Scott hails a ‘magnificent’ display

PETER SCOTT, a man associated with several PBC triumphs, was elated by his team’s latest title success in the first Munster Schools Senior Cup final to be played at the redeveloped Thomond Park stadium.

The Cork outfit required a semi-final replay last Thursday to overcome St Munchin’s and there were concerns the extra game would have taken a toll.

Scott admitted: “We had three very tough games in the space of 10 days but still got through a huge level of intensity in the first half. To go in leading 10-3 after playing against the wind was a magnificent return.

“At the start of the second half, the three games started to tell, we got a bit tired. Rockwell, to be fair, threw the kitchen sink at us and made a number of line breaks but our scrambled defending was sensational. And then we always had a little bit in the tank. When they got close to us, we were able to shut down the game and up our tempo.”

Scott had no concerns about his side’s team spirit and work ethic.

“We have a lot of experience,” he explained. “This phenomenal team has won at every age grade, U14, junior, U16 and senior. They’re good at winning and maybe have something extra that other teams don’t have. Rockwell had some great individuals and we were probably better as a team although you must look at Jack Duffy at number seven, he was sensational, and I’ve never seen Sean Óg Murphy at out-half play better. And then there was David O’Mahony, he was sensational in the lineout. So we had our individuals as well as being a fantastic team.”

Rockwell coach Frank Fitzgerald accepted that the better team won.

But he noted: “We contributed a lot to their success, especially in the first half when we made a lot of mistakes. I think we were a little overawed by the occasion. We coughed the ball up too easily – some of it was due to their pressure, more of it to our own frailties.

“In the second half, we came out with a completely different attitude. We imposed our own game plan, we started to run at them and when we put extra phases together, we gained more territory. We felt the chances would come, and they did with the try, but giving away the soft score with the fumble and interception more or less killed the game.

“It’s very tough to lose two finals in a row but we’ll be back.”