Marist sink Sligo to claim Junior Cup crown

Marist College 22 Sligo Grammar School 14

The Marist College junior rugby team fulfilled the promise they had previously shown by claiming the Connacht Schools Junior Cup with victory over Sligo Grammar School in Wednesday afternoon's final at the Dexcom Stadium.

Marist surely went into this final in confident mood after a very emphatic victory over St Joseph's ('The Bish') in their semi-final. The Marist's deserved win secured a ninth title in the competition and it also means that the Athlone side has been crowned double winners as this match served as the replay of the drawn league final between the sides, played last December.

There was very little between the teams in the first half and both found it difficult to carve out genuine try scoring opportunities. Over 28 minutes had been played at the Galway venue before the deadlock was broken when an incisive skip pass from out-half Darragh Murray created a chance for Alex Connor. The winger used his pace to good effect to evade the Sligo cover and he also made Andrew Cotton's conversion a mere formality by moving in to touch down close to the posts.

Sligo delivered a swift riposte, however. Dynamic centre Kelvin Kalu did superbly to fetch Ronan Mullan's restart and with number 8 Alastair Hewson making some hard yards, the resulting pressure led to impressive hooker Sam Carnegie bursting over the line. Mullan did the needful from the conversion and the sides were level 7-7 at half-time.

Within five minutes of the resumption, Marist regained the lead when, after Reuben Colleran won possession from a lineout in the right corner, the influential John Finnan breached the Sligo defence for his side's second try. Cotton made no mistake from the conversion to leave Marist leading 14-7.

But Carnegie finished off a bout of strong Sligo pressure with his second try (43rd minute), Mullan's successful conversion levelling matters at 14 apiece.

A couple of minutes later, Marist forced a penalty a little bit outside the Sligo 22 and Cotton understandably opted for the posts. His accurate kick gave Marist a three-point lead and meant Sligo needed something similar to draw level.

Some turnovers of possession in the face of strong Marist workrate and tackling proved costly for Sligo. And in added time, the Athlone side embellished their winning margin when Oisín O’Donoghue (part of a strong centre partnership with Darragh Glennon) set up Murray for a try. Cotton's missed conversion was of statistical interest only as the final whistle immediately followed.

Sligo did well to curb the always threatening Philip Finnan, whose pace and dancing feet still caught the eye, while Philip's brother John shone throughout, with Sligo's Carnegie also a strong player of the match contender.

Scorers - Marist: A Connor, J Finnan, D Murray 1 try each; A Cotton 1 pen, 2 conversions. Sligo GS: S Carnegie 2 tries; R Mullan 2 cons.

Marist College, Athlone: Philip Finnan; Alex Connor, Darragh Glennon, Oisín O’Donoghue, Andrew Cotton; Darragh Murray, Owen Egan; Hugo Hannon, James Kelly, Ciarán West; Peter Bourke, Evin Claffey; Joseph McSharry, John Finnan, Reuben Colleran. Replacements: Jimmy Walshe for West (59 mins), Brian Rourke for McSharry (59), Senan Nugent for Connor (60+4), Jacob Bourke for Cotton (60+4). Management: Mick Loftus, Tony Dolan, Conor Galvin, Susie Burzawa (physio).

Sligo Grammar School: Kenneth Kalu; Seán Cashell, Kelvin Kalu, Jasper Gimena, Seán Duffy; Luke O’Connor, Matthew O’Grady; Reuben Galvan, Sam Carnegie, Cathal Moffatt; Jack Kells, Reece Hill; Ronan Mullan, Aron Martin, Alastair Hewson. Replacements: Ollie Isherwood for Duffy (inj., 3 mins); Shane Murtagh for Isherwood (60+4). Management: Simon Galvan, Jimmy Staunton, Sean Taylor, Raymond Byrne (physio).

Referee: Siobhán Daly.