MUNSTER SENIOR CUP/St Munchin's ... 19 Glenstal ... 8: St Munchin's successfully began their defence of the Munster Schools' Senior Cup at Dooradoyle yesterday when they overcame a plucky Glenstal side.
However, it was far from a convincing display by the Limerick side who contained only one member of last year's team and they probably lack the physical strength to cope with the greater physical tests that lie ahead.
Wayne Murphy, who kicked the winning points in the dying stages of last year's final, played a key role in the Munchin's win and contributed 14 points to the overall tally.
He exchanged early penalties with Glenstal's Lorcan Burke and then added the points to a well taken try by number eight and captain Cathal Parkes in the 27th minute. Murphy went on to drop a goal before the interval and kicked two more penalties early in the second half.
However, Munchin's were unable to dominate and indeed Glenstal took up the running and were rewarded with a deserved try by winger Mark Cosgrave.
ST MUNCHIN'S: P Kilcoyne; M O'Donovan, D Hurley, E Moloney, B Dalton; W Murphy, T Cahill; M Kennedy, S Malone, D Keogh, F Walsh, B Purcell, L Mullane, A Desmond, C Parkes (capt). Replacements: R Hogan for Keogh; T Nihill for Desmond.
GLENSTAL: C Quinn; M Cosgrave, S Hooper, G Doyle, D O'Keeffe; L Burke, T Halley; M Coghlan, F Magee, E Tynan, A Goode, M Nagle, T Morgan, N Shee, J Hayes (capt). Replacements: R McGrath for Shee; C McGee for F McGee.
Referee: P Fitzgibbon (Munster)
