Schools' Rugby Leinster Senior CupTerenure College 14 PBC Bray 7Occasionally fortune doesn't favour the brave, it merely tantalises them.Presentation Brothers College, Bray, would empathise following yesterday's Leinster Schools' Senior Cup clash at Donnybrook.
Consigned to the role of underdogs, they fulfilled that brief by displaying the tenacity of terriers as they came within a whisker of embarrassing the defending champions.
It was an outstanding performance by this Bray team. Dwarfed physically, almost to a man, they displayed an outstanding work ethic and never took a backward step. Technique in the set-pieces allowed them to survive. Simon O'Carroll and Alan O'Toole provided possession out of touch, while the scrum refused to buckle.
The back row tackled with a commitment and aggression that belied their size, and none more effectively than O'Toole and the excellent Conor Savage in a fine, all round display from the pack.
Stevie Cranley was a constant menace at scrumhalf, while it's a pity the back three didn't see more of the ball. Tom Corr, Sean Quinn and in particular Sami Dowling presented a handful going forward.
Victory is sometimes measured in millimetres and twice Pres Bray came agonisingly close to the whitewash. On the first occasion a marvellous, 30-metre break from Savage swept play into the Terenure 22 and when the flanker released wing Corr a try was in the offing.
But Terenure left wing Shane Durkin had tracked the break superbly. He hunted down Savage, nailed Corr and then, when Savage managed to grab the ball once again, Durkin was part of a gang tackle that forced him into touch at the corner flag.
The second time Bray came within a whisker was in the second half and the product of a clever lineout variation.
O'Toole tapped down and the ball was worked back to lock Bill Cuddihy taking the blindside route. He galloped 20 metres before being initially stopped by Durkin, and was then unfortunately penalised for a double movement as he tried to scramble over the line on all fours.
The one time they did breach the Terenure defence was on 61 minutes when Savage was driven over from a lineout. Outhalf Steve Dempsey, who had struggled with his place-kicking up until that point, posted a magnificent conversion from the touchline. It reduced the deficit to 14-7 and, in keeping with the attitude all afternoon, Bray girded themselves for one final all out assault.
But Terenure's defence held firm, much as it did for most of the afternoon and in that respect they deserve credit for their discipline. They weren't helped by an injury to outside centre Gary Byrne, as they had to reshuffle almost their entire back-line to compensate. When enjoying their full complement the champions mustered some high-quality back play, evident in both their tries.
When they attacked in the outside centre channel, twice they managed to get outside Bray's three-up defence. Full back Cillian Byrne was the first to do so, racing 40 metres before supplying Durkin with a run-in. Terenure struck again just before the interval, this time when the powerful inside centre Graham Coffey made the yardage before allowing Conor Gildea to canter to the line.
Centre Gary Byrne converted both tries. Leading 14-0 at the interval, the bigger Terenure pack in which Peter McKiernan was a formidable ball carrier should have been able to provide the platform to launch a pacy three-quarter line.
Terenure survived and go forward. For Pres there is the satisfaction of rattling the defending champions to their back teeth, something they should reflect on with pride.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 26 mins: Durkin try, G Byrne conversion 7-0; 33: Gildea try, G Byrne conversion, 14-0. Half-time: 14-0. 61: Savage try, Dempsey conversion, 14-7.
TERENURE COLLEGE: C Byrne; A Hughes, G Byrne, G Coffey, S Durkin; C Gildea (capt), R Vij; C Moffat, C Pounch, P McKiernan; S Dunlop, S Duggan; C O'Hagan, C Smyth, A Donohue. Replacements: M Mellotte for Donohue 52 mins; A Page for G Byrne 58 mins.
PRESENTATION BRAY: S Quinn; T Corr, J Harris-Wright, L Mantle (capt), S Dowling; S Dempsey, S Cranley; P Murphy, A Lewis, T Doorley; S O'Carroll, B Cuddihy; C Savage, A O'Toole, D Flynn. Replacement: J Harman for Murphy h-time.
Referee: J Carville (Leinster).
