SCHOOLS RUGBY LEINSTER SENIOR CUP Blackrock College 16 Belvedere College 12: THERE ARE, after all, some flaws in this Blackrock side. In a strange game, punctuated by flashes of genius, the heartening opening stanza was overshadowed by a desperately lethargic second half in which victory seemed assured after just 20 seconds via Andrew Conway's meandering and seemingly effortless running style.
The uniquely talented fullback proceeded to glide between the stretched cover for Blackrock’s second try with five minutes of normal time remaining to make it 16-5 and ensure the Cup comes south of the Liffey on March 17th.
Belvedere were expected to lose to Gonzaga in the quarter-finals only to rubbish that theory and yesterday they unveiled an effective gameplan to counter the smooth, offloading approach that has observers comparing the latest Blackrock crop to the greatest team (1996) produced by the famous rugby nursery.
Such associations remain irrelevant, however, for Jordi Murphy’s team until either Terenure or St Mary’s, who meet tomorrow, are overcome.
The defending champions, with a whip-smart management team, led by former international lock Gabriel Fulcher, deserve a wealth of credit for their obstinacy.
Belvedere knew that to stand any chance they must make it a bitter struggle for clean possession, especially denying Blackrock easy ball out of the tackle. The backrow scrap was worth the admission alone.
It wasn’t decisive but Belvedere outhalf Matt Darcy had an off day in the kicking department despite remaining an attacking threat.
Fulcher also sprang a surprise by unleashing their finest player, Niall Myron, into the fray on 32 minutes. Myron had been ruled out for the season with a knee injury but his impact was immediate.
Trailing 6-0 due to two Brian Kingston penalty goals, after respective line breaks by Conway and number eight Conor Barry, Belvedere responded by showing the expertise of their continuity game down the left flank, primarily through prop Chris O’Brien.
The recycle saw Darcy put Colm O’Shea into space and he fed Myron who attempted to step inside Conway. The wincing collision seemed to kill the move but Myron’s classy offload saw fullback Ben Woods dive over. Darcy’s conversion was wide so Blackrock led 6-5 after a riveting opening 35 minutes.
Moments into the second half Belvedere kicked long to Conway who despite a wall of defenders closing in set off on a powerful, lateral run before straightening and somehow offloading despite a heavy tackle to send powerful centre Brendan Macken bearing down on Woods. The last pass put winger Liam McHugh clear and that seemed to be that.
The game’s upbeat rhythm collapsed thereafter with nervy errors leading to a never ending succession of scrums before a clever Macken kick gave Blackrock a foothold in Belvedere territory that eventually saw Murphy rampaging towards the line, and of course offloading, with Conway eventually profiting from a Macken assist to make it a two score game.
Belvedere refused to wilt, however, and O’Brien, now switched to backrow, showed the awareness to steal a try three minutes into injury-time that John Fitzgerald converted. Referee Paul Haycock blew up to ensure an anti-climactic end to the match.
All told, this will prove a valuable lesson for Blackrock.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 18 mins: B Kingston pen, 3-0; 25 mins: B Kingston pen, 6-0; 35 mins: B Woods try, 6-5. Half-time. 35 mins: L McHugh try, 11-5; 70 mins: A Conway try, 16-5; 73 mins: C O'Brien try, 16-10; J Fitzgerald conv, 16-12.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: A Conway; L McHugh, B Macken, K Curran, C Rowden; B Kingston, P O'Shea; D Buckley, P Kilcoyne, A Lyons; D Fawsitt, J Murphy (capt); T Parsons, R Liddy, C Barry. Replacements: M Duncan for A Lyons (67 mins), J O'Beirne for D Fawsitt (69 mins).
BELVEDERE COLLEGE: B Woods; C Kennedy, S Doyle, C O'Shea, R Sheridan; M Darcy, H Nolan (capt); C O'Brien, C O'Flynn, D Casey; E McCarthy, G Slattery; A Darcy, M Oyuga, B Geraghty. Replacements: N Myron for C Kennedy (32 mins), J Fitzgerald for S Doyle (55 mins), P Murrin for B Geraghty (65 mins), D Murray for M Darcy (69 mins), G Farrelly for G Slattery (73 mins).
Referee: P Haycock(ARLB).
