That the cup was within touching distance would have made this final defeat a little harder to take for Presentation. Leading by six points with less than four minutes of normal time remaining, and playing a controlled game into a stiff wind, PBC could be forgiven for thinking their 26th Munster Senior Cup was safely within grasp.
But St Munchins, embracing a philosophy of never giving up, in a quite dramatic twist snatched the trophy from under Presentation noses for only their third title win in the school's history.
St Munchins' upbeat start gave them the platform to stay in the contest which appeared to be drifting away in the second half.
Playing against the wind, it was hooker Damian Varley, brother of Garryowen captain Colin, who picked up and bustled over a pile of bodies after the first attack of the match.
That energised beginning from St Munchins was to bring them further reward when their sparky scrum half, Jeff McNamara, wriggled under the clawing arms of towering flanker Ruairi Geoghegan just inside the PBC 22 to deliver a second blow on 19 minutes for 10-0.
Until that point, PBC had been wayward with their touch kicking, but McNamara's try ignited an immediate response and, for a classic score, PBC drove a maul 20 metres up the right, whisked the ball left and found full back David Kingston steaming into the gain line. With Barry Keeshan's conversion and his first penalty of the game five minutes later the two teams were level at 10-10.
Keeshan by then was finding his range after a nervous beginning. A penalty inside the St Munchins' 22 accounted for anther three points, and an offside coming up to the break gave Keeshan his third kick for a 16-10 half-time lead.
While St Munchins had 6ft 7in Donncha Ryan tending their lineouts, Stephen O'Keefe and Geoghegan missed nothing for PBC as the game, still a belter, became more fractured in the second period.
Brian Cahill, with a 40-metre effort, brought St Munchins closer, before Keeshan dropped a goal to again stretch the margin to 19-13.
At that stage, midway through the second half, PBC appeared to have it under control, but were always working harder for yardage into the breeze, and St Munchins turned them with ease. Still, with PBC largely confining the battle arena to midfield, St Munchins didn't really threaten until the substitutions started arriving.
On 66 minutes Dermot Murnane was introduced into the second row. Barely 10 seconds on the pitch and the big lock caught clean ball from a restart and galloped up the left channel. Brought down just five yards out from the line, the ball was sharply recycled and Varley eagerly attacked the line.
But St Munchins still needed the conversion to take the lead for the final three minutes. Full back Wayne Murphy, showing little sign of pressure, smoothly guided over a difficult, touch-line kick from the left for 20-19.
Then it was all over bar the shouting. From St Munchins, that was considerable.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins: D Varley try 0-5; 19: J McNamara try 10-0; 21: D Kingston try, B Keeshan con 10-7; 25: B Keeshan pen 10-10; 31: Keeshan pen 10-13; 36: Keeshan pen 10-16. Half-time. 47: B Cahill pen 13-16; 49: Keeshan drop goal 13-19; 66: D Varley try, W Murphy con 20-19.
PBC: D Kingston; T Gleeson, M Murphy, M O'Gara, D Griffin; B Keeshan, D Stringer; J Moynihan, R Quinn (capt), N MacMahon, B Buckley, S O'Keefe, J O'Flynn, R Geoghegan, H O'Flynn. Replacements: P O'Donovan for Buckley (53 mins).
ST MUNCHINS: W Murphy; B Kennedy, D O'Mahony, B Cahill, J Cott; B Deedy, J McNamara; D Horan, D Varley, G Collins, A Gallagher, D Ryan, N Dodd, J Shine, M Carroll (capt). Replacements: D Keogh for Horan (64 mins); A Guiry for Collins (26 mins); D Murnane for Gallagher (66 mins).
Referee: S Flannery.
