Copeland double keeps Mary’s on track
A brace of tries from highly-impressive second row Richard Copeland, gave St Mary’s the vital boost they needed in a game that was hotly contested yet deservedly won by the home side at Templeville Road on Saturday.
For Munster hopefuls Dolphin it was a disappointing outcome from a match they could have won, but their coach Steve Ford was not complaining. He admitted: “I think we were just a little off the pace, the better side won because they took their opportunities.
“There were a few little things that went against us and cost us the game, but overall we didn’t deserve to win. There will be things to look back on and we have to accept that we made mistakes at crucial stages.
“We have to deal with all aspects of what happened, the mistakes, the weather and maybe some other things, but we did have the opportunities to rescue the game. I guess it’s something we have to look at and learn from,” he said.
St Mary’s coach Peter Smyth can bask in the glory of another win but he is making no bold predictions despite taking leadership of the division following Blackrock’s fall across the city at Clontarf.
“It has been a decidedly difficult league to call; it appears anyone can beat anyone, there is just so little between the teams and clearly not a lot to spare in any of the games.
“I’m happy to reflect on what I thought was a deserved win, but the game was decided on a couple of incidents, maybe on that one vital score we got before half time. We knew going into the match that it was going to be a tough battle against a team that had grabbed some great results.
“Blackrock took a fall at Clontarf, but that shouldn’t be a huge surprise and, quite honestly, not too many people would have tipped Shannon to lose their first three. Now that they’re back on the road (comprehensive winners over UL Bohemian), it’s going to be difficult for everyone, I’m sure.”
Dolphin were hit hard twice inside 90 seconds in the opening half. Copeland snaffled a try when the Cork team failed to control their own line out in the 16th minute; Gavin Dunne converted from the touchline before Darragh Fanning put the final touches to a delightful move, sparked by Stephen Grissing’s run, to secure a second try for the Dublin outfit and give them a very positive 12 points lead before Barry Keeshan brought Dolphin into the game with a penalty.
Momentarily, it got better for the visitors who grabbed a 36th minute try from Barry O’Mahony, his speed and agility carrying him through two tackles after Sam Cronin’s immaculate inside pass, with Keeshan converting.
But perhaps the Cork side would have been better served to calm things down after that; a failed counter-attack yielded an unexpected second try for Copeland and Dunne knocked over the conversion to give St Mary’s a 19-10 half time lead.
It changed in favour of St Mary’s from there; the wind and rain at their backs allied to some clever kicking helped give them a constant advantage of territory. Dolphin found themselves too often in the defensive zone and unable to break out. The home side kept control of the match without ever looking capable of pulling clear.
ST MARY’S COLLEGE: G. Dunne, S. O’Flanagan, S. Grissing, M. Sexton, D. Fanning, S. McCarthy, J. Burns, J. McGrath, R. Sweeney, R. Sweeney, G. Logan, R. Copeland, D. Hall, H. Logan (captain), P. Nash.
Replacements: R. Hudson for M. Sexton (61), C. McMahon for R. Sweeney (75)
DOLPHIN: N. Walley, N. O’Driscoll, D. Barnes, E. Moloney, P. Hurley, B. Keeshan (captain), S. Cronin, R. O’Neill, A. O’Driscoll, C. Condon, S. Stone, C. Roe, J. Coughlan, N. Williams, B. O’Mahony.
Replacements: B. O’Flanagan, for Hurley (40),R. Allen for Coughlan (54), D. Nathan for O’Driscoll (59), T. Keogh for Stone (66), A. Foley for O’Neill (77)
Referee: S. McDowell (Ulster).
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