Clayton Hotels Munster Schools Senior Cup Roundup

Both holders PBC and Crescent College Comprehensive advanced to the quarter-finals of the Clayton Hotels Munster Senior Schools Cup with victories in testing weather conditions.

PBC got their defence of the Clayton Hotels Munster Schools Senior Cup off to a winning start as they defeated Castletroy College in their opener at Ellis Park in Ballyanly 25-8.

The Mardyke College’s expansive game caused problems for Castletroy as the Limerick side’s only try came following a scrum on the PBC 22.

Sean French opened the scoring for the Mardyke College with a try in the corner following a ruck in the tenth minute.

The Limerick side had PBC pinned back but a combination of bad handling and solid defensive work by the Mardyke College prevented them from putting points on the board.

Alex Kendellen scored the Mardyke College’s second try following a lineout in the middle of the park before Sam Burns opened Castletroy’s account with a penalty from a difficult angle on the PBC 22, eight minutes before the break.

Two minutes after the restart, Castletroy’s Eoin Murphy dived under the bar after making a break from a scrum on the PBC 22 to reduce the deficit to two points.

PBC responded instantly as Jonathan Wren barged over in the corner for their third try following a scrum on the Limerick side’s 22.

The Mardyke side continued to play exhibition rugby in the final quarter as sloppy defending by Castletroy gifted French and Billy Scannell tries in a three minute spell.

PBC: Louis Bruce; Niall Murphy, Se French, Jonathan Wren, Sam O’Donovan; James Broderick, David Harrington; Tom Ormond, Billy Scannell, David McCarthy; Darragh O’Callaghan, Eoin Burns; Alex Kendellen, Mark Fitzgibbon, David Hyland.

Replacements: Darragh Murphy, Alex Keating, Rory Duggan, Eoin Quilter, John Forde, James O’Shaughnessy, mark McLoughlin, Sam Horgan, Jack Kelleher, Richie Foley.

Castletroy College: Sean Madden; Jason Aylward, Eoin Murphy, joseph Johnston, Cian Fitzgibbon; Sam Burns, Michael O’Hanrahan, Ronan Keavney, Kieran O’Shea, Adam Myers; Graham Bourke, John Moloney; Cillian Toland, Conor Birmingham, Cian White.

Replacements: Robert Magill, Alex Naughton, Dean McGinn, Jamie Reidy, Gareth Moore, Ronan Kiely, Robert Holmes, Kenneth McGuire, James Coates, Callum Duffy.

Referee: Chris Harrington (MAR).

James Mc Keogh reports from UL…

Clements began very strong forcing turn overs and putting in big hits with all the momentum on the underdog’s side.

With Clements on top, Crescent winger Ben Moloney went down with a serious injury and it took the game 25 minutes to kick off again.

Crescent scored four tries before half time, Timothy Duggan, Ronan Reynolds, Jack Delaney and John Hurley, who also converted two of his kicks in hard conditions.

As teams came out for the second half, Crescent substitute Nevil O’Sullivan added a fifth try for his team and as the weather conditions proved tricky, both teams agreed to blow the match with 10 minutes to go.

St. Clements: Alex Kiely; Adam Kiely, Adam Marshall, James Neville, Dylan Brosnan; John Bateman, Evan Griffin; Aron Stacey, Adam Ahern, Colin Byrne; Alex Lloyd, David Bridgeman; Chris Heelan, Shane Brosnahan, Michael Kiely.

Replacements: Killian McCarthy, Eoin Keenan-Quinn, Gerard O’Byrne, Scott Duggan, Rhys Dunne, Evan Barrett, Craig O’Brien, Aaron Walsh, Alex Fitzgerald, Damon Lee.

Crescent College Comprehensive: Conor Phillips; Timothy Duggan, Jamin Hoffman, John Hurley, Ben Moloney; Jack Delaney, Aaron Cosgrove; Conor Fitzgerald, Ronan Reynolds, Ben Leahy; Peter King, Cian McDonagh; Jack Madden, Daniel Feasey, Fintan Coleman.

Replacements: Joshua Fitzgerald, Dylan Shaw-Kelly, Ronan Gallery, Brian Naughton, Barry Scott, Nevil O’Sullivan, Maccon Casserly, Cian Tuohy.

Referee: Tommy O’Donoghue (MAR).