Glenstal campaign off to a solid start
While there was never any serious doubt as to the outcome, “B” school qualifiers St Clement’s were in no way outclassed, even though they fell 12 points behind within 10 minutes of the kick-off. They matched the Glenstal pack for most of the 70 minutes, with Aidan Quinlivan outstanding in the second row, while half-backs John Bateman and Evan Griffin used possession wisely and effectively.
Glenstal, for their part, fully appreciate that they will need to step up on this level of performance if they are to bring the trophy to Murroe, Co Limerick, for the first time. They will be much strengthened in the coming weeks by the return after injury of Ireland and Munster schools out-half Ben Healy and yesterday they owed much to a powerful back-row of captain and number eight Rory Clarke, Mark Fleming, and Mark Walsh. Left wing Ronan Quinn produced a spectacular 80-metre second-half run out of defence that all but yielded a memorable try and he may be one to watch in future rounds.
