Bandon Grammar 24-17 Castletroy College
BANDON GRAMMAR SCORED three tries in the final 10 minutes to complete a stunning turnaround against Castletroy College.
Basking sunshine greeted both sides in Bandon this afternoon for the fifth and final first round fixture of this season Munster Schools Senior Cup.
The opening exchanges proved very physical with Bandon’s huge pack rumbling forward at every opportunity, but the Castletroy defence stood firm. The game sprung into life after 15 minutes when Castletroy centre Paul Clancy took matters into his own hands.
With nothing on inside his own half, he ducked and dived through would-be tacklers to sprint 60 metres to the line for his side’s opening score. Scrum-half Atkinson added the extras and the Limerick side led 7-0.
Castletroy could and probably should have doubled their advantage moments later, but an offload close to the line went to ground instead of hand and Bandon survived. Unforced errors continued to be the theme for the next quarter for both sides, but ill discipline began to creep into the Limerick side’s game.
Centre Ethan Greene pushed a kickable penalty wide for Bandon, but the county Cork side began to get a foothold on possession and could sense a score.
Second row Graeme Bourke was binned for cynical play close to the line, and when Bandon chose a scrum instead of points, their intent was clear. While the Castletroy defence remained intact for several phases, openside flanker and captain Colin Deane powered over in the corner for his team’s first try. Greene dissected the posts from the touchline and the game was all square for the second time.
Castletroy came back into the game in first-half stoppage time, and when the forwards offered the backline a platform to attack, centre Clancy again produced a moment of brilliance from outside the 22 to score under the posts for 14-7 at half time.
The second half began at a frantic pace with both sides playing running rugby, but the pace would soon taper off. Bandon were first to infringe in the second half and scrum-half Atkinson put his side further ahead with a well-struck penalty to make it 17-7 after 50 minutes.
Heading into the last quarter Bandon knew they had to chase the game, and ran everything as a result. Castleroy’s penalty count was by now in double figures and the referee saw no other option but to sin-bin two players on separate occasions in the final 15 minutes, which appeared to galvanize the Cork men.
Having failed at maul time, Bandon opted for scrums close to the line and a simple 8-9-11 move saw Victor Lovell claw back the deficit with a try in the corner. Greene was unable to convert, but it was now a one-score game with eight minutes remaining.
Bandon were firmly on top now and found an extra gear while Castletroy were down to 14 men. Working the ball to the wide channels, they found themselves camped on the line. Battering their way through to no avail, scrum half Jack Crowley bounced from a ruck pulling off a deft Gregan-esque pass inside to his hooker Travis Coomey who crashed over to level the scores. Greene made no mistake with the conversion and Bandon led for the first time in the game, 19-17, heading into stoppage time.
Castletroy rallied to attempt a late comeback but when a pass went to ground in their 22, Bandon moved it through the hands for fullback Sean Hudson to touch down out wide and complete a remarkable turnaround.
It will be a devastating defeat for the Limerick side to accept having been in command for so long, but Bandon Grammar will take serious confidence from their Roy of the Rovers finish ahead of the quarter-finals.
Scorers for Bandon: Tries: Colin Deane, Victor Lovell, Travis Coomey, Sean Hudson. Conversions: Ethan Greene (2).
Castletroy: Tries: Paul Clancy (2). Conversions: Stephen Atkinson (2). Penalty: Stephen Atkinson (1).
Bandon Grammar
15. Sean Hudson
14. Victor Lovell
13. Ben Gur
12. Ethan Greene
11. Harry Hall
10. Evan Palmer
9. Jack Crowley
1. James French
2. Travis Coomey
3. Ashley Deane
4. Conor Scully
5. Jason Bradfield
6. Niall Beamish
7. Robin Stokes
8. Colin Deane (capt)
Replacements:
16. Michael Archer
17. Alex O’Connor
18. David Ogden
19. Paul Jackson
20. Billy Hayes
21. Soren Minihane
22. Jan Donnelly
23. Ben Hodgins
24. Thomas Beare
25. Joshua Brady
26. Bruce Matthews
27. Nico Bakker
Castletroy College
15. Eoin Murphy
14. Barry Richardson
13. Paul Clancy
12. Aaron Kennedy
11. Muiris Rowsome
10. Sam Burns
9. Stephen Atkinson
1. Adam Myers
2. Kieran O’Shea
3. Mark Bromell
4. Ronan Keaveney
5. Graham Bourke
6. Eoin O’Shea
7. Conor Bermingham
8. Sean English (capt)
Replacements:
16. Sean Finucane
17. Bryan Sheehan
18. Cathal Flannery
19. James Coates
20. Sean Devitt
21. Sean Mulkern
22. Joe Johnson
23. Shane Morgan
24. Sean Madden
25. Luke Callinan
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