Fitzgerald inspires Belvedere

SCHOOLS' RUGBY: Belvedere College...13 Cistercian Roscrea...3. The final margin flattered Belvedere College but not the merit of their victory. They must be infuriating at times to coach and support from the stands, but there can be no doubting their mental fortitude.

In yesterday's Leinster Schools' Senior Cup semi-final at Lansdowne Road, they trailed 3-0 at the interval, having enjoyed first use of a strong breeze and, given the quality of their opponents in the opening 35 minutes, should have feared the worst.

It took a moment of inspiration from full back Eamon Fitzgerald to ignite their foundering challenge. There appeared little scope when Fitzgerald took a pass inside his own 22 on 48 minutes, but he accelerated between two Roscrea defenders before racing towards halfway.

There, he briefly encountered his Roscrea counterpart Ciaran Rouse, stepping neatly off his right foot to bypass the tackler, before fending off the pursuing Fergal Lawlor with a well-timed hand-off.

It was one of the great solo tries, schoolboy or otherwise, seen at the venue. Given that Fitzgerald had just run about 75 metres, it wasn't any great surprise that he couldn't tag on the conversion.

The score proved a catalyst, the Belvedere team suddenly imbued with greater belief and purpose. But it wasn't until the 68th minute that they guaranteed a place in the final on St Patrick's Day with a try from loosehead prop Eoin O'Meara. It might not have come but for referee Sean Buggy's intervention.

Minutes earlier, Roscrea had attempted to scramble the ball away close to their own line. Left wing Alan Wrafter, metres from his line, had his kick charged down but the ball fell kindly for the covering Lawlor to touch down. Buggy adjudged it to be a five-metre scrum to Belvedere rather than a 22 drop-out to Roscrea.

Three plays later and O'Meara plunged over for a try that Fitzgerald could not convert. Centre Patrick Hobbs's injury-time penalty completed the victory.

It was a cruel denouement for a spirited Roscrea side who played the better rugby for most of the game. The Phelan brothers, Conor (in particular) and John, part of an excellent back row, were once again superb, hooker John Egan a tyro in the loose, while Lawlor showed nice touches at outhalf.

They just couldn't quite distance themselves enough on the scoreboard in an excellent first half display and were unfortunate that a second penalty from Conor Phelan, which appeared to go inside the right hand upright, was ruled wide. The Roscrea centre's 25-metre effort two minutes into first-half injury time was all the Tipperary school could muster.

Belvedere can thank the unstinting work-rate of the pack - flanker and captain David O'Brien was outstanding - and some solid tackling in the centre for their success.

Belvedere have reached the final in a non-spectacular manner, somewhat at odds with their pre-cup reputation. They won't care if they're celebrating on St Patrick's Day, and it will take a good team to beat them.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 37 mins: C Phelan penalty, 0-3. Half-time: 0-3. 48: Fitzgerald try, 5-3. 68: O'Meara try, 10-3. 71: Hobbs penalty, 13-3.

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).

CISTERCIAN ROSCREA: C Rouse; J Hughes, C Phelan, E Kelliher (capt), A Wrafter; F Lawlor, C Harrington; P Greene, J Egan, E Hearn; J Byrne, L Meehan; B Hall, J Phelan, I McCarthy. Replacements: A Smyth for Harrington (58 mins), D Boland for Rouse (69 mins).

Referee: S Buggy (Leinster).