Cotton shines as Marist lay platform with superb first half
Marist College 32 Coláiste Éinde 17
By Kevin Egan
Marist College carried the weight of favouritism across the finish line at their home field in Athlone when they accounted for an inexperienced but talented Coláiste Éinde side in this Connacht Schools Senior Cup semi-final last Wednesday week.
The home side prevailed largely because of the incredible talent of their back division, and in no small part abetted by the indiscipline of the Galway school.
When the recording of this game is analysed, it will be the second half that will be pored over in depth in advance of the final on Wednesday, March 19 in Ballina RFC. The first-half footage will mainly be for highlight reels and montages, it was just that good.
Picking holes in the Marist’s first-half performance isn’t easy, because there was so much to like. Peter Bourke and Rueben Colleran devoured Evan McMickan’s darts in the lineout, the handling across the back division was excellent, and in the tight exchanges in particular, the tackling was top drawer and really curtailed the threat of the towering Moycullen brothers, Dara and Seán Walsh.
Perhaps one flaw might be the concession of a few early penalties, but even then, the counterpoint is that Marist learned quickly that referee Cian Hough was going to offer no leeway whatsoever. Coláiste Éinde would have done well to learn the same lesson, even if it was later in the game when that started to become a factor.
For the first half hour, it was all about Marist’s running threat, which yielded four tries. Tom Bourke was the first man to get over the line, touching down on the right after a tap and go penalty from Colleran brought play up to the Coláiste Éinde line.
But it was the second try from the home side that really illustrated how electrifying they could be. There was nothing wrong with Seán Walsh’s kick in behind the line, other than he didn’t quite find touch just inside the Marist 22. Andrew Henson showed wonderful footwork to control the ball and break out, getting his offload to Charlie O’Carroll away in time to allow the outhalf to bring play into the opposition half. When the defence converged on O’Carroll, he had Thomas Cotton on his right shoulder and while there was still a lot of work to do at that stage, the explosive burst of power and pace from the centre saw him easily drive through for the second try.
Cotton also scored Marist’s third, with Kailing Blessing’s run setting up the front foot ball close to the line, while it was immaculate handling from the centre in the middle of another slick backline move that allowed Kyle Mahon to score try number four, approaching half-time.
With the wind blowing across the ground rather than favouring any team and Coláiste Éinde further hammered by the dismissal of Cormac Keady for a high tackle two minutes before half-time, there was no obvious reason to believe that the underdogs might work their way back into the tie from there.
Even when Dara Walsh powered through from 15 metres out five minutes into the second half, beating three tackles on the way, it looked more like an impressive show of defiance from one player, rather than any sign of Coláiste Éinde finding an area of superiority on which they might mount a comeback.
Yet through sheer force of endeavour, they held firm and masked their numerical disadvantage, and when Marist prop Ciarán West received a yellow card to level the playing field for a spell midway through the half, the visitors had another purple patch in terms of possession and territory.
Crucially, Marist’s defence held firm. Mahon and Owen Egan came up with vital tackles to knock the ball loose and disrupt mounting Coláiste Éinde pressure, and when Henson carried the ball clear and things got heated after the subsequent ruck, Seán Walsh picked up a yellow card to once again leave Marist with an extra player (14 versus 13).
A penalty from O’Carroll in the 28th minute of the half, awarded after Conor Oliver retaliated to a tackle and also received a red card, albeit with Walsh now back in action, removed any lingering doubt about the result.
There was still time for Coláiste Éinde to work a short lineout – a tactic which served them well throughout the game – and engineer a second try for Colin O’Connor, but Marist replied in kind, carving out a Philip Finnan try, followed by O’Carroll conversion.
On the two previous occasions when the Marist won the senior league (2012 and 2013), they went on to secure the double. On the form of the first half last Wednesday, they look well equipped to do so again. But it’ll be their laboured effort for the second 35 minutes that will keep them on their toes as they complete their preparations for their trip to Mayo.
Player of the match: Andrew Henson was excellent, Charlie O’Carroll controlled the game well and Ciarán West and Peter Bourke put in monumental shifts in the trenches, but it had to be Thomas Cotton, who was electric with the ball in his hand.
Scorers – Marist: T Cotton 2 tries; T Bourke, K Mahon, P Finnan 1 try each; C O’Carroll 1 pen, 2 cons. Coláiste Éinde: D Walsh, C O’ Connor 1 try each; S Walsh 1 pen, 2 cons.
Marist College: Andrew Henson; Kyle Mahon, Thomas Cotton, Tom Sheahan, Tom Bourke; Charlie O’Carroll, Conor Dowling; Hugo Hannon, Evan McMickan, Ciarán West; Kyle Byrne, Peter Bourke; Kailin Blessing, Oisín O’Donoghue, Rueben Colleran. Replacements: Owen Egan for Dowling (h-t), Matthew Turner for Colleran (40), Andrew Cotton for T Bourke (42), James Kelly for McMickan (55), Tom Bourke for P Bourke (56), Max O’Sullivan for Hannon (63), Philip Finnan for Mahon (63), Darragh Glennon for Henson (70), Evan McMickan for T Cotton (70).
Coláiste Éinde: Michael Brosnan; Hassan Shalaby, Conor Dalton, Seán Walsh, Michael Mullery; Tom Walsh, Rowan Dempsey; Ronan Barrett, Colin O’Connor, Conor Oliver; Ruairí Keady, Cormac Keady; Pasha Thiem, Killian Schouten, Dara Walsh.
Referee: Cian Hough.