Leinster vs Ulster

Scott Barron’s big hit caused a turnover,
Bernard White cut through the middle,
Matthew Wyse flashed a peach of a pass
and ‘Rock could not secure their lineout.
Increasingly, the Aylesbury school was
forced to relieve pressure rather than
apply it until Sean King broke from deep
and booted a 50-22 for a 5-metre
lineout.
However, ‘Rock were wise to the low
throw, snaffling the ball away and
surviving McLaughlin’s block down of
Luke Coffey to leave it 15-5 at the half.
Blackrock captain Wyse returned with a
heavily strapped leg and was withdrawn
within minutes in a real blow.
A stunning tackle from behind by Eoin
Loo on Browne was followed by Owen
Twomey’s expert capture of Browne on
his next carry for a penalty on the floor.
The strength of White ensured a turnover
and the big centre blasted out a 50-22
for the lineout and scrum to click into
gear.
Back-to-back penalties in the shadow of
the posts were used to create a sliver of
space for Keogh to squeeze in, Coffey
converting in tremendous style from the
touchline in the 43rd minute.
Blackrock was having the better of it,
another tumbling kick leading to prime
field position which was turned into a
counter-attack by King’s long ball out of
defence.
A marauding McLaughlin carry was
matched by prop Louis Magee’s body
position for a penalty at the breakdown.
A burst by Conall Power, the hands of
White and another surge from White
came to nothing.
They stayed on message, using the lineout
and forwards to eke out vital yards for
Power to burrow over.
SCORERS:
Blackrock – J Browne, R Keogh, C
Power try each; L Coffey con.
St Michael’s – H Gallagher, S
McLaughlin try each; H McMahon pen,
con.
Blackrock College: Cael McCloskey;
James Browne, Oisin Daly, Bernard White
(Conor White 56), Rhys Keogh; Luke
Coffey, Charlie Martin; Louis Magee,
Matthew Wyse (Capt, Lorcan Golden
32), Luka Kelly (Ben Guerin 45), George
Eggers (JJ Hamilton 34), Conall Power,
Tom Keaveney (Paddy Agnew 58), Tom
McAleese, Geoffrey Wall.
St. Michael’s College: Sean King;
Josh Divilly, Matthew Haugh, Scott
Barron (James McMahon 56), Eoin Loo;
Harrison McMahon, Andrew Norse
(Ollie de Vreeze 47); Conor Canniffe,
Joe Kennedy, Matthew Dredge (Dan
O’Donohoe 15), Haydn Gallagher,
Tom Reynolds (Phil Lynch 47), Setanta
McLaughlin, Owen Twomey, Myles
Berman (Capt).
Referee: P O’Connor, Leinster Branch.
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