Holders Marist advance with win over battling Ros’ CBS
Marist College 40 Roscommon CBS 3
By Kevin Egan
Marist College showed both their undeniable quality and talent, but also one or two possible vulnerabilities in their recent Connacht Senior Cup semi-final against Roscommon CBS - a game that was far more competitive for long stretches than the final score would indicate.
With a strong breeze blowing at their backs in the opening half, the current Senior Cup holders conceded the opening score to a Harry Waldron penalty, and struggled to overcome some stout defence from the visiting underdogs in the opening half.
Marist will meet Sligo Grammar School in the final this Wednesday, March 18 at the Dexcom Stadium, Galway (kick-off 4pm). Sligo overcame St Muredach’s in the other semi-final.
Marist head coach Mick Loftus is relishing the chance to play the final in the home ground of Connacht Rugby.
“There’s a lot of sixth years out there and it was important to them as their last game on this pitch. Every message I sent in the group WhatsApp, I put a picture of the new Dexcom Stadium in it to start! It’s a fantastic facility and I think for any sports person, to have the opportunity to play down there is great,” – said Loftus after the win at home to Roscommon CBS.
With just four Leaving Cert starters, progression to this stage of the competition was deemed success in its own right for Roscommon CBS, notwithstanding the notable contribution of Ireland U-19 international Leo Anic at number eight.
Marist disrupted the CBS lineout very well but could only be deemed to have broken even with their opponents in the scrum and at the tight exchanges, while some outstanding tackling from the CBS, particularly a couple of try-saving interventions from full-back Jack Finn, kept the contest competitive throughout the opening 35 minutes.
Six of the first seven penalties of the game were conceded by Marist who struggled to keep their composure in the face of that excellent tackling. The first of those penalties resulted in a successful kick at goal from Waldron while second row Jack Kelly picked up a yellow card, further boosting the confidence of the visitors.
The offloading and close-range handling of Marist was always going to create openings, however, and they got off the mark through Pádraig O’Neill in the corner while down to 14 players midway through the first half. Owen Egan’s initial break, Andrew Cotton’s offload and good support from Peter Daniel Sunny enabled the score. But as Cotton’s conversion was hooked in beautifully by the breeze from the sideline, that illustrated how much cushion was needed on the scoreboard to survive the second half.
Two crucial plays prevented the Marist from opening the window of opportunity too wide to their opponents. The first was a collective goal-line stand that, after ten phases, ended with Rhys Webb being held up as he tried to touch down across the Marist line. Then just before half-time, Cotton was again instrumental in leaving Joseph McSharry with a simple finish just to the left of the posts, the conversion making it 14-3 at the interval.
The second half began with a soaring kick from CBS full-back Jack Finn that went from one 22m line to the other, before scuttling out on the right side of the line to give the underdogs the throw. While the Marist hadn’t used their kicking game too much in the opening half, CBS had natural kickers at 10, 12 and 15 and that ability to eat up huge chunks of territory with one flash of the boot was a valuable weapon at their disposal.
Pádraig O’Farrell claimed the lineout and after he was brought to ground, Marist infringed at the ruck and the option was there for CBS to kick the points and ratchet up the pressure even further. They went for the 'tap and go' but didn’t manage to convert it into a score.
Three minutes later, Marist took the chance to show the incredible potency of their back division when two quick passes moved the ball out to Paul O’Sullivan, and the winger exploded down the right-hand sideline to cover 70 metres and score.
It was a stunning statement of Marist’s threat from anywhere on the pitch, and it visibly broke the resolve of CBS, who simply didn’t have the same ability to create try scoring opportunities and their defensive effort also waned. This lethal Marist back division didn’t need to be asked twice to take advantage. Sure enough, they carried and passed with thought and dexterity, sucking in CBS defenders and creating overlaps that eventually yielded three more tries.
In a game where there wasn’t much to call between the sides up front, the fact that five of starting backs got on the scoresheet tells a lot about the strength of this Marist group.
Half-backs Owen Egan and Daragh Murray each ran in superb scores to crown good overall performances while Cotton ended the game with a driving finish from close range, before dropkicking the conversion to round off a fine display with the boot from the Buccaneers all-rounder.
Player of the match: There could be no denying the power and influence of Leo Anic at the base of the Roscommon CBS scrum in what were difficult circumstances for him, but even before Marist got into the higher gears, the slick passing and razor-sharp game awareness of Owen Egan put the home side on the front foot consistently, not to mention his own ability to spot gaps and gain territory.
Waiting in the wings: Marist opted against using Andrew Henson in this game, though the Ireland U-19 international was listed on the replacements. Barring any relapse, he will be expected to play a key role in the final versus Sligo Grammar School .
Scorers – Marist: A Cotton 1 try, 5 conversions; P O’Neill, J McSharry, P O’Sullivan, O Egan and D Murray 1 try each. Roscommon CBS: H Waldron 1 pen.
Marist College, Athlone: Andrew Cotton; Paul O’Sullivan, Oisín O’Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Pádraig O’Neill; Daragh Murray, Owen Egan; Hugo Hannon, Adam Murphy, Peter Daniel Sunny; James Kelly, Peter Bourke; Rueben Colleran, John Finnan, Kyle Byrne. Replacements: Joseph McSharry for Kelly (22), James Kelly for Finnan (50), Donncha Dullea for Hannon (53), Rory O’Connor for O’Neill (59), Callum McCormack for Murphy (61), Michael Doolan for Sunny (61), Ciaran West for Colleran (62).
Roscommon CBS: Jack Finn; Rhys Ward, Cian Kiernan, Cian Trimble, Eamon Coyle; Harry Waldron, Daniel Fleming; Conor Diffley, Matthew Donnelly, Cathal Mulry; Andrej Anic, Harry Kilcoyne; Pádraig O’Farrell, Jack Keane, Leo Anic. Replacements: Sam Walsh for Ward (h-t), Jeff Dolan for Fleming (48), Jack Walsh for Donnelly (48), Brian O’Connor for S Walsh (60).
Referee: Cian Hough.