Battling Newtown claim cup final glory

NEWTOWN SCHOOL put two years of heartbreak behind them at windy Clonmel yesterday when they ended Midleton’s three-year reign as Mungret Cup champions with a deserved triumph in an absorbing decider.

Midleton had put Newtown to the sword in each of the last two seasons, but they were unable to continue that dominance, despite enjoying the better of an intense forward battle. The bigger Midleton pack won more possession but had nothing like the class displayed by Newtown behind the scrum.

Midleton coach Martin Preston admitted his side hadn’t been at their best: “We were always underdogs; we were struggling all season because we had to rely a lot on our pack. We were short a couple of key players in the backs and Newtown had a number of quality backs,” he said.

Newtown coach Mike Ashmore was thrilled with the win, noting: “Some of that team played in the last two finals and they really needed this one. It’s absolutely wonderful to win it. It certainly is a great way to wrap up the season.

“We have some great backs but we’re a bit light up front. Still, I was pleased with the way the forwards hung in there and battled for possession.”

They did that, even if the only real area of productivity was from touch and dynamic back-row forwards Chris Teevan and Daniel Pim on the deck and from broken play.

To Midleton’s credit, they recognised a weakness out wide — lack of real pace — and played to their strengths. Their mauling, picking and driving helped them prosper in the opening half.

With the wind at their backs, Newtown may have had territorial advantage but Midleton opened the scoring against the run of play in the 20th minute. The try was scored by Charlie O’Sullivan, but much of the hard work was done by Brian Quill, Jack Lynch, Daragh Crosbie and Andy Weston, who helped retain possession through an impressive 16 phases.

Inevitably, Newtown hit back. They threatened on three or four occasions before Morgan McCormack finally split a determined Midleton defence and got in at the posts for a try that Eoin O’Connor converted. The out-half added an injury-time penalty to establish a deserved 10-5 lead at the interval, and Newtown rarely looked in trouble afterwards.

They did come under pressure early in the second half, but flanker Pim dealt Midleton a huge blow with a second try after 12 minutes, when he popped up to support a smashing back-line movement started by a smart break from scrum-half Daniel Larkin.

Colin O’Brien did bring Midleton within striking distance with a 35th-minute penalty and the east Cork side threw everything into a late assault. Yet, Newtown refused to panic and might well have had a third try when McCormack was stopped inches short after being sent away by midfield partner Eoin Heffernan.

NEWTOWN: A. Dunne, D. Boyd, E. Heffernan, M. McCormack, E. O’Shea, E. O’Connor, D. Larkin, B. Haythornthwaite (captain), C. Bellew, G. Walsh, T. Marsden-Westerney, A. Gurnee, B. Scallan, C. Teevan, D. Pim.

Replacements: B. Perkin for Dunne (63, injured), W. O’Morchoe for Scallan (70, injured).

MIDLETON: C. O’Brien, S. O’Regan, L. Dillon, J. Shanagher, K. James, J. White, A. O’Callaghan, T. Brennan, D. O’Sullivan, A. Weston, O. Barnes, C. O’Sullivan, D. Crosbie, B. Quill (captain), J. Lynch.

Replacements: A. Keane for O’Regan (50, injured), A. Tibshraeny for Barnes (55).

Referee: D. McCormack (MAR).