Munchin’s the first test as Ard Scoil target Cup

LAST year’s Munster Junior Cup champions, Ard Scoil Rís of Limerick are setting their sights on the Munster Schools Senior Cup.

Today’s quarter-final clash with St Munchin’s at Thomond Park will be a good indicator of their potential.

Significantly, they provided a third of the Munster side that captured the Interprovincial Championship before Christmas and all five, hooker Sean Cronin, prop Liam Casey, second-row David Sherry and half-backs Conan Doyle and Ross O’Loughlin, feature in this afternoon’s encounter.

It has been a great week already for Ard Scoil with the appointment of one of their most famous past pupils, Paul O’Connell, as captain of the Irish team against France in Paris on Saturday.

St Munchins’ Francis Daly and Fergal Walsh both saw action for Munster off the substitutes bench.

They also have a potential match winner in Wayne Murphy, who held his nerve in magnificent fashion to land the last minute conversion that earned Munchins’ a 20-19 final victory over PBC in 2002.

Glenstal and Rockwell meet in the day’s other quarter-final at Dooradoyle. Munster winger Peter Shallow is the central figure for Rockwell with full-back Conor Quinn the key man for Glenstal.