Munster Schools Update

Schools PRO Maurcie Hartery reflects on last weeks competitive action across the province.

The Bowen Shield (U18) semi finals were the highlight of the paying week in the province. CBC and PBC met on Wednesday in Lansdowne in the first semi final. It was the table topping CBC that reached the final at the expense of their Cork rivals with a 17 – 8 win. In Limerick, on Friday, Castletroy and Bandon locked horns in the second semi final. The game was played in miserable conditions with Bandon having a strong wind at their backs in the first half. Aided by this wind and some excellent play, the Cork school led 19 – 0 at the break. At the start of the second half, Castletroy reduced the gap to 16 points with a penalty. A try scored by fullback Muiris Rowsome then cut the gap to 9 points when the conversion was added. With 5 minutes remaining, and a Bandon player in the sin bin, a Paul Clancy try and subsequent conversion whittled Bandon’s lead down to 2 (19 – 17). However, Bandon then gained a foothold in Castletroy territory from a penalty. From the lineout, Bandon set up a strong maul which marched the Castletroy pack back 20 yards, and allowed the Bandon loosehead to run free and score the clinching try underneath the posts. This left the final score 26 – 17 in favour of Bandon. They will now meet CBC next week in an all Cork final.

The McCarthy Cup (U15) also reached the semi final stage in the province. The two games down for decision were PBC v Rockwell and Crescent Comp. v CBC. PBC, who topped the league section, kept their 100% record in tact and sealed a final place with a 22 – 7 win in Wilton. In a battle between the 2nd and 3rd ranked sides in Limerick, it was the 3rd place CBC who joined PBC in the McCarthy Cup final. In a very rare occurrence in rugby, the match between Crescent and CBC was settled by a penalty shootout. The game finished 0 – 0 in Raheen, which meant that the tie had to be settled on penalties. The Cork side held their nerve and booked a place in the final against their Cork rivals. If the league section match is any indication to next week’s final (PBC won 7 – 5), it promises to be an extremely close affair.

Like the A section, the B section of the McCarthy Cup reached the semi final stage. by coincidence, the same four sides that were in the A section semifinals also qualified for the B section semifinals. However, due to league positions the fixtures were not the same. This time CBC had home advantage over Rockwell and PBC hosted Crescent. Different fixtures did not provide a different final, as like the A section, CBC and PBC will meet in the final. Unlike the drama in the A section, CBC comfortably reached the final with a 53 – 5 victors over Rockwell, while PBC had a 22 – 15 win over Crescent Comp. This is a repeat of the Round 5 league section meeting, in which CBC ran out 38 – 26 winners.

In the Quarter Final of the C section of the McCarthy Cup, High School CBS and Scariff CC met in Clonmel. High School proved too strong for the Clare side winning 49 – 5. This sets up a semi final tussle with Colaiste Choilm Ballincollig.

The Mungret Cup (U19) got underway this week with one match in the quarter finals taking place. This is a straight knockout competition for Senior “B” schools in the province. In Skibbereen, Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai, fresh off their Bowen Shield B win last week, met Midleton College. After a very entertaining affair, played in poor weather, it was the men from Midleton who prevailed on the narrowest of margins 23 – 22.

Like the Mungret Cup, the O’Brien Cup (U19) also got underway this week. This is a straight knockout competition for Senior “C” schools in the province.There were three matches down for decision this week. In the preliminary round, Mount Mercy Hawk received a walkover from Scoil Mhuire & Ide. There were two other prelim rounds due to be played but we did not received any results of the two fixtures, St. Peter's v Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal and Rice College v St. Caiman's.

Another competition to get underway this week was the Mungret Shield (U16). Similar to the Mungret Cup, this is a straight knockout competition for “B” schools in the province. The difference being, that this is for Junior teams. It was the junior teams of Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai and Midleton College that got this underway at the quarter final stage, but unfortunately we cannot give you a result as we did not receive one.

The King Cup (U16) which started last week, continued this week. This is a straight knockout competition for Junior “C” schools in the province. It was a busy week in this competition with no less than 5 matches down for decision. Cashel CC defeated Colaiste Chiarain 27 – 12 in Cashel to advance to the next round. They will be joined there by Colaiste Ide agus Iosef, who defeated Tralee CBS by 20 – 5 in Abbeyfeale. We did not receive results from the other three games.

St. Munchins College travelled to Newbridge for a triple header on Wednesday at U14 level. After 3 competitive games they travelled back down to Limerick with a 1 – 2 record. The A’s were beaten 10 – 5 in a very close fought affair against a big Newbridge side, the B’s were defeated 20 – 5 and the “C” team emerged victorious with a 25 – 10 win.

Off the pitch, the main event this week was the draw for the Senior and Junior Cup’s. This draw took place on Wednesday evening in Thomond Park. The draw was a double draw with the First Round ties to be played as Junior and Senior double headers on the 19th/20th/21st January (venues TBC). Please click here to see the draw.

Results:

Schools Bowen Shield Semi Finals:
C.B.C. 17 P.B.C. 8, Lansdowne;
Castletroy College 17 Bandon Grammar 26, Castletroy;

Schools McCarthy Cup A Semi Finals:
Crescent College Comp. 0 C.B.C. 0, Crescent College Comp.; – CBC win on Penalty Shootout
P.B.C. 22 Rockwell 7, Wilton;

Schools McCarthy Cup B Semi Finals:
C.B.C. 53 Rockwell 5, Lansdowne;
P.B.C. 22 Crescent College Comp. 15, Wilton;

Schools McCarthy Cup C:
High School CBS 49 Scariff CC 5, Clonmel;

Schools Mungret Cup:
Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai 22 Midleton College 23, Skibbereen;

Schools O'Brien Cup:
St. Peter's v Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal; – No Result Received
Mount Mercy Hawk v Scoil Mhuire & Ide, Tralee; – Walkover given to Mount Mercy Hawk
Rice College v St. Caiman's, Ennis; – No Result Received

Schools Mungret Shield:
Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai v Midleton College, Skibbereen; – No Result Received

Schools King Cup:
Carrigaline CS v Sexton St. CBS, Carrigaline; – No Result Received
Cashel CC 27 Colaiste Chiarain 12, Cashel;
Clonakilty CC v Colaiste Choilm, Clonakilty; – No Result Received
Colaiste Ide agus Iosef 20 Tralee CBS 5, Abbeyfeale;
Mount Mercy Hawk v Scoil Mhuire & Ide, Tralee; – No Result Received

Schools Senior Friendly:
Glenstal Abbey v Villiers, Glenstal; – No Result Received

Schools Junior Friendly:
Bandon Grammar v CBC, Bandon; – No Result Received
Glenstal Abbey v P.B.C., Glenstal; – No Result Received

Under 14 Friendly:
Newbridge College 10 St. Munchin's 5, Newbridge;
Newbridge College “B” 20 St. Munchin's “B” 5, Newbridge;
Newbridge College “C” 10 St. Munchin's “C” 25, Newbridge