Munster Schools Update

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

After a down week during last week’s mid term break, it was straight back into action across numerous competitions this week.

The Senior (U19) and Junior (U16) Cup Qualifiers continued with St. Clements making the long trip to Bantry to play Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai in both grades. At Senior level, Clements made a stirring come back from 17 – 3 down at half time to seal their place in the semi final with a 30 – 22 win. They now face Villiers in the semi final, next Wednesday, who won the first quarter final two weeks ago against CBS Sexton Street. In the Junior section, St. Clements also made a second half comeback to beat Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai 45 – 29. Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai lead 24 – 12 at half time but, like the Senior match, an excellent second half display saw St. Clements advance to the semi final. Also in a carbon copy to the Senior grade, St. Clements will take on Villiers next Wednesday at the semi final stage. There were another 2 Junior Qualifiers down for decision this week, Colaiste Ide agus Iosef v Scoil Mhuire & Ide and High School CBS v John the Baptist CS, but we have not received any results of those fixtures.

In Limerick, there were two finals down for decision in the City Cup’s. On Friday, on the back pitch of Thomond Park, Glenstal locked horns with Castletroy College in the Senior Cup Final. This was a rematch from the Round 1 league fixture in which Glenstal prevailed. However, on this occasion it was Castletroy who emerged victorious. It took till after the break for the game to get firing (0 – 0 at half time). In the second period, it was Castletroy who were first on the board thanks to a Niall O’Shea try. This lead was then extended as full back Shane Hogan scored under the posts and Jamie Heuston converted to leave the score 12 – 0. Glenstal got back in the game immediately with Ben Healy converting a penalty chance from the restart. Loose play by Castletroy at the lineout allowed Johnny Williams to score an opportunist try for Glenstal which was converted to close the gap to 2 points (12 – 10). Jamie Heuston then pushed Castletroy’s lead out to 5 points with a penalty and then 8 following a beautiful long range drop goal (18 – 10). Glenstal’s resilience was shown again, excellent back play allowed Conan O’Sullivan to touch down for a try to make the score 18 – 15. As the final whistle approached, Castletroy were awarded a penalty after Glenstal infringed at the break down and Heuston put the icing on the cake, slotting from the touchline to close out the game 21 – 15 in Castletroy’s favour.

On Wednesday, the Junior Final (U16) took place in Grove Island. Crescent College got off to the perfect start with a try inside 3 minutes which was converted by John Hurley to take a 7 – 0 lead. From the restart, Crescent knocked on and the ball was played by a player in an offside position and this allowed Munchins’ Jazz Penejito to kick a penalty that narrowed the gap immediately to 4 points. Crescent then put their foot down and extended their lead to with another try. The conversion bounced back off the upright, so this left the score at 12 – 3 to the Comp. After dominating the first half a 12 – 3 lead was what Crescent deserved and they possibly should have been further ahead only to spurn a few good chances to extend their lead. Crescent extended their lead early in the second half with John Hurley kicking a long range penalty to move into a 15 – 3 lead. However, this seemed to light a fire under the St. Munchins team and a Keith Hyland try and Jazz Penejito conversion brought them right back into the match at 15 – 10. It was all Munchins after this, with their forward pack dominating the tight exchanges and another Keith Hyland try and conversion by Jazz Penejito pushed St. Munchins into the lead with 8 minutes remaining. However, this lead was short lived with John Hurley kicking a monstrous penalty from 50m out to nudge Crescent Comp back into a 18 – 17 lead on 55 minutes. With a nervy few minutes left, it was Crescent who blinked first, conceding a penalty on their own 22m in front of the posts with 2 minutes remaining. This left Jazz Penejito with an easy chance to put Munchins in front for the second time. He duly obliged, and with no further scores St. Munchins claimed the title on a scoreline of 20 points to 18.

In the Bowen Shield (U18) there were four games down for decision. Unfortunately only two games took place as Bandon gave a walkover to Castletroy College and St. Clements gave CBC a walkover. This means that CBC and Castletroy are 1st and 2nd respectively and look like locks for home semi finals. PBC took a step towards making the semi finals with a 42 – 19 victory over Ard Scoil in Limerick on Wednesday, while St. Munchins had an excellent 22 – 20 victory in Raheen against local rivals Crescent Comp. This leaves PBC in 3rd position, with Bandon in 4th and St. Munchins in 5th, with one or two games remaining for the three sides. These three sides all have to play each other over the next two weeks so there is an exciting ending to the league section in store in this competition, with two from three going to join CBC and Castletroy at the semi final stage.

In the “B” section of the Bowen Shield, the first semi final was down for decision with Villiers taking on Colaiste Ioseaf Kilmallock on Friday. Villiers reached the final following a 25- 10 victory, with Kevin Keane, Liam Og Shannahan and Darragh Oxley bagging a try each, and Darragh Oxley converted one try and Alan Normoyle kicking two penalties and one conversion.

In the McCarthy Cup (U15), PBC made it 7 from 7 with a comfortable 43 – 7 victory over Bandon. This leaves them assured of a semi final spot. Crescent Comp are also on route to a semi final spot after beating St. Munchins College 40 points to 5 in Crescent. In Thursday’s matches, Ard Scoil Ris moved into second place by beating Castletroy College 41 – 22, while Glenstal got their first win of the competition by winning 26 – 0 in St. Clements. Friday saw CBC get the better of Rockwell on a scoreline of 29 – 10 to leave them in 3rd place in the table. With only 2 rounds of matches left, every game is of vital importance with a host of schools still in with a chance of reaching the knockout stages.

In the B section of the McCarthy Cup, CBC completed the double over Rockwell, with the “B” team running out comprehensive 50 – 6 winners. Castletroy gained some revenge for the loss in the A competition with a 24 – 17 victory over Ard Scoil Rís. The match between Crescent and St. Munchins never took place as Crescent Comp received a walkover.

The McCarthy Cup C reached the knockout stages with Villiers taking on Colaiste Ioseaf Kilmallock in a repeat of the Bowen Shield B semi final. Colaiste Ioseaf prevailed but the result was not given at the team of writing.

In other challenge matches around the province, CBC defeated Ard Scoil Ris 15 – 12 in a Senior friendly on Wednesday in Limerick. In Junior matches, Bandon Grammar got the better of Midleton College in a Cork derby winning 22 – 0, while in Tipperary, Rockwell defeated Glenstal 31 – 10. CBC completed an “A” and “B” double over St. Michael’s from Dublin. The “A” match finished 12 – 10 and in the “B” match CBC had one extra point to spare winning 13 – 10. PBC were far too strong for Castletroy winning 60 – 5.


Results:

Schools Senior Cup Qualifier:
Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai 22 St. Clement's 30, Bantry;

Schools Junior Cup Qualifier:
Colaiste Ide agus Iosef v Scoil Mhuire & Ide; – No Result Received
Colaiste Phobail Bheanntrai 29 St. Clement's 45, Bantry;
High School CBS v John the Baptist CS, Clonmel; – No Result Received

Schools Senior City Cup Final:
Glenstal Abbey 15 Castletroy College 21, Thomond Park;

Schools City Junior Cup Final:
St Munchin's 20 Crescent College Comp 18, Corbally;

Schools Bowen Shield:
Ard Scoil Rís 19 P.B.C. 41, Ard Scoil Rís;
Castletroy College v Bandon Grammar, Castletroy; – Walkover given by Bandon Grammar
Crescent College Comp. 20 St. Munchin's 22, Crescent Comp;
St. Clement's v C.B.C., St. Clement's; – Walkover given by St. Clements

Schools Bowen Shield B Semi Final:
Villiers School 25 Colaiste Iosaef 10, Villiers;

Schools McCarthy Cup A:
Bandon Grammar 7 P.B.C. 43, Bandon;
Crescent College Comp. 40 St. Munchin's 5, Crescent Comp;
Ard Scoil Rís 41 Castletroy College 22, Ard Scoil Rís;
St. Clement's 0 Glenstal Abbey 26, St. Clement's;
C.B.C. 29 Rockwell 10, Lansdowne;

Schools McCarthy Cup B:
Ard Scoil Rís 17 Castletroy College 24, Ard Scoil Rís;
C.B.C. 50 Rockwell 6, Lansdowne;
Crescent College Comp. v St. Munchin's, Crescent Comp; – Walkover given by St. Munchins

Schools McCarthy Cup C Quarter Final:
Villiers v Colaiste Iosaef, Abbeyfeale; – No Result Received

Schools Senior Friendly:
Ard Scoil Rís 12 C.B.C. 15, Ard Scoil Rís;

Schools Junior Friendly:
Bandon Grammar 22 Midleton College 0, Bandon;
PBC 60 Castletroy College 5, Wilton;
Rockwell 31 Glenstal 10, Rockwell;
CBC “A” 12 St. Michael’s “A” 10, Lansdowne;
CBC “B” 13 St. Michael’s “B” 10, Lansdowne;

Schools Under 14 Friendly:
Rockwell v Crescent College Comp, Rockwell; – No Result Received
Rockwell “B” v Crescent College Comp “B”, Rockwell; – No Result Received