Sport

Terenure progress as O'Reilly's late try secures well-earned victory

SCHOOLS RUGBY - Leinster Junior Cup/Terenure College...22 Blackrock College..

Mon Mar 04 2002 - 00:00

SCHOOLS RUGBY - Leinster Junior Cup/Terenure College...22 Blackrock College...14: Terenure College produced an extraordinary finish to an enthralling Junior Cup quarter-final against Blackrock College at Donnybrook yesterday when hooker and match-hero Barry O'Reilly scored a winger's try from 40 metres out.

O'Reilly outpaced the Blackrock defence along the sideline to run clear and score under the posts.

The hooker converted his own try, to add to his earlier penalty and two conversions.

Despite turning over at half-time 0-0 both sides treated their classmates to a showpiece of schoolboy rugby, with hardly a knock-on in sight.

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Blackrock went into action shortly after the resumption when an astute touch kick by James Power landed in the corner. Prop Cian Culleton powered over from the subsequent lineout. However, Terenure struck back, first through O'Reilly's penalty and then with a four-man move among the backs which ended with winger David Russell running free for the line.

Terenure's forward power and organisation told again after 55 minutes when their backs set up full back Graham Coffey for an easy try under the posts.

Blackrock set up a nail-biting finish when centre Robert Boles sliced through for a try with just two minutes to go, giving Fran Moran his second conversion. At 14-15, injury time loomed before O'Reilly performed his coup de grace bang on the stroke of full-time.

BLACKROCK: F Moran; K Stafford, J Power, R Boles, F McAleer; L Fitzgerald, S Browne; E Baker, C Culleton, E O'Cuilleanain, J D'arcy, D Hegarty, Z Farivarz, M Lynch, G Walsh (capt).

TERENURE: G Coffey; D Russell, N McNamara, S Page, C Carroll; D Synnott, R Vij; C Moffat, B O'Reilly, D Quinn, P Gibbons, S Dunlop, M Mellotte, J Whelan, K Douglas(capt)

Referee: David Keane (Leinster branch).

• Australian celebrated three victories in the weekend's Super 12 series as champions ACT Brumbies and New South Wales Waratahs led the Southern Hemisphere provincial tournament after two rounds with unblemished records.

Queensland capped the winning Aussie treble after downing the Auckland Blues, but it was a black weekend for South Africa's four teams, all of them crashing to defeat.