Pres Through To Munster Schools Senior Cup Final

Sean French’s try put Pres ahead after an early Seán Hudson penalty, before Jack O’Sullivan secured Presentation’s place with a late score.

Presentation Brothers College flying season at both levels continued today, as they finally ended brave Bandon Grammar School's historic run with a 12-3 win at a blustery Irish Independent Park.

In difficult conditions both teams played a tactical brand of rugby, and after a cagy opening hour which saw just three points put on the board, Pres rallied and crossed twice in the run-in to keep their hunt for their 29th title.

The West Cork outfit drew blood three minutes in, when a clever set-piece forced Pres into infringing in the ruck in front of their own goal, with Bandon full-back Sean Hudson stepping up to strike over the initial three points.

Those were the only points scored in the opening half, despite both sides having opportunities to improve on their total. Almost immediately after Bandon's opening score Pres fly-half Peter Sylvester struck a long penalty well, only for it to strike off the left-hand upright.

As the hail began to sheet down Bandon had a chance to double their score but Hudson couldn't get the contact he wished and the ball ended short, at the other end Sylvester backed himself from inside his own half in the last play of the game, but his kick just fell under the crossbar.

The second period saw another stalemate in the middle of the park, though Grammar lost both Hudson and Ethan Greene in quick succession to injury. Pres upped their game, and inside the Bandon 22 French chipped the ball over the opposition defence, before collecting and diving over the line in the corner.

That boosted the city side, who pushed on to try and stretch out their two point lead. A clever chip from a quick break saw Bandon scrum-half Jack Crowley just beat Louis Bruce in a footrace to force a drop-out, as the West Cork side breathed a sigh of relief.

A sigh of disappointment followed minutes later, as second kicker Evan Palmer badly hooked his penalty effort for the Grammar to the left; a chance to go ahead late gone begging for the side playing in their first ever Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-final.

It was a precipitous lead that Pres held, but in the dying moments with their supporters crying for the ball to be put out of play, the Mardyke outfit kept ball in hand and captain Jack O'Sullivan bulldozed over a number of green and black bodies to make the result absolutely sure.

A great game despite the difficult conditions, saw the fine spirit between the teams continue as they formed a guard of honour for each other on the way off. Disappointment for Bandon but an excellent performance shows the progress they're making. Pres will be glad to have survived the battle, and have a St Patrick's Day date in Thomond Park to look forward to.

PBC: Jonathan Wren; Paul Buckley, Seán French, James Broderick, Tom Fitzgerald; Peter Sylvester, Gary Bradley; Conor Burke, Billy Scannell, Brian O'Connor; Adam McAuliffe, Mark McCarthy; Cian Fitzgerald, David Hyland, Jack O'Sullivan.

Replacements: Alex Keating, Kieran Nugent, Eoin Burns, Cathal Browne, Darragh O'Callaghan, David Harrington, Sam O'Donovan, Harry Dillon, Louis Bruce, Paul Kennedy.

Bandon Grammar: Sean Hudson; Victor Lovell, Ben Gur, Ethan Greene, Jan Donnelly; Evan Palmer, Jack Crowley; James French, Travis Coomey, Ashley Deane; Conor Scully, Jason Bradfield; Billy Hayes, Colin Deane, Robin Stokes.

Replacements: Michael Archer, Alex O'Connor, David Ogden, Paul Jackson, Niall Beamish, Soren Minihane, Sean Madden, Harry Hall, Nicco Bakker, Joshua Brady.