Clongowes win seemed predestined

It had to happen, there was an ulterior spirit at work. In his well delivered post-match speech, Clongowes captain John Smyth spoke of the legend that was the late, great Vinny Murray and how the schools' former assistant headmaster and coach will live forever. And in Clongowes' hearts he will, this victory was proof of it.

Yesterday's sixth Leinster Senior Schools' Cup success, after a truly titanic struggle which went down to the last kick and with only a few inches the difference, was a fitting tribute to Murray's work and to the indomitable spirit he brought to their teams.

You felt more than a little sorry for Terenure, who did enough to win most finals and in the heel of the hunt, the outcome was decided by a penalty from 35 metres in the sixth minute of injury time. David McAllister's angled kick seemed to drift back on course only after it bypassed the near post.

There was no consoling the Terenure out-half as the full-time whistle immediately sounded to spark a manic pitch invasion from the blue and white hordes.

McAllister need feel no shame, nor indeed any of the Terenure players and the pity was it came down to that, for defeat at that lastditch stage would also have been the cruellest blow for Clongowes. In truth, the game had really been decided by a moment of sheer class from Clongowes' elusive full back Philip Treacy, at a time when Clongowes were seemingly swimming against a remorseless Terenure tide.

The game itself took a long time to ignite, evidence of the almost suffocating nervousness in both camps, but when it did the estimated crowd of 15,000 couldn't have asked for more.

Surprisingly, given the emotional edge to their cause, Clongowes settled far quicker - a tribute to their coaches Noel Murray and Rob Taylor perhaps. Terenure made the game's first four handling errors and didn't move tellingly into the Clongowes half for the first 18 minutes.

Terenure weren't helped by losing their captain Barry Flynn inside the first 12 minutes, the gritty centre having tried to run off an early knee injury and at least having the satisfaction of a crunching tackle on Clongowes dangerman David Clavin.

Clongowes not surprisingly competed better for Terenure's ruck ball, while also protecting their own, and so were able to take the game through several phases. Stephen McGee's brace of penalties was fair reward, and twice Clavin's menace created space for the wingers Paddy Berkery and McGee either side of McGee's second penalty - the Terenure cover denying tries each time.

As the half wore on though, Terenure began to hit a groove, committing more numbers to rucks and presenting the ball more cleanly for Robbie Sparks. McAllister had the distance but not the accuracy with a 45 metre penalty, before Graham Crawford cut through off his blindside wing from McAllister's deft reverse pass, but was regaining control of the juggling ball over the line when tackled side-on by Smyth - who had a mighty match defensively.

All the while Terenure and their supporters would have been waiting for Sparks' moment to strike. Three minutes after the interval a Terenure scrum tweaked to open up the blindside, Sparks exaggeratedly addressed the ball as if to pass, and sure enough scooped the ball up, swerved past one tackle and drew the other for Sean King to take Clavin's covering tackle and score in the corner.

Game on at last. The battlelines were now drawn as the score did wonders for Terenure. Big hits from the resumption by the outstanding stand-in captain Anthony Kelly, McAllister and Donal Dunlop were a signal of their intent. Clavin relieved the pressure with a monster kick, but back came Terenure when flanker Richard Hegarty, who vied with Kelly for man-of-the-match, latched onto a loose Clongowes scrum feed to lead a footrush upfield, and help procure quick ruck ball for Crawford to have another dangerous cut.

But Clongowes are never ones for wilting, least of all yesterday. Smyth chased down another relieving kick by Matthews and suddenly and stealthily Clongowes struck in the 55th minute. There seemed little danger when replacement outhalf Robert Jenkinson passed flat to Philip Treacy on a crowded narrow side 30 metres out, but the elusive full back danced in and out of three tackles, broke clear and rounded the last man to score.

Back came Terenure again in a compelling finale. McAllister hit the upright with a 35 metre penalty after a big break by loosehead Kevin Mahony. Kelly was a collosus by now, but his outstanding counterpart Aidan Proctor denied him with a try-saving tackle before McAllister landed a penalty eight minutes from time.

Kelly then handled three times in a flowing tap penalty move from their own 10-metre line, which resulted in another penalty from McAllister four minutes from time to make it 13-11.

Scoring sequence: 11 mins McGee pen 3-0; 18: McGee pen 6-0; 38: King try 6-5; 55: Treacy try, McGee con 13-5; 62: McAllister pen 13-8; 66: McAllister pen 13-11.

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: P Treacy; S McGee, J Smyth (capt), D Clavin, P Berkery; M Britton, C Matthews; D McKeown, M Kelly, J Moran, D Hickey, D Lynch, R O'Toole, A Proctor, M Rooney. Replacements: R Jenkinson for Britton (34-half-time and 50 mins), S Dunne for Mckeown (54), D Fagan for O'Toole (58).

TERENURE COLLEGE: M Duffy; S King, D Dunlop, B Flynn (capt), G Crawford; D McAllister, R Sparks; K Mahony, B Blaney, J Keogh, R Gernon, R McDonnell, J Barretto, A Kelly, R Hegarty. Replacements: K Jones for Flynn (12).

Referee: D Tyndall (Leinster).