The interest of the selectors was very much engaged by the Leinster Schools final trial at Donnybrook yesterday. As in so many of these games, the performance of the individual can be more important than that of the team, but on this occasion the Probables, the Blues, played as a unit and reaped the consequential rewards, beating the Possibles, the Whites, 35-5. The Blues were rewarded last night when 12 of their starting line-up were named to play in the full Leinster team which plays a UCD selection next Sunday.

Of course it didn't hurt that, at out-half, they had Andrew Dunne, the incumbent Irish schoolboys number 10. He lived up to his reputation with an electrifying performance, his change of pace, perceptive distribution and precision kicking yielding him a personal tally of 20 points. This tally included two sparkling individual tries.

Although Dunne and, to a lesser extent, his half-back partner Simon Keogh were at the hub of the Blues' efforts, their pack provided a solid platform. Kieran Lewis, Keogh and Andrew Cullen were the other Blues try scorers. Dunne converted all five.

Noel Ross, with a late second-half try, scored the Whites' only points. He was rewarded with a place on the Leinster team.

The Whites' selection was also notable for the inclusion of David Popplewell and Simon Miller, brothers of current international forwards Nick Popplewell and Eric Miller. Like his brother, Simon Miller lined out in the back row, while David Popplewell played at scrum-half, got a run on the Blues side in the final quarter, and takes his place on the Leinster bench next Sunday.