Join the Connacht Rugby WhatsApp channel
Stay up to date with the latest news
Connacht Schools Senior Cup Semi-Final
Sligo Grammar School 38
(Logan O’Neill-Markey, Owen McNamara, Ryan Burrows, Andrew Deegan, Ben O’Connor one pen, five cons)
St. Muredach’s, Ballina 10
(Iarla Quinn try; Conor Connolly one try, one con)
Kevin Egan at Sligo Grammar School
Since the pandemic, it has been the defining rivalry in Connacht Schools rugby. Sligo Grammar School and Marist College have been the kingpins of the Western landscape, and their magnetic pull towards each other was palpable in the grounds of the Grammar School this afternoon, where Will Macauley’s side produced a performance of real quality and depth to overwhelm St. Muredach’s and set up a rematch with their Athlone rivals next week in the Dexcom Stadium.
St. Muredach’s made the short trip to the Rathquarter school, hoping to make history by becoming the first Mayo side to reach the final of this historic competition, while the impeccable observation of a minute’s silence in memory of Cian Farrell and Pádraic Tuffy, the two former pupils who recently passed away as a result of a road accident in Ballina, added an extra layer of emotional intensity to this fixture.
Sligo Grammar School were utterly respectful, but ruthless all the same.
The early exchanges were physical, with both sides looking to set the tone up front. Cathal Moffatt and Iarla Quinn sparked off each other right from the start, Quinn delivered a monster hit to draw a roar from the Muredach’s bench and their second row pairing of Cian Fitzpatrick and Oisín Breslin were tireless against Grammar, who looked to hit rucks quickly and keep the tempo of the game high.
Alastair Hewson was a huge part of this with his lines of running and his jackaling at the base of the ruck, while Andrew Ryan’s whipped deliveries helped to set up some Grammar line breaks.
The game was turned on its head when Fitzpatrick was shown an early yellow card for a deliberate knock on, and Grammar School didn’t hesitate to make their advantage count.
Ben O’Connor kicked the penalty and three minutes later hoisted a perfect cross-field kick that was fielded and finished by Logan O’Neill-Markey, with O’Connor adding the extras from the touchline on what was a perfect day from the boot for the Grammar outhalf.
Conor Connolly, one of a handful of survivors from this corresponding fixture in 2024, looked to go deep with the boot and exploit the tricky diagonal breeze and one 50:22 kick put Grammar right on the back foot, or it could have until Aron Martin claimed the lineout, Hewson and Ryan made 50 metres down the touchline, and the danger was cleared.
Ryan Burrows was on the scene too, one of several occasions when the powerful second row looked to join the fun out in the back division, and that tactic bore fruit when after some outstanding offloading and quick hands created an overlap, he took a pass from Mark Bradley and touched down in the left corner.
O’Connor again slotted his kick from the sideline perfectly to make it 17-3 at the half-time break, while life was made even tougher for Muredach’s by a shoulder injury to all-action back-row Matthew Beale, and ongoing knee issues that were hampering their talismanic number eight, Iarla Quinn.
Quinn returned to the action to touch down a second half try that was nothing only fair reward for relentless endeavour and honesty from St. Muredach’s, but despite taking two yellow cards of their own in the second half, Sligo Grammar continued to impress in every phase of play. Ben O’Connor added two tries to his outstanding day from the boot, one after a strong sidestep and another when he chased down his own kick over the top to just about get the ball grounded before it went dead, with Andrew Deegan also on the scoresheet.
They never lost sign of the basics either, with a clear upper hand at scrum time, in the lineout, and in their ability to continue to generate quick clear outs and front foot possession for their dangerous strike runners.
Last year’s final between Marist and Grammar was a truly memorable contest, one that will be remembered for a long time to come. It was just one more chapter in an ongoing story that continues to intrigue and enthrall however, and it would be a shock if there was anything other than another occasion filled with more twists, turns and talent next week.
SLIGO GRAMMAR SCHOOL: James McGettrick; Kelvin Kalu, Bobby Hanrahan, Andrew Deegan, Logan O’Neill-Markey; Ben O’Connor, Andrew Ryan; Cathal Moffatt, William Draper, Mark Bradley; Ryan Burrows, Owen McNamara; Aron Martin, Alastair Hewson, Ronan Mullan.
Replacements: Seán Cashell for McNamara (half-time), Matthew O’Grady for McGettrick (half-time), Sam Carnegie for Bradley (40), Evan Barrett-O’Neill for Burrows (40), Arlo Holmes for Moffatt (50), Darragh Moran for Hewson (58), Moffatt for Holmes (62), Arran Symmons for Draper (64), Holmes for Carnegie (65), Luke O’Connor for Hanrahan (68).
ST. MUREDACH’S: Robert Young; Anthony Neary, Tom Ruane, Conor Connolly, Liam Sweeney; Eoin Golden, Jake Carr; John Langan, Cormac Kelly, Jamie Devers; Cian Fitzpatrick, Oisín Breslin; Matthew Beale, Conor Moore, Iarla Quinn.
Replacements: Shane Dowd for Beale (16), Donnacha McNamee Forde for Quinn (32), Nathan Duffy for Sweeney (half-time), Quinn for McNamee Forde (40), Craig Ferguson for Langan (50), Kai Kilbane, Matthew Munnelly, Cody Devane Gallagher, Donnacha McNamee Forde for Carr, Duffy, Neary, Golden (all 67).
Referee: Jamie Coyle.
