Advertisement
cup upset

Bandon withstand late St Munchin's comeback to record famous win

A game of high drama in Limerick as the five-time winners are dumped out.

Bandon Grammar 13
St Munchin’s 11

BANDON GRAMMAR SCHOOL will meet Presentation Brothers College Cork in the quarter-final of the Munster Schools Senior Cup after a stunning 13-11 win over St Munchin’s in Limerick this afternoon.

Bandon players celebrate at the final whistle Bandon celebrate at the final whistle. Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

It was a game of small margins played on the 4G pitch in University Limerick but it was Bandon who held their nerve at the death to see out a famous victory over the five-time winners.

Shane Kelly’s late try gave St Munchin’s hope but it wasn’t enough as Bandon advance to the last eight to face another Munster powerhouse in PBC Cork.

Conditions weren’t ideal with a strong wind making it difficult for both sides and the early stages were riddled with mistakes.

Munchin’s settled that bit quicker and were first on the board as Jason Kiely – who kicked all 15 points against Ard Scoil in the last round – gave his side the lead with a well-judged penalty after five minutes.

Bandon replied almost instantly through the boot of Luke Kingston but with defences very much on top, the sides went in level pegging at half-time.

With the aid of the breeze in the second-half, Bandon came out sharper and they executed their game plan expertly with number eight and captain Gavin Coombes exceptional in the loose.

Bandon’s skillset from one to 15 was incredibly impressive and they hit the front when Kingston’s sweetly struck penalty dissected the posts with 20 minutes remaining.

It was a game of see-sawing momentum and Munchin’s went down the other end to level the score again through Kiely’s boot.

The Cork school were in the ascendancy from then on but were unable to make their territory count as they were held up on several occasions by a dogged Bandon defence.

Charlie Carmody at the end of the game Charlie Carmody dejected. Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

From there, Bandon landed the knock-out blow. A well-worked lineout move created the opening for second-row James O’Dwyer to crash over from close range and Kingston converted to open up a seven point lead with minutes remaining.

Munchin’s knew they needed to score twice as leveling the scores wouldn’t have been enough because of the first try rule if the teams are tied.

To their credit, Munchin’s showed great resolve and made it a thrilling finish when Kelly forced his way over the line with 90 seconds remaining.

When the conversion attempt was turned down to save time, Munchin’s had the opportunity to snatch victory when Bandon were penalised for an infringement at the breakdown following the restart.

But with the wind blowing into their faces, captain Adam Moloney opted for the scrum only for Bandon to force the mistake and earn a famous win to spark jubilant celebrations.

Bandon scorers:

Try: James O’Dwyer
Conversion: Luke Kingston
Penalties: Luke Kingston (2)

St Munchin’s scorers:

Try: Shane Kelly
Penalties: Jason Kiely

Bandon Grammar: Sean Hudson; Jan Donnelly, Ethan Twomey, Luke Kingston; Ben Gur; Luke Fleming, Mark Bateman; Ashley Deane, Travis Coomey, Dylan O’Callaghan; Colin Deane, James O’Dwyer; James French, Robin Stokes, Gavin Coombes (captain).

Replacements: Billy Hayes, Greg Reidy, Jacob Lehane, David Perkinson, Jason Bradfield, Alex Moore, Victor Lovell, Evan Palmer.

St. Munchin’s College: Brian Bennett; James O’Halloran, Evan O’Connor, Matthew Lyons, Luke Costello; Jason Kiely, Aaron Rice; Kealan McMahon, Adam Moloney (captain), Emmet O’Callaghan; Connor Radcliffe, Shane Kelly; Shane Corbett, James Burke, Charlie Carmony.

Replacements: Darren Radcliffe, Gary McCoy, Mark O’Driscoll, Sean Hayes, Jake Murphy, Evan Maher, Darragh Gibbons, Adam Guerin, Finbar Egan, Jordan Curry.

53 and easy for Blackrock – and up next it’s a mouthwatering showdown against Belvo

CJ Stander has been learning Amhrán na bhFiann in Ireland camp

Your Voice
Readers Comments
4
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.