No room for Garryowen complacency as Bruff bid to create history

THE generous odds offered on Bruff winning the ODM Munster Senior Cup at the start of the campaign have been cut to the bone as they face into tomorrow’s final at Thomond Park (2pm).

Although their Garryowen opponents have an illustrious history based on 38 cup triumphs over more than a century, Bruff won’t be overwhelmed by such statistics based on their consistency in league and cup competition this season.

Neither will Garryowen feel they only have turn up to claim yet another title; Bruff’s deserved victories over Shannon and Young Munster proved without question an ability to punch above their weight.

While this historic cup is a much desired prize in its own right, there is also an added incentive — the winner will advance to the semi-final of the All-Ireland Senior Cup, where they will have a home tie against UCD.

Garryowen coach Paul Cunningham believes the Munster Branch has short-changed the competition, but he vowed that the light blues would never treat the old tournament with anything less than huge respect.

“It’s a competition we aspire to win year after year, and it’s a pity that others (officials) don’t appear to feel the same,” he said.

They had to battle to win a tricky match against UL Bohemian in the opening round and relied on the accurate goal kicking of Declan Cusack, who helped steer them to an 18-16 win.

The semi-final was more open but no less troublesome for Garryowen, who pulled away from Dolphin in the last quarter with late tries from Corey Hircock and Lucas Kuntz in a 43-26 win.

Again, Cusack played a huge role with a personal contribution of 23 points.

It has been a wonderful 10 years for Bruff, from their dominance in the Munster Junior Leagues through to establishing themselves as one of the top senior clubs in the country.

This success didn’t happen by accident, with the club building their success from the ground work done at under age level; for instance, many of tomorrow’s team were on the successful All-Ireland U20 team from a decade ago.

Bruff has established one of the strongest underage set-ups in recent years and this has not only helped to produce plenty of quality players but has added to the parish spirit in the club, a spirit which player coach Eoin Cahill says is one of the main reasons for their success.

“There is no doubt but that the success of the club has been founded on that community spirit, with players working for one another and obviously for the good of the club,” he said.

Those battling qualities shone through in a tough encounter against Cahill’s old club, Shannon, with whom he won Munster Senior Cup and AIL medals.

Bruff scored tries through Brendan Deady and John Shine while Brian Cahill kicked three penalties and a conversion to help secure a 21-14 victory.

Cork Constitution had been forewarned but were still disarmed in the quarter-final by an opening Bruff salvo that yielded a try from Deady and two penalties from Cahill, enough to see them through despite a try by Frank Cogan for the visitors.

With Highfield unable to produce a team (front row injury problems) in the semi-final, Bruff were given a bye to the decider. They would have preferred to do it the hard way, although there is no doubt they deserve their place in the final and the chance to create a piece of cup history.

BRUFF: B Deady, A Cashman, B Cahill, E Cahill, P O’Brien, T Cahill, E Maher, D Horan, C Regan (captain), G Ryan, A Laffan, A Burke, P Malone, J S Shine, M O’Connell.

GARRYOWEN (squad): Backs: L Burke, L Kuntz, C O’Shea, C Hircock, A Gahan, C Doyle (captain), D Cusack, C Murray, A Healy Forwards: JP Cooney, R Meyer, D Lavery, M Melbourne, F McKenna, P Neville, C Hartigan, D Sherry.