Leinster Junior Cup semi-final Blackrock 31 Castleknock College 3There is no greater compliment in schools rugby than to suggest this is a well-above- average Blackrock College side and they will be warm favourites to repeat their 2003 Powerade Junior Cup final win over Gonzaga College.
The all-round fluency and ethos of "letting the ball do the work" from one to 15 marks this team out as exceptional. They started by weaving pretty patterns, recycling cleanly and moving the ball in textbook fashion at Donnybrook. Castleknock fought vigorously but the lack of possession eventually took its toll.
The first quarter adrenalin buzz and high energy levels took Castleknock offside but Brendan Macken sent the penalty wide.
Then Rock took a maul fully 20 metres before hooker Tom Parsons escaped from the tight and into the open spaces. Outhalf Brian Kingston and fullback Calum Rowden were foiled before centre Macken eventually picked up and drove over to give his team a 5-0 lead in the 12th minute.
Castleknock centres Conor Woodgate and Gavin McIntyre looked like a balanced pairing in the previous rounds and they sought gaps in Blackrock's defence. But they had to work a lot harder for shorter yards as their forwards could not deliver workable ball.
The maul is rarely a match-winner at this level, but the Williamstown boys sucked in the numbers with another collective drive and openside Jordi Murphy broke away, a la Parsons, to make the line. Macken added the conversion, via the right upright.
A mesmerising attack full of invention, with scrumhalf Paul O'Shea at the hub of it, ended with Macken and fullback Rowden releasing wing Liam McHugh to the line. The losers, in reply, could manage only a lone, and unsuccessful, shot at goal from some distance by outhalf Mark Coffey near the break.
McIntyre almost connected with left wing Niall Moran from a crossfield kick. But the play was called back for McIntyre to slot a penalty for offside in the 40th minute.
The perfect combination between forwards who were not too greedy to release the ball close to the line and backs who knew when to give a pass allowed Rowden to dance around the last man before number eight Conor Barry converted turnover ball into a fifth try for rampant Blackrock.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: C Rowden; L McHugh, B Macken, K Curran, P Costello; B Kingston (capt), P O'Shea; C Walsh, T Parsons, D Fawsitt; J Kelly, P Kilcoyne; E Taite, J Murphy, C Barry. Replacements: D Buckley for Walsh (50 mins), I Reddin for Costello (51), D Dunne for O'Shea, C Beauchamp for Curran (57).
CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE: D King; M Sullivan, C Woodgate, G McIntyre, N Moran; M Coffey, C McCrossan; A Sweeney, R McGuinness, M Moore; D Heneghan, G Barry; D O'Driscoll, S Hafford, J O'Shea (capt). Replacements: S Lacey for Moran (23 mins temp), M Reilly for Moore (24), R Thomas-Jones for Coffey (h-t), M Connolly for McCrossan (57), E O'Leary for Heneghan (58).
Referee: J Carville (IRFU).
