Munster Schools Junior Cup: Pres v Christians renew 'a rivalry going back 100 years'

Musgrave Park will host an all Cork clash as Christian Brothers College face Presentation Brothers College in the Munster Junior Cup final.

Tue, 22 Mar, 2022 - 22:36

Andrew Horgan

The final of the Munster Schools Junior Cup returns for the first time since 2019 and its two competitors are desperate to make up for lost time.

On Wednesday afternoon, Musgrave Park will host an all Cork clash as Christian Brothers College face Presentation Brothers College (2pm).

“It’s been a long time coming,” admitted CBC manager Russell Foley, whose side shared the cup with St Munchin’s back in 2020 as the final couldn’t be played because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It feels like we have a bit of unfinished business. It’s been 22 years since we have had a Christians Pres final - I believe I was coaching them back then - and we lost it so we have been waiting a long time for revenge maybe.

“These players weren’t even born back then but this is as big as it gets in schools rugby in the country.

“The boys would know each other socially, they live in the same areas, etc, so it is a very big rivalry going back for a hundred years.

“A bit like senior games between the two schools, there is never more than a score in it really. They are always just so difficult to win.

“The best thing to do is win the cup and the only way you can improve on that is by beating your rivals in the final.

“But I’d say Pres will have the same opinion, it will be as important for Pres to beat Christians as it is for Christians to beat Pres in the final.”

P.B.C certainly does have the same opinion. “We can’t wait for it,” enthused their manager Paul Downes.

The 29-time winners of this tournament were also left frustrated by the cancellation in 2021 but are hoping to put that disappointment, and the disappointment following their senior’s recent final defeat, behind them by securing their 30th cup.

“We have put in nearly 12 months of work for it at this point. Between Covid and everything the last couple of years, and not being able to play games, I think we are all just dying to get out and play in the cup final,” continued Downes.

“It will be a fantastic experience for the lads. I know a lot of schools took a break from it but we were training nearly four days a week last year for long periods and we were really hoping it would go ahead.

“It would be massive to win it. The school this year has taken massive strides in rugby, I know last week there was big disappointment losing the senior cup final but there is a buzz that I haven’t seen during my time here.

“We would love to be able to bring this cup home, it would mean an awful lot to everyone considering everything that has gone into it the last year. But it will be a very tough game. You can even see it in the first years it’s always ‘when are we playing Christians, when are we playing Christians.’

CBC: Calvin Kilbride; Bill McCarthy, Alex O’Connell, Leo O’Leary, Daire O’Callaghan, Charlie O’Shea, Christopher Barrett; Ronan O’Callaghan, Patrick O’Rourke, Matthew Shalloe; Zach Coughlan, Ian Morton; Cian Walsh, Craig Hughes, Conor Galvin.

Replacements: Evan Collins, Zach McGarry, Ciaran Wallace, Reuben Coughlan, Rory Cogan, Jamie McCarthy, Cian Corkery, Ben Mayer, Shea Glackin, Andrew Murray.

PBC: John Paul Curtin, Eoin Hurley, Mark Hetherington, James O’Leary, Alastair Dunne, Harry Murphy, Ronan Byrd, Sean MacFarlane O’Shea, Liam Hegarty, Fionn O’Sullivan, Charlie Donnelly, Denis Murphy, Daniel Foley, Ben Foley, Rory Moloney.

Replacements: Diarmuid Sheehy, Conor Murphy, Stuart Gilbert, Cathal Bruhn, Ruarc Porter, Frankie Óg Sheahan, Harry Murphy, Ronan Byrne, John Cashman, Evan O’Dowd.