'Once-in-a-generation' PBC blow St Munchin's away to secure record 33rd Senior Cup crown

PBC’s Rían MacFarlane O’Shea celebrates with the trophy. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Munster Schools Senior Cup final: PBC 51 St Munchin’s 3

Ger Burke hailed PBC as a “once-in-a-generation team” after completing an all-time great Munster Schools Senior Cup triumph with a 48-point victory over St Munchin’s at Virgin Media Park.

Pres swept through their seven games by scoring 363 points and allowing just 42. Their average score, 52, was higher than their total conceded across 490 minutes of rugby.

The Mardyke school maintained that standard through a nine-try final cruise, with a mix of forward power and backline flair, orchestrated by fly-half David Nolan.

“I hope they get the credit they deserve. Not ‘was it a fluke year?’ or the rest of the competition is criticised,” said Burke, who pointed to their knockout record of 146 points scored and eight conceded in three games.

“They are a once-in-a-generation team. They match their talents with hard work and coachability like nothing I've ever seen before. They've set a whole new bar for what it means to play for Pres. They really have.

“I'm just so happy for them, so proud of them, so grateful to be over them. Just overjoyed.” 

Burke sensed something special right from their first training session. They acknowledged that feeling in the group.

“We just said all year, we'll dare to dream, but we'll stay humble. Hard work and humility. But we would dare to dream. We did that going to Spain (beating top South African academies to win the NextGen Global Schools Challenge). We did it here. To win a cup in that fashion, it's incredible. Incredible.

“I’ve been trying to keep a lid on it all year, how good they were, how much potential they have. You don't do that down in Munster, you don't brag.

“I assume we've smashed a few records along the way. They deserve every credit and every plaudit they get. I've been biting my tongue so hard. At times this year, I nearly bit it off. They're phenomenal. Bravery is being able to play on occasions like this.

“Without a doubt, the best team I've coached.” 

That’s saying something given that Burke’s 2023 and ‘24 cohorts achieved memorable final victories over CBC, who they now lead by one atop the Senior Cup roll of honour. Rían MacFarlane O’Shea collected the Garrett Fitzgerald Cup from his mother, Rachel, to mark their 33rd title.

“I've never trusted a group like this,” Burke added. “Tom Murray runs the line-out. I've absolutely implicit trust in him.

“Frankie (Óg Sheahan) orchestrates pretty much everything else. Rían will run through a wall for us and we follow.” Their two standout attacking outlets on the day, Nolan and Alex Moloney, will be back again for another crack at the trophy next year.

They didn’t have it easy early on as Munchin’s, in their first final since 2012, arrived with incredible physicality. Brendan Minogue earned two turnover penalties. When Michael Landers forced another, Oisín Madden’s kick edged them ahead. It was just the second score against this Pres defence in the knockout rounds.

But Munchin’s were made to pay for a second line-out lost through a Nathan MacCarthy maul try. Daniel Murphy perfectly judged the conversion into the wind.

By the 13th minute, it was 12-3. A brilliant Nolan offload to Murphy created the space for Harry Galvin Carty’s try. Murphy’s conversion drifted wide.

MacFarlane O’Shea then rerouted Michele Ferrara’s chip into Nolan’s hands. The fly-half sprinted all the way from halfway to the tryline. Murphy’s conversion tailed off.

Pres had their fourth try in the 26th minute. Sheahan’s switch-back pass sent Moloney storming through a midfield ruck and all the way to the line. Murphy’s kick made it 24-3.

Murphy then picked up a loose ball to go over and added an outstanding touchline conversion for a 31-3 half-time lead.

After the restart, Moloney barrelled through a tackle, Murphy fixed the last defender, and Bobby O’Callaghan dashed away to score. Murphy’s conversion missed.

Munchin’s weathered a sin-bin period after Paddy O’Driscoll was penalised for a deliberate knock-on. But once it was back to a 15-on-15 contest, Pres added three late unconverted tries through O’Callaghan, Bobby Waters, and Dan O’Leary.

For Burke, who came up through Munchin’s, it was a peculiar experience coaching against his old school in a final.

“It was weird,” he said. “Pres is my home now, and my loyalties are absolute to them. Munchin's will always have a special place in my heart.

“But when you work as closely as you do with players, and you see day in, day out, the sacrifices they make, and what they're willing to go through, that's where your loyalty goes.

“Your heart just gravitates to that. When you ask them to give more and they do, and you push them and push them and they keep coming back with the answer, that's what it's all about.” 

Scorers: 

PBC: Tries: N MacCarthy, H Galvin Carty, D Nolan, A Moloney, D Murphy, B O’Callaghan 2, B Waters, D O’Leary; Cons: D Murphy 3. 

St Munchin’s: Pen: O Madden.

PBC: D Murphy (D O’Leary 69); O Healy (G McSweeney 57), A Moloney, H Galvin Carty, B O’Callaghan (G Coughlan 65); D Nolan, F Óg Sheahan (L O’Brien 65); F O’Sullivan (M Riordan 65), N MacCarthy (S McKenna Carroll 57), D Sheehy (M Fitzgerald 60); T Murray (C McLoughlin 65), C Bruhn (B Waters 57); E Dooley (J Healy 65), C Bohan (R Dillon 56), R MacFarlane O’Shea (capt).

ST MUNCHIN’S: R Angley (P O’Driscoll h-t) (D O’Driscoll 65); D Mullane, B Minogue (R Angley 69), M Ferrara (A Fennell 52), E Quinn (D Newman 59); O Madden (J Browne 65), T O’Brien (S Frost 69); B Meagher (D Colgan 32-52) (K Yoxall 65), M Landers (S McGlynn 30), C Dillon (O Gleeson h-t-52); Callum McGrath, Cillian McGrath (S Bisette 33); R O’Brien (Cillian McGrath 39) (M Keane 69), J Meaney (capt), D Foley (M Landers 52).

Referee: P Sheehan (MAR).