle from St Mary's fullback Stephen Grissing.
Fitzgerald had one final opportunity in the half to edge his side back in front but was narrowly wide with the penalty from the St Mary's 10-metre line. St Mary's struggled initially to make best use of the wind, Connolly's grubber kicks the only variation on the simple pick and drive philosophy.
As usual the front row stepped forward to take on the hard yards ably supported by the rest of the pack in which number eight Ciaran Lennon was outstanding. They drove forward relentlessly but on nearly every occasion a ball carrier was isolated and a turnover ensued. In this respect the Belvedere back row, especially flankers David O'Brien and Cliff Murphy were particularly prominent.
St Mary's continued to probe in the second 35 minutes but despite controlling the game territorially didn't create any clear-cut opportunities. As the clocked ticked down, Belvedere became increasingly desperate, looking to use the width of the pitch but progress was often more lateral than forward.
Sexton was finally handed his opportunity, dropping into the pocket from a ruck inside the Belvedere 22 before striking the ball assuredly. It was St Mary's fifth success in the 116-year history of the competition and a deserved triumph in front of a crowd of 11,980.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4 mins: Fitzgerald penalty 3-0; 7: Connolly try, Finlay conversion 3-7; 11: Fitzgerald penalty 6-7; 67: Sexton drop goal, 10-6.
ST MARY'S COLLEGE: S Grissing; J Clarke, M Ryan (capt), M Finlay, R Doherty; J Connolly, S Gibney; C O'Byrne, O McCormack, R Sweeney; N Conway, F O'Sullivan; J Ryan, C Lennon, P Nash. Replacements: R Timmons for O'Sullivan (49 mins); J Sexton for Connolly (65).
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: E Fitzgerald; M Hewitt, B McLoughlin, P Hobbs, K Barden; J Kennedy, M Broe; E O'Meara, P McGuire, M Hayes; R Leyden, B McArdle; C Murphy, D O'Kane, D O'Brien (capt). Replacements: B O'Neill for Broe (h-t); N Gallagher for McGuire (59-61 temp).
Referee: A Rolland (Leinster).
