RUGBY/Rockwell College 9 PBC Cork 3:ROCKWELL SURVIVED a late onslaught from PBC yesterday to register their 24th Munster Schools' Senior Cup title.
In a game of few try-scoring opportunities, all the best drama was reserved for the final few seconds of an absorbing contest.
Needing a converted try to take the cup, defending champions PBC poured forward during a frenetic endgame, and looked to have done enough when Séamus Glynn and James Kiernan combined to put hooker Will Foley on his way to the line.
A try seemed certain, but the Cork school were denied thanks to an incredible cover tackle by Sonny Dwyer, who somehow managed to hold his man up just inches from the line. With that, the referee signalled full-time and the Cashel outfit celebrated a victory they fully deserved.
Captain Cian O’Connell cut an emotional figure when presented the cup a short time later. The inspirational prop forward had tasted defeat in each of the last two finals, including a 22-10 reversal against Pres in last season’s decider.
But Brian Haugh’s 100 per cent kicking record eventually proved the difference between the sides.
The classy scrumhalf kicked two penalties before the break and one in the second half to steer his side home, and it was no surprise when he was named as the man-of-the-match by the sponsors, Avonmore.
But this was very much a team effort and Rockwell showed skill and composure right throughout their ranks as they sought to make up for previous disappointments.
In a gripping first half, dogged PBC limited their opponents to just two penalties, both of which were converted by Haugh.
In the second half PBC were giving as good as they got, with halfbacks Chris Banon and Eamon Mills growing in ascendancy and Ryan Murphy exerting a good deal of influence from number eight.
Steve Dinan cut the deficit with a penalty on 55 minutes and Rory Scannell had a chance to level the scores moments after, but his long-range effort failed to hit the target.
Instead, Rockwell restored their six-point advantage when Haugh split the posts from 40 metres with another sweetly-struck effort.
Pres battled on until the end, but this was to be Rockwell’s day.
ROCKWELL: D McGillycuddy; S Horgan, H McNulty, K Kiely (D Johnston 65), R Jermyn; C Holland, B Haugh (A Lynch 68); C O’Donnell (capt), D Mulcahy, MJ Murphy; N Flynn, A O’Sullivan; R Moran, S Dwyer, L Cahill.
PBC: S Glynn; S Dinan, R Scannell, R Caplice, J Kiernan; E Mills, C Bannon (D Evans 68); B Scott, W Foley, K Kingston (D Horgan 57); P Derham, J Fitzgerald; A Hudson (B Fitzgerald 47), J Duffy, R Murphy (capt) .
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
