Clongowes end Castleknock dream to reach Leinster Schools Cup final

Clongowes Wood 29 Castleknock 19

The counter-punching of Clongowes proved too much for Castleknock in a cracking Leinster Senior Schools Cup semi-final at Donnybrook on Monday.

The knockout blows came deep into the final quarter, when replacement Eddie Carr and scrumhalf Oisin Devitt scored tries in the 64th and 66th minute.

Castleknock came into the match looking for their first final appearance since 1983 and they appeared to have the inside line on how to disarm the Clane school.

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It was all predicated on keeping the ball and trusting their phase play to carry the fight to Clongowes. Of course, any plan is only as good as the rewards it reaps.

Castleknock were rampant early on. Scrum-half Conor Duggan controlling the tempo, tighthead Ben Griffin and centre Fionn Gibbons bounding onto flat passes and captain Louis McDonagh managing things with aplomb.

There was encouragement as a defence shredding move from McDonagh, Conor Delaney and Alex Watson sowed seeds of doubt in the Clongowes defence.

The forwards weren’t slow to have their say, Luke and Stephen Callinan pulling their weight, openside Ciaran McCarrick piling into everything and wing Will Hennessy stealing over for McDonagh to convert in the seventh minute.

It didn’t end there, Jake Rooney straightening his line only to be caught by a high tackle five metres from glory. Eagle-eyed McDonagh spotted a soft defence and scored after a sharp tap-and-go, the outhalf then adding the extras for a 14-0 lead in the 12th minute.

Clongowes knew they were in a fight and they reacted by producing a scintillating try, forwards and backs moving at speed for Calum Dowling’s offload to send secondrow Jack Kearney home in the 18th minute.

It was just the tonic they were looking for and they were quickly a man up when Luke Callinan was binned for driving early at a lineout.

The maul was becoming a weapon of choice, drawing a penalty for outhalf David Wilkinson to narrow the gap to 14-8 at the interval.

Gradually, Clongowes began to suffocate the gainline, their centre Chris Grimes patrolling the midfield. Clongowes were committed to keeping the ball. They probed and punched into an unyielding Castleknock defence where Gibbons gobbled up a turnover.

Tom Mulcair matched that in picking Griffin’s pocket and Cumbers snared McCarrick rapidly before a ruck had formed.

Clongowes’ relentless pounding at the line was eventually productive, Dowling bursting between Watson and Rooney for Wilkinson’s conversion to put them ahead 15-14 for the first time in the 57th minute.

However Castleknock dug deeper, Hennessy scything into the 22, Gibbons and Watson combining to put Rooney in at the left corner in the 59th minute.

Clongowes answered through Carr’s close range carry, with Wilkinson converting in the 64th minute.

Then Clongowes number nine Devitt took off from inside his own half, staying out of the reach of the chasing Hennessy. Wilkinson’s conversion made it a two-score game, as Clongowes held on to make the final for the first time since 2014.

Clongowes: R Morrin; M Spillane, P Maher, C Grimes, H Wilkinson; D Wilkinson, O Devitt; B Dooley, E Cumbers, L McMahon, J Kearney, T Mulcair, E O'Boyle, C Dowling (capt), D McCormack. Replacements: E Carr for McMahon 56 mins; K Fitzpatrick for Mulcair 59 mins; R O'Regan for Cumbers 63 mins; H O'Neill for O'Boyle 64 mins.

Castleknock: A Watson; W Hennessy, F Gibbons, C Delaney, J Rooney; L McDonagh (capt), C Duggan; B Bislin, A Creedon, B Griffin, L Callinan, S Callinan, F Stanley, C McCarrick, I Birmingham. Replacements: G Quinn for Bislin 49 mins; A Birnie for Birmingham 56 mins; J Duffy for L Callinan 57 mins; C Mahon for Duggan 62 mins; A Malone for McDonagh, E Keogh for Griffin, E Leen for Delaney all 66 mins.

Referee: D Blake (Leinster).