Marist and Sligo must meet again to decide Junior Cup
Marist College 15 Sligo Grammar School 15
By Kevin Egan
With nine Junior Cup titles since the turn of the millennium, Marist College have been the dominant force at this grade of Connacht schools rugby for a quarter of a century now, though as of yet, putting together back to back titles has eluded the school.
They’ll get another chance to put that to rights against Sligo Grammar School, after their deepening rivalry with the Sligo outfit had another fascinating chapter added to the narrative in the Junior Cup final at Ballina RFC recently, culminating in a draw.
Like most drawn games, Marist College will come away with feelings of relief and frustration. Relief that they were able to up their game in the second half and pick the lock of what was a ferociously robust Sligo Grammar defence to get in for two tries, having trailed by 10-0 at half-time; but also frustration that after they took a 15-10 lead, that a couple of missed tackles allowed Grammar full-back Kenneth Kalu to get up a head of steam and scamper in for an equalising try from 40 metres out, with just four minutes to play.
It was a try that Sligo Grammar never looked like scoring. Aptly, the first try for Grammar came not from attack, but from defence – a blocked kick that fell perfectly for Seán Cashel to follow up his own charge down and score under the posts.
Likewise, there was no cohesive teamwork or careful handling from Kalu for the crucial score at the end. Darragh Murray kicked clear from ten metres out from his own try line, and initially, Kalu fumbled the catch, but managed to take it in at the second attempt. Once he gathered it in and got a couple of strides going, a seemingly innocuous position looked very dangerous.
Marist had a lot more going for them in terms of their ability to move the ball through the hands, to try and draw tacklers into the rucks to create space, and in their ability to try and stretch the Sligo Grammar defence through a crafty kicking game. Unfortunately for them however, they ran into a defensive unit that was exceptional in getting off the line quickly, arriving at the ball carrier with pace and support.
The offloads that the Marist needed to really break the line didn’t come off and while a couple of well-placed kicks briefly seemed to offer a chink of light, in particular one grubber that put Sligo number eight Aron Martin in a lot of trouble in his own try zone, there were no scores harvested in the first half.
Marist, who denied Grammar a fourth consecutive Senior Cup title in last Wednesday’s U-19 final and who also completed a Senior/Junior Cup double on the last occasion that they won the big prize back in 2013, were a transformed side after half-time however, frequently breaking the line and creating openings.
The 8/10/12 combination of Adam Peter Murphy, Darragh Murray and John Finnan all made good ground and that front foot ball made all the difference when they tried to move it out to the strike runners at the back.
Ruairí O’Connor was the first to take advantage when he touched down in the left corner to halve the lead at the end of a move where the ball was swiftly shifted from the opposite touchline.
A yellow card to prop Evan Barrett O’Neill caused the pressure on Sligo Grammar to mount further midway through the half, while on a day when their scrum and defence was excellent, Marist consistently caused them problems in the lineout, forcing their opponents to dig deeper into their own bag of tricks to retain their own ball.
One errant throw that overshot the jumper was fielded by Myles Fallon ten metres from the Sligo Grammar line and with tacklers working ferociously to prevent him touching down, he managed to ground the ball and deliver a score that when converted, gave Marist their first lead.
Luke O’Connor missed a tricky kick to force another change of lead, but Darragh Murray held his nerve to nail a penalty with eight minutes remaining to extend the lead to five points and thus force Sligo Grammar to chase the game.
Unfortunately for the Marist, but perhaps fortunately for the legacy of two sides that both will feel that they have more to offer when the rivalry is renewed, Kenneth Kalu came up with the moment of magic needed to tie up the game. O’Connor missed the conversion, and another meeting between the two schools will be needed to see if a fantastic year for Marist rugby will have yet more garlands added on.
Player of the match: John Finnan was central to the best Marist work when the ball was moved out to the backs, Adam Peter Murphy made some very strong carries and there was a lot to like about Darragh Murray’s kicking and Joseph McSharry’s defensive work. On the Sligo Grammar side, Sam Carnegie was a warrior in the trenches, Seán Cashel’s tackle count was through the roof and Aron Martin made a lot of carries. But on a day when Marist’s trump card was their ability to dominate the lineout on both throws, Myles Fallon gets the shout for his central role in that aspect of the game.
What's next: The replay has been arranged for next Wednesday (April 9) in Ballyhaunis RFC at 2.30pm. The U-14 league final between the same two schools will take place at the same venue beforehand (12.00).
Scorers - Marist: R O’Connor, M Fallon 1 try each; D Murray 1 pen, one conversion. Sligo GS: S Cashel, Kenneth Kalu 1 try each; L O’Connor 1 pen, 1 con.
Marist College, Athlone: Pádraig O’Neill; Andrew Claffey, Conor Flynn, John Finnan, Ruairí O’Connor; Darragh Murray, Hugh Loftus; Michael Doolan, Callum McCormack, Peter Daniel Sunny; Myles Fallon, Jack McDonnell; Harry Lowe, Joseph McSharry, Adam Peter Murphy. Replacements: Chris Sylla for Doolan (37), Brian Rourke for Lowe (37).
Sligo Grammar School: Kenneth Kalu; Arnau Oliver, Kelvin Kalu, Seán Cashel, Luke O’Connor; Max Wojtkowicz, Matthew O’Grady; Evan Barrett O’Neill, Gavin Hewson, Sam Carnegie; Babs Folorunso, Fintan Ryan; Theo Gately, Ruben Clinch, Aron Martin. Replacements: Eoghan Conboy for Hewson (half-time), Tristan Kelly for Conboy (45), Conboy for Kelly (50), James Whelan for O’Grady (53).
Referee: Jamie Coyle.