Terenure 22

Corinthians 28

By John Mulligan

History was made in Dublin last weekend when Corinthians became the first club from Connacht to qualify for the Fraser McMullan Cup thanks to a six-point win in their JP Fanagan Leinster Premier 1 league clash over Terenure.

The Cup is a U-20 Men’s competition that is played off between the top four ranked teams in Munster’s Donal Walsh Trophy, and the top four ranked teams in Premier 1 of Leinster’s JP Fanagan Premier League.

ON a thrilling final day of league action, Clontarf claimed the JP Fanagan Premier 1 title with a 54-14 win over Lansdowne, which saw them pip Barnhall to the title on their head-to-head record after the two sides finished level thanks to the Kildare side’s 57-19 thrashing of Old Belvedere on the same day.

Both sides had won one game apiece in their two meetings in the season, but Clontarf’s 16 points win (35-19) at home to Barnhall in October topped Barnhall’s 12-point (38-26) win in January.

UCD finished third, but Corinthians grabbed fourth place and the final spot in the Fraser McMullan Cup after they leap-frogged Dublin University on the final day courtesy of this bonus-point win, with Trinity losing 22-19 at home to UCD to finish two points behind Corinthians in the final league table.

Corinthians played some sublime rugby at the Lakelands, with their tries coming from Jamie Treacy, Dermot Collins, Tadgh Johnston and Liam Cahill, with Jack Conway kicking all four conversions.

The game was level at half time with Treacy and Johnston’s tries giving Corinthians a 14-0 lead before Terenure hit back with two converted tries of their own.

Corinthians fell behind to a penalty in the second-half, but tries from Collins and Cahill with Conway’s nerveless boot had Corinthians leading going into the final minutes before a late try left six between the teams at the final whistle.

Corinthians head coach Anthony Leifi was understandably jubilant at the full-time whistle.

“It’s unreal. It’s all the hard work they have been putting in all season. We had goals set up from day one, all through preseason and throughout the season. But, at the end of the day, it’s the players who put their bodies on the line and they have worked really hard.

“This is great not only for the club but for the entire community. All the coaches who work so hard and we see U-18.5 coming through and this season we have two teams representing the club.”

Leifi was quick to point out that that this is a club effort.

“You see it every week. All the coaches that volunteer their time with the underage teams and they progress to the adult teams. It’s incredible the effort that is put in by these people and the support they give which is great for the club and the entire community.”

While the Premier 1 team were making history in Dublin, the Premier 2 team were also finishing off their league in style, beating Greystones 35-31 with their tries coming from Padraig Lally, Sean Power, Patrick Charles and Jack Burns with Cian O’Callaghan kicking fifteen points of his side’s total.

Both teams will be in cup action over the next four weeks. The quarter final of the Fraser McMullen Cup will be on the last weekend in March with Corinthians drawn away to Cork Con while for the Premier 2 Team, they will play Seapoint in the quarter-final of the Purcell Cup on April 6 in Corinthian Park.

Terenure College: J Kennedy; C Gallaher, D Martin, A Cosgrave, O McKeon; K Downs, R Smith; D Brennan, M Murphy, J Archibold, C Crowley, M McDermott, C Redmond Murray, M Murphy, L Wardick.

Replacements: M Egan, O Dauramanzi, K O’Neill-Elers, J Carter, L Friery, D Cullinan, E Walsh.

Corinthians: R King; J Wise, J Smyth, C Grant, D Williams; J Conway, T Johnston; E Oifoh, J Boylan, J Hughes, J Treacy, B Walsh, R Murphy, D Collins, P Flannery.

Replacements: B McGuckian, R Lyons, R Gaughan, L Cahill, B Wall Cooke, S Ó Braonáin, R Allen.

Referee: K Goldrick (Leinster).

Pictured: The Corinthians starting XV which beat Terenure on Sunday and booked their place in the Fraser McMullan Cup. Back row, from left: Jack Wise, Johnny Hughes, Rory King, Dermot Collins, Bryan Walsh, Robert Murphy, Jamie Treacy, Joe Smyth, and Emmanuel Oifoh. Front: Caden Grant, Ned Williams, Tadhg Johnston, Patrick Flannery, Jack Conway, Jack Boylan