Details
Date | Time | Competition | Season |
---|---|---|---|
29 January 2023 | 3:00 pm | Leinster Schools Senior Cup | 2022/23 |
Match Report
St. Michael’s College Victorious In Leinster Schools Opener
The power game of St Michael’s College made the difference in their 19-5 victory over Belvedere College in the opening round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup on Sunday afternoon, booking their place in the next round.
There weren’t any scores to report in the opening 35 minutes. The teams went into the interval deadlocked at 0-0. Both struggling to break down one another’s defences.
Leinster U18’s winger Andre Ryan got over in the corner for a late consolation try for Belvedere College, but it was the boys from Aillesbury Road who will be competing in the quarter finals in a few weeks’ time.
It’s up there with Christmas and birthdays. The last Sunday in January means only one thing, the start of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. First up, it was an all-Dublin heavyweight clash, St Michaels College vs Belvedere College. They have 15 titles between them.
Belvedere had an early opportunity to score, with an attacking lineout deep in the opposition red zone, but they couldn’t make the territory count. The slightly one-dimensional attack, using their forwards for pick and goes, was dealt with well by the defence.
St Michaels looked very dangerous in attack early on. Out-Half Wilhelm de Klerk was very influential anytime he got the ball in hand. Their inside centre Mark Canniffe was being used as a human battering ram to make the vital yards.
The north Dublin school dominated the possession for much of the first half Forwards Alex Usanov, Maitiu O’Neill and Liam Granville all make their presence felt with big carries all around the park. Although, they could not quite crack the opposition’s defensive wall.
Both sides had their chances on the ball, but they equally struggled to breakdown the defences. There was a fierce competition at the breakdown, making it very hard for either team to retain possession.
The boys in blue had the chance to go into the halftime break in the lead. They had a rolling maul heading towards the try line, but the big lock Alan Spicer managed to get in and disrupt the move, in a great individual defensive effort. The half time whistle sounded and we were still without a score in a very competitive Schools Cup opener.
Belvedere made a promising start to the second half, using the forwards again to ask questions of the St Michaels defence. They opted to keep it in tight, going through the phases, getting deeper and deeper into the attack territory, but similar to the first half, they couldn’t find the key to unlock the defence.
In the 47th minute, we finally got the opening score of the contest. From a penalty, St Michael’s opted to go for the corner, an option that didn’t work for them a few minutes earlier, however, they remained brave and went to the driving maul again. Steward peeled off the back before Canniffe ran a Robbie Henshaw like line. The centre was just short of the scoring zone, but O’Reilly barred over for the try, a couple of phases later.
This tactic helped them for the next two tries that came after. Like the first try, the maul played a huge factor before Steward and O’Reilly for his second of the day got over for tries number two and three. Jules Fenlon slotted two of the three conversions. St Michael’s led 19-0.
The score line wasn’t a fair reflection on the game, especially in that first half. Phil Werahiko’s team finished strong. In the 69th minute, arguably one of their best players on the day Ryan scored in the corner to get them on the scoreboard. It finished 19-5. St Michael’s setting their stall out early as one of the competition favourites.
Timeline
Ground
Energia Park |
---|
Energia Park, Donnybrook Road, Pembroke West B ED, Dublin, County Dublin, Leinster, D04 T8X2, Ireland |