Ronan Calvert reports from the University Of Limerick
Ardscoil have advanced to the Munster Schools Senior Cup quarterfinals following a 10-5 defeat of Limerick rivals St Munchin’s at the UL.
Munchin’s looked on top in the early exchanges, piling pressure on Ardscoil with a series of dominant mauls. The penalties began to add up for the defending side and after twenty minutes Munchins eventually broke the deadlock. An accurate set-piece allowed for a solid platform, the maul motored towards the line and in the end flanker Jake Murphy crashed over for the score. The try was left unconverted, leaving the scoreline at 5-0 for much of the half.
However, just before the break, Ardscoil Ris struck back. Outhalf Darragh O’Gorman found touch inside the Munchin’s half and some impressive, varied forwards play helped the North Circular Road school work their way into the danger zone. From there their clinicality showed as star man O’Gorman took the ball once more and dashed over to tie up the scores at 5-5, before adding the extra to his own try.
HT: Ardscoil 7-5 Munchins
The second half was played at a slower tempo as Ardscoil looked to keep control of the contest. A lapse in concentration from Munchins saw them concede a penalty on fifty minutes and Ardscoil outhalf Darragh O’Gorman made them pay as his long-range effort split the posts.
For Munchin’s the final quarter of an hour shared similarities with their first round tie with Bandon as they huffed and puffed by their opponent’s try line without turning pressure into points. Wave after wave, Munchin’s threw their all at Ardscoil in search of that elusive second try but were ultimately denied a place in the quarters by some committed defending and a couple of spectacular clearance kicks from the confident O’Gorman.
FT: Ardscoil 10-5 Munchins
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