Portlaoise CBS triumphs in Leinster Rugby Shield final in Dublin

Daniel Downey and Joe Larkin both grabbed a brace of tries in St Mary’s eclipse of Creagh in the Leinster Rugby Division 3A JCT Development Shield final on the back pitch at Energia Park in Donnybrook.

• ST MARY’S CBS, PORTLAOISE 38
• CREAGH COLLEGE, GOREY 7

The St Mary’s boys opened well enough for centre Downey to round the cover for a smartly taken try, converted by David Timmons in the fourth minute. Creagh looked for big centre Sean Lewandowski to make ground through the middle and for out-half Jack Doran to make the right decisions.

Once the Portlaoise boys had repelled sustained pressure, they managed to break upfield for number eight Shane Foley to muscle through tackles for a second try in the 16th minute.

Again, Creagh moved into a striking position where the best efforts of openside Oisin Urquhart were undone by the aggression of back rowers Odhran Fitzpatrick, Bill Rigney and Foley to leave it 12-0 at the break. Any confidence behind a comeback was severely dented when lock Ciaran Dunne burst forward and provided the final pass for Sean Tuohy to go over in the left corner.

When Fitzpatrick was turned away by a gang tackle, St Mary’s had the intelligence to move the ball left for Downey to dot down. Eoghan Deegan converted.

Straight away, replacement Joe Larkin turned defence into attack, galloping up the right for a demonstration of impressive athleticism in running in the fifth try, converted by Deegan. MORE BELOW PIC.

 Larkin popped up on the left for his second try and slotted the conversion for good measure.

 The never-say-die attitude of the Wexford boys was reflected in how they came forward. Prop Sam McGough lost the ball over the line and Lewandowski was held up over it.

Eventually, they earned a reward through Ryan Murphy’s surge on the left and the same man’s conversion at the final whistle. MORE BELOW PIC.

The win was one half of a double achieved by St Mary's in Dublin The Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools Senior and Junior Development Cup and Shield Finals which took place at Energia Park on Thursday, December 14.

SCORERS: St Mary’s – J Larkin 2 tries, con; D Downey 2 tries; S Foley, S Tuohy try each; E Deegan 2 cons; D Timmons con. Creagh – R Murphy try, con.

ST MARY’S CBS, PORTLAOISE: Aaron Fitzpatrick; David Timmons, Daniel Downey, Eoghan Deegan, Daniel Murrell; Finn Darcy, Paul Byrne; Mark Ging, Ryan O’Brien-McCormack, Jack Dowling, Daragh Lalor, Ciaran Dunne, Odhran Fitzpatrick, Bill Rigney, Shane Foley.
Replacements – Mark Fennell, Harry Redmond, Kallmu Bartley-Bray, Joe Larkin, Alex Walsh, Sean Tuohy, Reuben Plunkett, Jim Hanamy.

CREAGH COLLEGE, GOREY: – Jamie Maguire; Faolan Corbett, Ryan Murphy, Sean Lewandowski, Calmu Whelan-Smith; Jack Doran, Harry Graves; Sam McGough, Eric Young, Jack Doran, Hubert Zienkowski, Charlie Embly, Kian Armstrong, Oisin Urquhart, Sean Dunne.
Replacements –  Liam Errity, Morgan Corbett, Odhran Furlong, Donnacha English, Oisin Farrell, Zach White, Noah Byrne, Julo Ashanadi.

REFEREE: A Gernon, Leinster Branch.

Report courtesy of www.LeinsterRugby.ie