Schools rugby Leinster Junior Cup quarter-final/St Mary's - 10 Clongowes Wood - 3: As a poor game sprang to life in the closing stages yesterday with a flurry of action, Clongowes were left crestfallen when impact substitute Ray Crotty breached their defence deep in injury-time to give St Mary's victory.
But this young Clongowes side can draw some positives in defeat. The decision of former senior coach Noel Murray to drop down to under-14 level is paying dividends as their traditional fast-paced rucking reaped early territorial advantage.
By the time the senior cycle wheels around this team will be contenders, especially if captain Nick Delehanty and hooker Tim O'Mahony continue to develop.
For this year, though, St Mary's join Blackrock and Belvedere in a highly competitive last four. Either CBC Monkstown or Terenure will complete the quartet this evening.
Although talented in all departments, St Mary's will not be favourites to win outright but they are going to take some shifting. Their bulkier pack gradually acclimatised to the forward contest and in fullback Darren Hudson they have a strike runner who can swing a contest.
The real gem, though, is outhalf Gareth Redmond. In a contest without any margin for error, Redmond ensured his two strikes at goal were on the money. The first came after 20 minutes from a fair distance, after Hudson stepped outside Cillian Gowan only for the winger's trailing leg to bring him to ground.
Clongowes fullback Joe Ryan was unlucky with a 50-metre penalty five minutes before the interval but opened his team's account early in the second half when the opposing defensive line was adjudged to have rushed up offside. It was fortunate, as the Clongowes attack had broken down because of a knock-on by outhalf Tom Fletcher.
Unperturbed, St Mary's continued to dominate territory but a lack of composure had the game edging towards a replay. They had two identical backrow moves blown up for crossing. Also, another Clongowes trait of refusing to wilt under intense pressure became evident.
An error seemed likely to settle it, and Ryan's wild pass in his own 22 looked fatal. Hudson scooped up possession and was held, yet his offload was expertly gathered by Karl O'Sullivan - the winners' outstanding forward - who was denied the line by an outstanding tackle from Gowan.
Instead, a bit of class decided affairs. Crotty ran a perfect line outside and with Hudson as a decoy inside, the replacement slipped two tackles to cross at the far Wesley corner. Redmond's mammoth conversion ensured Clongowes needed a converted try in the remaining seconds to force a draw. The opportunity never presented itself.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 21 mins: G Reynolds pen, 3-0. Half-time: 3-0. 33: J Ryan pen, 3-3; 62: R Crotty try,G Reynolds con, 10-3.
ST MARY'S COLLEGE: D Hudson; I O'Neill, P Finnigan, J O'Donoghue, D Barnwell; G Redmond, M Conway (capt); J McGrath, S Culligan, N Murphy, D McGann, R Field, C Franklin, K O'Sullivan, R Bent. Replacements: R Crotty for J O'Donoghue (46 mins), O McGill for R Bent (49 mins).
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: J Ryan; C Gowan, M Sheehy, S Lennon, C Wade; T Fletcher, M McLoughlin; H Mahony, T O'Mahony, M Collis, S Doyle, B Mahony, R Timlin, W Larkin, N Delehanty (capt).
Referee: Tony Duncan (ARLB).
