The feared century of points never materialised, and although a late flurry of tries got the Goliaths halfway there, the Davids from Skerries were entitled to smile and slap each other on the back.
Just getting to Belfield yesterday and earning their first tilt at the holders of the Coca-Cola Leinster Schools' Senior Cup was an achievement in itself.
Almost certainly they are the first VEC school to compete in the stronger section, and the scoreline scarcely reflects the inequities of the match-up: fee-paying against non-fee-paying co-ed; a pool of 100plus as against twentysomething; 61-time winners and holders against the section A winners.
So it was a pity that the Leinster Branch further weighted the equation by dragging Skerries all the way to the Belfield Bowl.
Surely the Williamstown school could have been given guidebooks to, say, Castle Avenue, or better still Holmpatrick and ensured Skerries of a true day out?
Not that Skerries were remotely intimated; they persistently put their bodies in the way.
Granted, they made little headway when they gamely tried to run the ball at Blackrock, until late on when Mark Hewitt jinked and linked with their useful centres, Colin Whearty and Paddy O'Sullivan.
But the tackling of that trio and, for example, Andrew Jenkins and Eoin McGonigle up front, forced a surprisingly high rate of handling errors and turnovers from the nervy and rusty blue and whites. There were frowns amongst their backroom staff as a mere 17-3 lead was compiled by the interval.
Inevitably, amid a predictable surfeit of substitutions, Blackrock hit their stride. Martin Olima, their strong-running and elusive fullback, led the way with a hat-trick. The second was the pick of the nine when he finished a flowing backline move from half-way.
Blackrock used both the full width of the pitch and pacey wingers Daire Higgins and James Waldron. With the ball moving via the slick hands of out-half Michael Cantrell, flankers Jamie Conway and the impressive Philip van Esbeck acted as auxiliary runners wide out.
Scoring sequence: 10 mins: Olima try 5-0; 19: Carroll try 10-0; 25: McCormack try, Ronan con 170; 35: M Hewitt pen 17-3 (half-time 17-3); 36: Olima try, Ronan con 24-3; 41: Carroll try 29-3; 50: Hegarty try 34-3; 53: Olima try 39-3; 58: van Esbeck try 46-3; 62: Hegarty try 51-3.
BLACKROCK: M Olima; D Higgins, R McCormack, J Ronan, J Waldron; M Cantrell, D Geraghty; D Burke, S Delaney, J Danagher, R Keane, D Gannon, J Conway, M Carroll (capt), P van Esbeck. Replacements: G Fitzgerald for Burke, G Hegarty for Delaney, J Healy for Carroll (all 44 mins), D Mannion for Geraghty, A Mooney for Conway, C Sharpe for Cantrell, P Mulrean for Waldron (all 51 mins).
SKERRIES: M Kirwan; J Dunphy, P O'Sullivan, C Whearty, A Murtagh; M Hewitt, M Heaney; N Walsh, E McGonigle, R McCorry, A Jenkins, B Murray, J Crowell, J Sherlock, A McGuinness. Replacements: S Carroll for Dunphy (half-time), C Cribben for Jenkins (50 mins), T Workman for Kirwan (58 mins), S Burton for McGonigle (60 mins), C Keane for Murtagh (60 mins), B Murphy for McCorry (62 mins), B Sherwin for Heaney (67 mins).
Referee: D Keane (Leinster).
