Sensational Schools Claim Interpro Title

The Munster Under 18 Schools, sponsored by Trend Micro, claimed the Interprovincial title after a hard-fought 19-10 win over Leinster in Lansdowne on Saturday afternoon.

After a 24-3 win over Connacht at the Sportsground in their Interpro opener, last week’s 22-7 victory over Ulster meant that Munster knew a win on Saturday would secure the title.

Head Coach Mark Butler decided to keep faith with the side that won in Ulster with Rockwell out-half Bill Johnston retaining the captaincy.

Munster started superbly and played some brilliant rugby to race into a 19-0 half-time lead.

Crescent College winger Billy O’Hora scored the Munster try in the right corner after a period of pressure as Johnston added the conversion and four penalties.

It was by no means one-way traffic in that first half, however, with some excellent Munster defence keeping the visitors at bay.

Leinster were reduced to 14-men on 50 minutes when Tim Carroll was red-carded for taking Colm Hogan out as the full-back rose for a high ball.

That seemed to galvanise the visitors and they spent much of the second half on the front foot.

Leinster were back in the game when winger Jordan Larmour touched down with scrum-half David Duggan also crossing to make it 19-10.

Crucially, however, both conversions were missed which allowed Munster some vital breathing space and superb defence helped the hosts see out the game and claim the Interprovincial title.

Munster Rugby would like to thank CBC for the use of the school’s wonderful facilities and their outstanding hospitality.

Munster Schools: Colm Hogan (Glenstal Abbey); Glen Dickinson (Crescent College), Calvin Nash (Crescent College), Alex McHenry (CBC, Cork), Billy O’Hora (Crescent College); Bill Johnston (Capt.)(Rockwell College), Jack Lyons (Crescent College); Joey Conway (Castletroy College), Mark O’Mara (Castletroy College), James Kendrick (Rockwell College); Kevin O’Leary (PBC, Cork), Gavin Coombes (Bandon Grammar); Jack O’Sullivan (PBC, Cork), Bailey Faloon (Crescent College), John Foley (St. Munchin’s College).

Replacements: Ty Chan (Ardscoil Rís), Conor Beary (Rockwell College), Jack Tierney (Rockwell College), Ronan Coffey (Ardscoil Rís), Mike Casey (Rockwell College), Daryl Egan (Rockwell College), Jack Stafford (Glenstal Abbey), Jack O’Donnell (Ardscoil Rís).

Leinster Schools: James McGowan (Blackrock College); Tim Carroll (Cistercian College, Roscrea), Jack Kelly (St. Michael’s College), Tim Foley (Capt.)(Cistercian College, Roscrea), Jordan Larmour (St. Andrew’s College); Conor Dean (Blackrock College), David Duggan (St. Michael's College); Rory Mulvihill (St. Michael’s College), Conor Johnson (Newbridge College), Richard Mouatt (Blackrock College); Oisín Dowling (St. Michael’s College), Brian Egan (Belvedere College SJ); Caelan Dorris (Blackrock College), Jonny Guy (St. Andrew's College), Barry Fitzpatrick (St. Michael’s College).

Replacements: Daniel McCaffrey (Belvedere College SJ), Gavin Murray (Castleknock College), Emmet Burns (Blackrock College), Tom De Jongh (Belvedere College SJ), Matthew Keane (Cistercian College, Roscrea), Hugh O'Sullivan (Belvedere College SJ), Conor Jennings (Belvedere College SJ), Alan Tynan (Cistercian College, Roscrea).

Munster 19-10 Leinster

by Eoghan Cahill

Munster have finally ended their long drought spell in the Under 18 Schools Interprovincial Championship with an emphatic win over the runners up Leinster.

The Munster team went into the final game with two comfortable wins over both Connacht and Ulster meaning they only needed a win over rivals Leinster to bring back silverware to the province.

The match was held in the CBC grounds in Cork on Saturday the 27th of September and it must be said that the pitch was of the highest standards for the game.

The game was extremely physical from the outset and both teams were trying their best to beat the other into submission.

Despite this, Munster's defensive organisation held strong for them with a mixture of brilliant line speed and a certain ruthlessness in the tackles, especially around the rucks as the Munster forwards secured quick ball for their scrum half.

Out-half and captain for the Munster Schools, Bill Johnston (Rockwell College), let his quality shine through in the first half, exposing all of Leinster's weaknesses with his boot and gaining his side much needed territory.

He also succeeded in giving his team 12 points on the scoreboard from penalties.

Munster's constant pressure on the Leinster line finally paid off after good play by Munster Number 15 Colm Hogan (Glenstal Abbey) and the Munster men and the brilliant backs move was finished off with Billy O'Hora going in for a try in the corner.

Leinster showed threatening signs throughout the half through strong carries and excellent rucking but Munster managed to hold them out to end the first half at 19-0.

The second half showed a much more revitalised Leinster side and there was back and forth play by both sides.

Leinster number 14 Tim Carroll (Cistercian College, Roscrea) was shown a straight red card after accidentally taking out Colm Hogan in the air.

Despite this setback, Leinster managed to get themselves on the scoreboard with brilliantly executed play from the backline. The conversion was missed, however, and the score remained 19-5 with 14 minutes left.

Munster's defence really shone through again and they held out numerous Leinster attacks helped along by smash hits from Number 13 Calvin Nash (Crescent College) and Number 14 Glen Dickinson (Crescent College).

Munster showed excellent attacking play throughout the second half but were unlucky to finish it off with points on the scoreboard.

Leinster scored again with scrum-half David Duggan (St Michael's College) reading the play excellently to dart over the line from the side of the ruck. The conversion was missed however and the score was now 19-10 with 9 minutes left.

Munster dug deep to lock the game down and pinned Leinster back in their own half for the remainder of the game. Finally, after a turnover in stoppage time, Munster cleared the ball off the pitch and the final whistle blew crowning Munster as Interpro Champions.