THE OPPORTUNISM and athleticism of David Kenny earned victory for King's Hospital in this Leinster Schools' Senior Cup, second-round replay at Donnybrook yesterday.
St Andrew's were leading by two points with 12 minutes left when they were awarded a penalty deep in their own half. Scrum-half Andrew Boyd made a snap decision to run the ball when a kick from out-half Cillian Sparks would have represented a more viable option and Kenny took advantage of the situation as he made the vital interception to gallop to the line and touch down under the posts. Fullback Robert Nowlan landed the conversion.
Back-row forward Peter Bracken had opened the scoring for St Andrew's with a well-judged left-footed penalty goal from the touchline in the sixth minute before King's Hospital place-kicker, Robert Nowlan, made amends for two earlier misses with a penalty from under the posts in the 20th minute.
Sparks landed a fine penalty to put his side back in front but in the 29th minute, King's Hospital embarked on a rolling maul which culminated in prop Ravi Chauhan powering his way over the line. Nowlan added the conversion before Sparks reduced the half-time deficit to just a point with a penalty and he regained the lead in the 53rd minute.