Tony Ward’s Leinster preview and his school-by-school guide
Belvedere, Blackrock, Clongowes and St Michael’s will set the pace, but 2018 Senior Cup will be the most open competition in years
I’M TEMPTING fate by saying this, and of course much will depend on the rolling draw, but at this distance, before a ball is kicked in main event, the Bank of Ireland Schools Senior Cup looks a lot more open than it has been in recent years.
Yes, Belvedere, Blackrock, St Michael’s and Clongowes will be setting the pace and, given that they have taken 13 of the last 14 titles between them (Roscrea the interloper in 2015), would we expect it any other way?
I anticipate Belvo, Rock and Michael’s being the pre-tournament favourites with the bookies, but watch for Clongowes, Terenure and St Mary’s too, although not necessarily in that order. League finalists St Gerard’s and Gonzaga also have it within their capability to rattle a big cage or two, but neither of these is looking beyond the opening round, given that Belvedere and St Fintan’s are their initial opposition.
Three years ago at Junior, Rock again ruled Leinster, beating Terenure 15-13 in an extremely tight final with the winning points coming in the last minute courtesy of a Joey Caputo penalty. This is an extremely good Terenure team, playing a vibrant brand of sensible attacking rugby under John Coffey.
But the draw has been tough, with former Michael’s cup-winning captain Dan Leavy and Leinster assistant coach Stuart Lancaster responsible for pairing the ‘Nure and Michael’s together in the opening round when drawing out the names back in early December.
The first matches in the Vinnie Murray Cup kicked off earlier this week, with the main event set to get under way at Donnybrook on January 28 when cup holders Belvedere take on sister school and 2017 semi-finalist Gonzaga in the opening tie.
Then 24 hours later at the same venue, that mouth-watering clash between Terenure and St Michael’s takes place.
Terenure had luck on their side in that ‘J’ run to the final in 2015 insofar as they managed to avoid the really big guns until Rock in the final, whereas Clongowes (in round 1 against Rock, 23-15), Michael’s (in round 2 against Belvo, 10-0) and Belvo (in the semi-final against Rock, 13-8) all bit the dust against each other. That said, Rock scraped the final and they knew it.
All of which points to a fascinating competition at Senior level three years on. Tuesday, again at Donnybrook, sees Rock display their wares for the first time. Castleknock (beaten League semi-finalists) field a strong squad this time around. It is also a group that doesn’t want for size.
Significantly, too, the west Dublin school lost out to Terenure narrowly (10-6) in that Junior quarter-final in 2015.
On Wednesday, Newbridge and Pres Bray come to the Dublin 4 venue. Both schools qualified through the League for this year’s Cup, with Newbridge finishing second in Section B and Pres third in Section A, each losing just a single game along the way.
As coincidence would have it, they were paired together in the League quarter-final down in Newbridge, with the home team scraping it 17-15 before losing out to Gonzaga in the semi-final.
All signs point to yet another opening tie in the balance and very much to be decided on the day. Newbridge will start as favourites but watch out for a possible upset. They are still a year young, but this is potentially a very good Pres side.
Much will depend on the draw but going all the way is a realistic proposition for any team that beats Belvo, Rockor Michael’s
On Thursday, there are two ties down for decision: in Donnybrook (St Fintan’s v St Gerard’s) and in Castle Avenue (Clongowes v Vinnie Murray Qualifier 1).
The Headquarters match is another that could go either way. Gerard’s scraped it (28-25) in Sutton when the eventual League winners were put under the pump by another powerful Fintan’s tight five.
In Clontarf, Clongowes should prove too strong for the Vinnie Murray qualifiers (possibly King’s Hospital) while on the final day of round one it will be a battle of the Saints between Mary’s and Andrew’s, with the Rathmines school favoured. While in a venue to be confirmed (pending the second Vinnie Murray qualifier), Cistercian College Roscrea will get their 2018 campaign under way, with CBC or Wesley the most likely to come through from the bottom half.
It is with much reluctance we’ll do a Mystic Meg, but based on evidence to date, allied to the near guarantee of an upset, I’m going for Belvo, Michael’s, Rock, Pres, Gerard’s, Clongowes, Mary’s and Roscrea to make it through to the last eight.
Beyond that so much will depend on the draw but going all the way is a realistic proposition for any team that beats Belvo, Rock or Michael’s.