THE LEINSTER Schools Senior Cup reaches its climax tomorrow. These are the names you should watch out for in the final and in the coming years.
Belvedere College
David Hawkshaw (Fly half)
The fly half has been a key performer for Belvedere over the course of the campaign.
Hawkshaw has shown great maturity in his performances so far and his leadership skills were in full flow as he helped orchestrate Belvo’s comeback against Blackrock in the quarter-final replay.
He is also capable of a quick turn of pace to unlock the opposition’s defence, contributing two tries so far in this year’s competition.
Conor Jennings (Outside Centre)
Jennings has been instrumental in Belvedere reaching this year’s final.
The outside centre is multi-talented. He has been designated kicker for all of Belvo’s set-pieces and has earned his side some important points at vital times.
Not afraid to make a hard tackle, the Leinster U19 player has also demonstrated impressive understanding of the game along with plenty of offloads and line breaks throughout the campaign, scoring two tries on top of his points from the boot.
James McKeown (Right Wing)
Belvedere’s right wing has the potential to be a try-scoring machine.
McKeown has four tries so far in the competition, including a hat-trick against St Michael’s in the semi-final.
McKeown seems to have mastered the knack of being in the right place at the right time, exploiting any space in the opposition’s defence. Expect him to be gobble up any chance that comes his way in Sunday’s final.
Cistercian College Roscrea
Michael Milne (Prop)
The loose-head prop has been described as a “monster” by his head coach, Pieter Swanepoel in the lead up to Sunday’s final.
Milne will be a key figure in Roscrea’s mauls, especially when you consider Belvedere conceded three tries from mauls in the quarter-final replay against Blackrock. He has scored in every round of the cup so far; expect a big contribution from Milne in the final.
Alan Tynan (Fly half)
Tynan is an enormously talented young sportsman. Success in last year’s Leinster Senior Cup was followed by double disappointment after the Tipperary native lost both the All-Ireland hurling and football finals with the Premier County.
The Leinster U18 player has the capacity to create space and set the tone of the game with his precision kicking and will no doubt be a weapon that Roscrea will use to unlock Belvedere’s defence.
The fly half was the start performer as Roscrea came back from an early scare to defeat Clongowes in the semi-final.
Fineen Wycherley (Second row)
Wycherley, above, will be one of the strongest and toughest players on the pitch on Sunday.
Important from set-pieces, especially line-outs and scrums, the Munster U18 player could be the thorn in Belvedere’s side and be the difference if Roscrea want to retain their trophy for the first time in their history.