Grammar held in Senior epic
Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ League Final Sligo Grammar School Marist College
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SLIGO Grammar School salvaged a second shot at the Connacht Schools Junior ‘A’ League title in dramatic fashion at Creggs RFC yesterday, Wednesday, when Cathal Moffatt’s subsequent ruck allowed referee Cathal Roddy to blow the long whistle. In the set piece, in the tight exchanges and when it came to possession, the Sligo side had the upper hand for the majority of the game. They exploded out of the blocks with some powerful early runs from wingers Jack Draper and Dara Holmes, and it was the latter who got the scoring up and running when he galloped down the right flank, evading two tackles before scoring in the corner after he fielded a long clearance at halfway.
Within a couple of minutes Quentin Moughty was touching down in the same corner after Dylan McCloat broke the Marist defence wide open
with a powerful driving charge, and at that stage the reigning champions were rampant, and looked like they might win with something to spare. Gradually Marist found their feet, however, and while the game was 20 minutes old before the Athlone students enjoyed their first possession inside the Grammar half, they soon made it count, racking up 15 points in as many minutes to lead by 15-10 at the break.
With the wind at their backs, the second-half was one-way traffic as the Sligo secondary school laid siege to the midlanders.
There were a host of near misses, and some heroic tackles from the two centres and number eight Patrick Egan, but even so, tries from Gerard over the line through team captain Alistair Hewson.
For the majority of the rest of the game, notwithstanding a 10-minute spell of pressure at the start of the second-half, Marist looked to offer much more of a threat.
Twins Kenneth and Kelvin Kalu had the ability to break a tackle for the Grammar while up front, the prop duo of Reuben Galvin and Cathal Moffatt, as well as Sam Carnegie and Alistair Hewson in the back row, all looked strong and effective on and off the ball – but, overall, Marist controlled more possession and more territory in this final.
Two more Andrew Cotton penalties made it 9-5 at half-time while his fourth from four attempts, with two minutes to play, looked like a clinching score.
However, Marist’s failure to control the restart gave the Grammar a window of hope, and they didn’t waste it. Jasper Gimena made a vital 10 yards with a sharp break off the
Murtagh – capitalising on a gorgeous no-look reverse pass from Andrew Ryan – and Liam McNamee Mas, looked like it would be enough.
Given the quality of the 70 minutes of action that had just transpired, not too many people – players, coaches, or supporters – will be disappointed at the prospect of another joust between these well-matched teams who will also be favourites for Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ Cup glory in 2024. Sligo Grammar School: Alan Lawlor Kerr; Dara Holmes (1 try), Gerard Murtagh (1 try), Max Hunter, Jack Draper; Earl Norris (1 con), Andrew Ryan; Jack Deegan, William Draper, Arran Platt; Isaac Marsden, Liam McNamee Mas (1 try); Dylan McCloat, Quentin Moughty (1 try), Diarmaid
O’Connell base of a ruck, setting up the goalline assault that concluded with Cathal Moffatt showing his power at the best possible time. The replay should be a cracker.
Kenneth Kalu; Seán Cashell, Kelvin Kalu, Jasper Gimena, Ollie Isherwood (1 con); Luke O’Connor, Matthew O’Grady; Reuben Galvan, Aron Martin, Cathal Moffatt (1 try); Jack Kells, Reece Hill; Ronan Mullan, Sam Carnegie, Alastair Hewson (c) (1 try)
Replacement used: Arann O’DonoghueSymmons for Aron Martin (45)
Philip Finnan; Jacob Bourke, Darragh Glennon, Oisín O’Donoghue, Senan Nugent; Andrew
Cotton (4 pens), Owen Egan; Hugo Hannon, James Kelly, Peter Daniel Sunny; Evin Claffey, Peter Bourke; Jack McDonnell, Joseph McSharry, Reuben Colleran Replacements used: Darragh Murray for Evin Claffey (41), Leandro Miranda for Senan Nugent (41), Brian Rourke for Peter Bourke (60)
Referee: Cian Hough
Replacements used: Jacob Kilcoyne for Alan Lawlor Kerr (half-time), Kamsi Mojekwu for Isaac Marsden (40), Ambrose Devine for Liam McNamee Mas (52), Senan Fallon for Jack Deegan (59), Bertie Bamber for William Draper (67)
Andrew Henson; Lorcan McCormack, Thomas Cotton (1 try), Tom Sheehan, Conor Dowling (1 try); Daniel Reid, Charlie O’Carroll (2 cons, 1 pen); Kailin Blessing, Evan McMickan, James Heaslip; Matthew Fallon, Rian Claffey; Kyle Byrne, Callum Kelly, Patrick Egan
Replacements used: Max O’Sullivan for James Heaslip (44), Kyle Mahon (1 try) for Lorcan McCormack (44), James Heaslip for Fallon (52), Stephen O’Connor for Evan McMickan (54), Matthew Fallon for Max O’Sullivan (70+3)
Referee: Cathal Roddy