Blackrock College 48 Terenure College 0
Blackrock College underlined their Leinster Schools Senior Cup title credentials with an emphatic victory against Terenure College in a one-sided quarter-final at Energia Park on Sunday afternoon.
69-time champions at this grade, ‘Rock had no fewer than seven try-scorers - centre Hugh Cooney bagged a brace - as they comfortably put their overwhelmed south Dublin rivals to the sword and became the first team to advance into the last-four of this year’s competition.
Firm favourites to progress after squeezing past fellow powerhouses St Michael’s College in a gripping opening round tie, the Williamstown school dominated possession from the word go. Efficiently working their way through a series of attacking phases, it was a matter of when rather than if they would take the lead.
When the play was transferred towards the right corner on six minutes, team captain Gus McCarthy was on hand to drive over the line in confident fashion.
While outhalf Zach Quirke couldn’t find the range off his touchline conversion, it wasn’t long before he was back on the kicking tee. Following an overthrow off a ‘Nure line-out inside their own ‘22’, ‘Rock found themselves on the front-foot once again.
They were subsequently rewarded for their patient build-up as inside centre Luke Kritzinger crossed the whitewash under a slew of opposition bodies for their second try of the contest in the 12th-minute.
Quirke was off-target for a second time in the wake of this five-pointer, before finally opening his account with a routine bonus strike to compliment a third ‘Rock try from tighthead Paddy McCarthy.
A young brother of rising Leinster lock Joe, McCarthy’s powerful finish was immediately followed by Cooney’s superb dash over the line on the right-wing. This ensured his side were already 22 points in front at the first-quarter mark and seemingly on their way towards a convincing triumph.
Gus McCarthy was close to claiming his second score off an intricate lineout move just shy of the half-hour mark, but knocked the ball on from a delicate off-load by his namesake Paddy. Nonetheless, a fifth try inevitably arrived through secondrow Alex Mullan and with Quirke supplying the extras, Blackrock established an insurmountable 29-0 interval cushion.
Given it is the alma mater of both Brian O’Driscoll and Garry Ringrose, there is often a heavy weight placed on the shoulders of outside centres in any ‘Rock team. The aforementioned Cooney certainly looks like he could be one for the future and he doubled his tally with a clinical close-range finish four minutes after the restart.
The introduction of a plethora of replacements did little to halt the momentum of a rampant ‘Rock as replacement scrumhalf Will Fitzgerald became the latest player to cross over on 48 minutes.
Despite the best efforts of skipper Darragh Brooks, ‘Nure were simply coming off second best. While they had a couple of entries into the ‘Rock 22, they couldn’t create any sustained attacking momentum.
‘Rock, on the other hand, continued to discover gaps inside their defence and winger Eoghan Walsh raced over on the left flank for a try that rounded off a demolition job for Justin Vanstone’s charges.
Scorers - Blackrock College: H Cooney 2 tries, G McCarthy, L Kritzinger, P McCarthy, A Mullan, W Fitzgerald, E Walsh try each, Z Quirke 3 cons, O Coffey con.
Blackrock College: R Moloney; A Quinn, H Cooney, L Kritzinger, E Walsh; Z Quirke, O Coffey; M Holmes, G McCarthy, P McCarthy; T Brigg, A Mullan; L Molony, I Cruise-O'Brien, K Jackson.
Replacements: P Van Zuydam for Quinn (h-t); W Fitzgerald for Coffey (43 mins); A Andersson for P McCarthy (48 mins); C Tonge for Molony (53 mins); C O'Brien for Holmes, (56 mins); M Yarr for G McCarthy, J Angulo for Cruise-O'Brien, C O'Shaughnessy for Quirke (all 60 mins).
Terenure College: J Kennedy; R Gallaher, M Vaughan, Y Fernandez Vilar, J Clarke; J Grimes, C Keaney; A Cashman, K Byrne, T Staunton; C Doyle, O Shannon; D Brooks, S Ruane, U Byrne.
Replacements: B Nolan for Byrne (9 mins); M Lydon for Cashman (h-t); J Delaney for Staunton, M Somerville for Ruane, P MacNamara for Keaney (all 39 mins), H O'Leary for Grimes (45 mins); T Murray for Gallaher (51 mins); S Keegan for Byrne (58 mins).
Referee: N Correll
