Leinster Schools Junior Cup Final: St Michael’s College 73 Castleknock College 0
An awesome display of power, pace and skill propelled St Michael’s College to break any number of records in the Leinster Schools Junior Cup final at sun-soaked Energia Park in Donnybrook on Wednesday afternoon.
Captain Herbie Boyle, a younger brother of Leinster and Ireland prop Jack, led the charge with four tries, followed by doubles for Joshua Neville and Austin Currivan in an 11-try whitewash over Castleknock College.
It was the first time in the school’s history that a team completed an unbeaten, 100 per cent run through its friendly and cup campaigns.
The first lineout was gobbled up by Oliver Maybury and the maul travelled 20 metres for Neville to claim the inevitable try, converted by Sam Dunne in the fifth minute.
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The Ailesbury Road school were running foul of the referee and the seventh time it happened, Castleknock outhalf Brian Whelan’s penalty dropped short in the 14th minute
When prop Harry McCafferty ate up the ground, Boyle was unstoppable from five metres out. Dunne converted for a 14-point advantage in the 20th minute.
Boyle bullied the gainline and although Neville landed short of the line he reached over to touch down in the 25th minute, with Dunne again adding the extras.
Right wing Myles Carroll kept St Michael’s on the front foot and it was Boyle again who scored the fourth try, converted by Dunne for a 28-0 lead at the break.
The opening sequences of the second half delivered more of the same and when Sebastian Perry scooted down the right, Boyle was never going to be denied, with Dunne converting.
From the restart, Carroll was quickly into top gear, with Mark McNally on his inside, before Ryan O’Sullivan completed the end-to-end move for another try.
Castleknock captain Matthew Lynch lifted the siege when he broke into open field, where illegal ruck work offered outhalf Whelan a chance to secure a five-metre lineout.
They looked on the verge of a breakthrough when the ball popped up and St Michael’s fullback Sebastian Perry took off on a 50-metre run. In the blink of an eye, Boyle was lowering his shoulder for his fourth.
Left wing Currivan and Perry skated home from long-range attacks before replacement Hugh Draper blocked and collected the 10th try. Currivan then went over for his second and St Michael’s 11th.
SCORERS – St Michael’s: H Boyle 4 tries; J Neville, A Currivan 2 tries each; R O’Sullivan, S Perry, H Draper try each; S Dunne 9 cons.
ST MICHAEL’S: S Perry; M Carroll, M McNally, S Dunne, A Currivan; M McKenna, R O’Sullivan; C Farrell, J Neville, H McCafferty; O Maybury, S Kennedy; D Elliott, D Fingleton, H Boyle (capt).
Replacements: J Gilsenan for Farrell (40 mins); P Ryan for Elliott, T O’Leary for McNally (both 45); H Draper for Maybury, D Thomas for O’Sullivan, H Kirkham for Carroll (all 48); K Coogan for Neville, C Synnott for McCafferty (both 50).
CASTLEKNOCK: S Cunningham; E Flynn, K McGivern, O Mulligan, L Jackson; B Whelan, B Reilly; J Mallon, D Breheny, D White; H Hanley, D Mac Mhaoinigh; M Quinn, J O’Donnell, M Lynch (capt).
Replacements: C Corley for Mallon, T Muhammad Anwar for White, T de Bonis for Jackson (all 36 mins); S Flavin for Breheny, C Reilly for Reilly (both 46); S Duffy for Mac Mhaoinigh (50); E Byrnes for Mulligan, H Kennedy for Quinn (both 54).
Referee: R Shaughnessy (Leinster Branch).
