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Connacht Schools Junior “B” Cup Final
Rice College ​​​26
(Felix Zeray (two), Finn McHale, Liam Cadden tries; Cian Silke three cons)
Presentation Athenry ​​10
(Enda Colleran, Éanna Maher tries)
Kevin Egan at Ballina RFC
A fast start that featured two tries from team captain Felix Zaray set Rice College on the road to Junior ‘B’ Cup honours this afternoon in Ballina RFC, their first Cup success at this level since they completed two-in-a-row in the Junior ‘A’ Cup 12 years ago.
Head Coach Hugh Ryan said after his side’s victory that the school’s ambition is to bring this group through to compete at the top grade at senior level, and based on the solid foundation offered by their strong and capable pack, not to mention the defensive soundness and accurate kicking game of a back division that was ably led by inside centre Cian Silke, the raw material seems to be there for the Westport school to fulfil that ambition.
Fortune favoured Rice College in the early exchanges as they used the tricky diagonal breeze to set up camp inside the Presentation Athenry half, with the Galway side further hampered by an early temporary injury to team captain and talisman Enda Colleran.
Killian Keane came close to forcing his way through in the left corner in the first play after Colleran was withdrawn, only to be forced out over the sideline by strong Presentation defence.
Rice were delayed rather than denied their breakthrough however as they pressured the Presentation lineout, won a scrum and then drove for the line through Dylan Hughes. The big back row brought play up to within a couple of metres of the Presentation line and Zaray had the power and the timing to do the rest off the next phase, with Silke adding the extra two points.
With Rice consistently forcing Presentation backwards in the scrum, it fell to Seán Deely, Diarmuid Collins, Michael Cohen and in particular Éanna Maher to try and run the ball out of trouble for the Athenry school. They gained some traction through this approach but without the ability to gain a lot of ground through use of the boot, pressure mounted and Zaray soon touched down for his second, exploiting quick and slick delivery from Liam Cadden.
The crucial phase of the game was just before half-time, when consecutive yellow cards for Hughes and Cadden left Rice with a numerical disadvantage. Just when it looked as if ÉannaMaher had broken through at the end of a mercurial, jinking run, a last-ditch tackle from Cian Silke kept the Rice line intact. Within 60 seconds they had spread the ball wide and Finn McHale was able to finish from 60 metres out, just about outpacing Diarmuid Collins in a straight foot race.
Silke’s strength in the tackle was undeniable throughout the contest and early in the second half, his thunderous hit on Darragh Fitzpatrick once again put Presentation College under pressure in their own half. The Rice front row won the scrum against the head, and Liam Cadden celebrated his return to the pitch by dancing through three tackles and touching down for the fourth Rice College try.
The quality of the Presentation College runners was undeniable and the second half scores they secured through Enda Colleran and Éanna Maher were the least that they deserved, but with the gap reduced to 16 points with ten minutes to play, Rice College put up the shutters once again and without ever really threatening a fifth try of their own, they kept their opponents at bay to ensure that their unbeaten season was crowned with Cup silver.
RICE COLLEGE: Robbie Murphy; Anselme Bouquet, Dan Lambert, Cian Silke, Finn McHale; Peter Ryan, Liam Cadden; Tom Cox, Felix Zeray, Luke O’Donnell; Eoin O’Malley, Pheilim Sheridan; Aidan Fayne, Killian Keane, Dylan Hughes.
Replacements: Kevin Hastings for O’Donnell (48), Mohammad Al Torchan for Keane (54).
PRESENTATION ATHENRY: Seán Deely; Diarmuid Collins, Éanna Maher, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Dylan Broderick; Michael Cohen, Liam Lynskey; Cameron Boyce, Ethan O’Gorman, Darragh McHugh; Adam Shaughnessy, Patrick Carr; Cian Herbert, Matthew Scanlon, Enda Colleran.
Replacements: Cian Allen for Colleran (6), Colleran for Allen (12), Cian Furey for Shaughnessy (half-time), Cian Allen for Broderick (half-time), Eoin Treacy for Allen (54), Phelim Guilfoyle for Boyce (59), John Loftus for Murphy (59).
Referee: Joe Gleeson.
