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Connacht Schools Junior A Cup Final
Sligo Grammar School​ 15
(Seán Cashel, Kelvin Kalu tries; Luke O’Connor one pen, one con)
Marist College ​​15
(Rúairí O’Connor, Myles Fallon tries; Darragh Murray one pen, one con)
Kevin Egan at Ballina RFC
The deepening rivalry between Marist College of Athlone and Sligo Grammar School at all levels of Connacht Schools Rugby will have another chapter added at some stage in the next few weeks after the two sides finished level at the end of a tense and competitive contest in this afternoon’s Connacht Junior Cup final at Ballina.
Despite ideal conditions on the pristine 4G surface at the North Mayo venue, neither side got their attacking game going to the extent that they would have liked, with Grammar’s defencethe standout feature of the first half. Flowing moves through the hands were rarely seen from the Grammar line but their ability to get off the line quickly and arrive at the ball carrier with pace and support discommoded the reigning cup holders and established a strong position at half-time, with Grammar 10-0 in front at that stage.
They repeatedly pushed Marist backwards in the tackle and in the ruck, denying their Athlone opponents any space all across the pitch, with Seán Cashel scoring the only try after he blocked down a Marist kick and ran the ball in under the posts. Luke O’Connor added the conversion, having earlier opened the scoring from a penalty, and while they lived dangerously on a couple of kicks through and behind their defensive line, Marist never got the breakthrough they craved.
Marist, who denied Grammar a fourth consecutive Senior Cup title in last Wednesday’s U-19 final and who also completed a Senior/Junior Cup double on the last occasion that they won the big prize back in 2013, were a transformed side after half-time however, frequently breaking the line and creating openings.
The 8/10/12 combination of Adam Peter Murphy, Darragh Murray and John Finnan all made good ground, albeit without ever getting their offloads away as they would have liked, and that front foot ball made all the difference when they tried to move it out.
Rúairí O’Connor was the first to take advantage when he touched down in the left corner to halve the lead at the end of a move where the ball was swiftly shifted from the opposite touchline.
A yellow card to prop Evan Barrett O’Neill caused the pressure on Sligo Grammar to mountfurther midway through the half, while on a day when their scrum and defence was excellent, their lineout was a vulnerability.
One errant throw that overshot the jumper was fielded by Myles Fallon ten metres from the Sligo Grammar line and with tacklers working ferociously to prevent him touching down, he managed to ground the ball and deliver a score that when converted, gave Marist their first lead.
Darragh Murray also tacked on a penalty with eight minutes remaining to extend the lead to five points and thus force Sligo Grammar to chase the game.
After almost an hour in which Sligo Grammar struggled to carve out try scoring opportunities, it fell to full back Kenneth Kalu to provide the moment of inspiration that kept their cup hopes alive. After fielding a clearance just inside the Marist half, once he broke the first tackle and built up a head of steam, he surged down the left hand side to deliver the equalising score, setting up another day out for both sides.
SLIGO GRAMMAR SCHOOL: Kenneth Kalu; Arnau Oliver, Kelvin Kalu, Seán Cashel, Luke O’Connor; Max Wojtkowicz, Matthew O’Grady; Evan Barrett O’Neill, Gavin Hewson, Sam Carnegie; Babs Folorunso, Fintan Ryan; Theo Gately, Ruben Clinch, Aron Martin.
Replacements: Eoghan Conboy for Hewson (half-time), Tristan Kelly for Conboy (45), Conboy for Kelly (50), James Whelan for O’Grady (53).
MARIST COLLEGE: Pádraig O’Neill; Andrew Claffey, Conor Flynn, John Finnan, RúairíO’Connor; Darragh Murray, Hugh Loftus; Michael Doolan, Callum McCormack, Peter Daniel Sunny; Myles Fallon, Jack McDonnell; Harry Lowe, Joseph McSharry, Adam Peter Murphy.
Replacements: Chris Sylla for Doolan (37), Brian Rourke for Lowe (37).
Referee: Jamie Coyle.
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