Ronan Calvert reports from Clanwilliam RFC
Rockwell’s Seniors ensured it was a perfect day for the school with a comprehensive win over Munchins in Clanwilliam.
The game took time to find it’s feet in the early minutes as out halves Jason Kiely and Jake Flannery exchanged penalties.
However, Rockwell eventually showed signs of dominance as their forward pack rolled forward into Munchins territory. Phase after phase, they earned the right to go wide before Padraig Leamy showed superb instinct to cross the whitewash. The conversion was missed by Flannery but he swiftly made amends by sending Ryan O’Sullivan away in the corner just minutes later for Rockwell’s second try. Outhalf Flannery converted with precision from the touchline to make it 15-3.
Similarly to their Juniors beforehand, Munchins were not prepared to roll over when it was easiest to lose faith. The Limerick school instead made an instant reply through elusive winger Luke Costello who glided beyond the defense and brought the match back to 15-8 by the break.
After the interval, Munchins number eight Shane Kelly made a long-range break that saw him all the way through to the try line to lay out his side’s plans for the second half. Unfortunately from their perspective, kicker Kiely pulled the kick wide
At Rockwell 15, Munchins 13 now, the visitors earned a dream penalty that would have pulled them ahead. Kiely missed again in what would seemingly prove a significant psychological blow. In contrast, Jake Flannery nailed a Rockwell penalty soon later to open up the gap to 5 points. A crucial period of the game.
But Flannery’s day took a turn for the worse as Munchin’s plotted their comeback. The playmaker saw yellow on the hour mark and David Quinlan’s troops capitalized.
The Munchins forwards hammered the Rockwell line over and over before scrumhalf Evan Maher opted to go wide. The ball was duly passed along the line until it reached substitute Tyrone O’Halloran who stepped inside and scored right in front of the Rockwell faithful. Munchins supporters were in frenzy as their team had pulled it back to 18-18, but not for long.
The killer blow came as Rockwell centre Andrew Daly mirrored O’Halloran’s try at the other end to put his side firmly in the driving seat. Ryan O’Sullivan converted making it 25-18, before Jake Flannery returned to the fray and knocked over a further penalty to put the game beyond any doubt.
Rockwell the deserved winners in this one.
FT: Rockwell 28-18 Munchins
Munster Haka MOTM: Oisin Mangan (Rockwell #9)
Munster Haka 