CBC 15
Crescent College 15
Stephen Barry reports from Musgrave Park
A STUNNING CRESCENT College comeback kept their Munster Schools Senior Cup title defence alive with two tries in the final three minutes securing a semi-final replay at Thomond Park next week.
Christians’ watertight defence appeared to have them coasting towards a first final since 2020 but a couple of late penalties put them on the back foot.
A clever tap-and-go set play from five metres out sent Cathal Lanigan Ryan over the line with the game clock approaching the 70th minute.
And then with their final attack, Crescent worked the ball wide. Jed O’Dwyer beat his man with some nifty footwork and sent Eoin O’Callaghan down the line to just about reach the corner.
O’Callaghan, having missed the earlier conversion, was still faced with the most difficult kick of the day but he judged the wind to perfection to send this epic encounter to another day out in Limerick.
That may well feel like another away match for Christians, with no organised student section of supporters permitted at Musgrave Park following their conduct in their victory over Pres last month.
Crescent spent the opening 20 minutes camped in Christians’ territory and it took the Cork school half an hour to find their way into the opposition 22. Remarkable, then, that it was Christians who held Crescent scoreless to take an 8-0 half-time lead.
Their defence was uncompromising, although they got on the wrong side of referee Joy Neville. The first seven penalties all went Crescent’s way. All were awarded in Christians’ own half.
But each time Christians found the response. They disrupted the Crescent line-out, with Sam Loftus twice turning over Crescent mauls, once ripping the ball out and then pouncing to force the next advance to the ground.
O’Callaghan missed just right with an early penalty, while Daniel Rock stole another line-out and Michael Foy hacked clear when the ball was spilled close to the line.
Christians’ captain Éanna McCarthy was sin-binned in the 17th minute but his side managed to win the following seven-minute period as they broke the siege. They were awarded five penalties on the trot, two of which Benjamin Lynch kicked at goal, slotting the second.
With Christians growing into the game, Michael Doyle and Foy claimed line-outs to put them into the opposition 22 for the first time. From the latter take, they mauled over, with Adam Wrona touching down. A two-try replacement against Pres, the hooker made it three in two games.
Lynch’s conversion drifted wide and despite some late Crescent pressure, the Cork school led 8-0 at half-time.
Christians conceded their first points straight from the kick-off, an offside call allowing O’Callaghan to split the posts.
It wasn’t a one-score game for long. In the 40th minute, Lynch’s dink in behind was spilled and Alex O’Connell capitalised to send Christopher Barrett over for his second try in two games. Lynch’s conversion made it 15-3.
They appeared to be safely seeing the game out but Crescent found one last acceleration to send it to another day.
CBC scorers:
- Tries: Adam Wrona, Christopher Barrett
- Conversion: Benjamin Lynch
- Penalty: Benjamin Lynch
Crescent College scorers
- Tries: Cathal Lanigan Ryan, Eoin O’Callaghan
- Conversion: Eoin O’Callaghan
- Penalty: Eoin O’Callaghan
CBC Cork
Benjamin Lynch; Christopher Barrett, Alex O’Connell, Gavin O’Riordan (Leo O’Leary 69), Evan Cahill Murphy; Charlie Patrick O’Shea, Jack Casey (Conor Foley 70); Sam Loftus (Denis Callaghan 63), Adam Wrona (Stephen O’Shaughnessy 70), Harry Foster (Cian Walsh h-t); Michael Doyle (George Good 52), Michael Foy; Mark Skelly, Daniel Rock, Éanna McCarthy (capt) (Conor Kennelly 45).
Replacements not used: Odhrán Prenter, Ronan O’Keeffe, Jack O’Callaghan.
Crescent College
Jed O’Dwyer; Evan Cusack, Eoin O’Callaghan, Joe McEnery, Josh Boland (Michael O’Mara 64); Ryan Godfrey (Oscar Davey 41), Marcus Lyons (Ben Gallagher 60); Mark Fitzgerald, Conor Clery (Charlie Fenton 30), Dennis O’Dwyer (Cathal Lanigan Ryan 52); Jack Somers, Seán Magee (Conor Ryan 52); Fionn Casserly, Andrew Ahearne (Cormac Quinn 52), Cillian Kelly (capt).
Replacements not used: Jonathan Byrne, Jordan Power, Evan Bennett.
Referee: Joy Neville (MAR).