'Sluggish' PBC have plenty to work on ahead of another all-Cork Munster Schools Senior Cup final
Rian MacFarlane O'Shea, PBC, Cork celebrates his try against Castletroy College in the Pinergy Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-final at Virgin Media Park, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan
For the third year in a row, the Munster Schools Senior Cup final will be the domain of Pres and Christians. CBC v PBC at Virgin Media Park on Thursday, March 20, for a lifetime of bragging rights. It has a familiar ring to it.
Pres have won the last pair of all-Cork finals but will enter the trilogy event as underdogs after an error-strewn 14-point victory over Castletroy College.
“We’re in the Senior Cup final and absolutely delighted to be part of that occasion,” said Pres head coach Ger Burke.
“More than anything, it’s an opportunity for us to be better and showcase who we are and what we’re about.
“There is no better sporting occasion in the country, in my opinion, than Pres-Christians at Musgrave Park in the Senior Cup final.
“They’re wonderful days and I’ve been blessed that the coaching staff and a couple of our players, James (O’Leary) and Deckie (Fitzgerald), it’s our third year in a row getting to do it.
“It is a privilege and we won’t take it for granted.”
Pres couldn’t achieve their usual precision but three tries in the final 20 minutes from Rian MacFarlane O’Shea, Liam Hegarty, and Fitzgerald swung the outcome.
The Limerick students deserve huge credit for disrupting PBC’s free-flowing brand of rugby with accurate tackling and brilliant breakdown work, led by captain Cillian McNamara and Adam Power.
They went in 7-all at the break but couldn’t stop the Mardyke school from making it six consecutive semi-final wins.
“That was a frustrating day at the office but I must commend Castletroy,” said Burke.
“Everyone had written them off, they came down with a chip on their shoulder, and they died with their boots on. They put on an exhibition of chop tackling.
“We looked rusty. We looked like a team that hadn’t played in a month. That’s just the nature of the competition when you win that first game.
“We looked sluggish, off the pace. We tried to force it. Our breakdown was just not good enough. We were kind of stunned by the chop tackle, we didn’t react well enough.
“In saying that, we were close to another couple of really good scores but it just wasn’t coming together.”
Castletroy’s James Rennison had an eventful start, culminating in his sixth-minute intercept try.
First, he launched into a thumping tackle, which saw the winger panned out on the ground with a replacement ready until he regained his breath to carry on.
On the very next play, Rennison read Pres’ intentions to pick off a pass on halfway for a 50m run-in. Liam Glynn’s conversion made it a seven-point head start.
They looked to extend that lead further but lost a line-out inside the 22 and Pres countered through Rickey Barrett and Eddie Dooley. An end-to-end try looked likely but Robbie Widger scrambled back to intercept the final pass.
It was only a temporary escape as Pres returned from the clearing kick. Daniel Higgins’ offload missed its intended target but Alex Moloney swept around the outside to pick up the pieces and Daniel Murphy levelled with the conversion.
Backed by a swirling wind, Castletroy went down the other end to set up camp on the Pres line. They couldn’t touch down as hard work from Moloney and Higgins held the ball up.
Pres were next to lay siege. Held up at first, they got a second chance from a tap-and-go penalty. They went wide but Robert O’Donnell chopped down O’Leary’s charge and Rennison made the next stop on Cormac Bohan, who was pinged for a double movement as he reached for the corner.
It stayed 7-all at half-time and well into the second half as handling blunders continued to interrupt the flow.
Pres took their first lead in the 51st minute when Ronan Byrd gained 20m from a quick-tap free-kick and number eight MacFarlane O’Shea broke through. Murphy added the extras for a 14-7 lead.
When Castletroy won a penalty on the 22 for a high tackle, they opted for Glynn to kick at the posts and cut the deficit to four.
Pres went for the jugular as Denis Murphy set the maul and a clever change of direction allowed Hegarty to march over. Daniel Murphy’s conversion missed to leave it at 19-10.
As the clock entered the red and Castletroy were forced to play from inside their own 22, Fitzgerald nicked a walk-in intercept try to round out the scoring.
Tries: A Moloney, R MacFarlane O’Shea, L Hegarty, D Fitzgerald; Cons: Daniel Murphy 2.
Try: J Rennison; Con: L Glynn; Pen: L Glynn.
R Barrett; Daniel Murphy, A Moloney, J O’Leary (capt), E Dooley (B O’Callaghan 36); D Fitzgerald, R Byrd; M Fitzgerald (F O’Sullivan 43), D Higgins (L Hegarty 43), D Sheehy (B Foley 66); O Dillon (T Murray 66), S MacFarlane O’Shea (D Foley 36); Denis Murphy, C Bohan, R MacFarlane O’Shea.
R Widger; J Rennison, S Lyons (R Sheehan 46), J Rowntree, R O’Donnell; L Glynn, J O’Malley; J Conway, J O’Gorman (K Griffin 36), T Tchokotieu; B Fogarty, A Power; B O’Connell, R Brady, C McNamara (capt) (J O’Gorman 68-69).
P Sheehan (MAR).
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