Zebo wonder try sets up Pres victory
Presentation now join Christians at the top of the Munster leaderboard with their 27th title and nobody could really complain with the outcome once Zebo went over in the 11th minute.
The try came after a period of serious pressure from Christians, who were aided by a strong wind. The winger caught a wayward kick and broke forward with determination on a 60-metre run that showed pace and power to dance his way past four defenders to score a sensational try.
In a difficult wind, Scott Deasy missed the conversion.
It dealt Christians a serious blow. Sparked by the try, a concerted effort from the Pres pack put Christians on the back foot and this was really a more easily won final than the scoreline suggests.
Pres went further ahead when Peter Kelleher charged over for a second try after 19 minutes, the beneficiary of a scoring pass from Peter O’Mahony. Christians did haul themselves back into contention with an Odhran Mulrooney penalty and there was just one converted score in it at the break.
Scott Deasy kicked a penalty eight minutes into the half to stretch the lead to 10 points, but in these games there is never a level of comfort and Pres played on with determination.
Christians were forced to make changes up front, ones they probably didn’t want to make, but that was a reflection on how the Pres pack performed. Simply, most of them were brilliant and all of them were good. On the day they ruled the roost, despite the best efforts of Ryan O’Connor, Shane McCarthy and Brian O’Callaghan.
Christians, without the injured Pat Parfrey, were rudderless outside their magnificent scrum-half Chris Nolan. Christians went for the jugular from the off, scrum-half Nolan launching a dangerous raid in the first couple of minutes after Brian O’Callaghan sent him away from the base of a scrum. It took a huge tackle from full-back Gavin Nugent to haul the wily runner down yards from the line.
The danger was always evident in those opening minutes until that amazing try by Zebo when Christian’s out half Robbie O’Donoghue failed to find touch.
But the Presentation pack did their homework well; coped with everything Christians — apart from Nolan — threw at them and came back fighting to finish that opening half in the ascendancy.
A huge tackle by Pres centre Alec Rose in the opening minute of the second half – a turnover to Pres – was a message of intent after Christians brought on two substitutes. James Mulcahy for Tom Keogh and Johnny Crowley for Ryan O’Connor in the back five.
The changes didn’t appear to make any difference because Pres powered on to take a 13-3 lead when captain Scott Deasy converted a penalty. It was enough to secure a second title in three years.
G. Nugent, T. Cullinane, A. Rose, B. Kelleher, S. Zebo, S. Deasy (capt), D. O’Driscoll, P. Kelleher, R. Corkery, R. Darmody, D. Lucey, M. Kenefick, N. Barry, P. O’Mahony, B. O’Hara.
B. Cagney for Dermody (temp, 42), J. McCarthy for Cullinane (60), D. Tuohy for Lucey, C. O’Mahony for O’Driscoll (both 70),
O. Mulrooney, D. Loftus, C. Martin, N. Courtney, S. McCarthy, R. O’Donoghue, C. Nolan, J. Ryan, A. Cudmore, J. Bransfield, T. Keogh, K. O’Dwyer, R. O’Connor, B. O’Callaghan, S. McCarthy (captain)
J. Mulcahy for Keogh, J. Crowley for O’Connor (both half-time), B. O’Regan for McCarthy (40), A. Foley for Bransfield (50).
L. Colgan (Munster Association).
