Árdscoil Rís stave off Castletroy College rally to reach Munster Schools Junior Cup final

ÁRDSCOIL Rís powered their way into the Munster Schools Junior Cup final after securing an exciting 23-17 semi-final victory over local rivals Castletroy College at Thomond Park this Wednesday.

Ardscoil Ris are back in the decider for the first time in 11 years, with the North Circular Road side last claiming the title in 2005, their second Junior Cup success in the space of three years.

Clinical Ardscoil laid the foundation for their semi-final win in the opening half after which they had built a significant 18-0 lead after being backed up a stiff breeze. When Ardscoil stung their opponents with a third try at the start of the second half, the winners looked set for a runaway victory.

However, to their credit, Castletroy College fought their way back into the contest, racking up 17 unanswered points, to leave just six points between the sides as the game ticked in stoppage time.

However, Ardscoil managed to repel Castletroy's last gasp bid to overhaul them in a nail-biting conclusion to the fixture.

Ardscoil Ris will face either St Munchin's College or PBC in the Munster Schools Junior Cup final later this month.

A minute's silence was observed before kick-off as a mark of respect for two men who were synonymous with Limerick and Munster rugby, Tom Tierney and Brian O'Brien, who passed away in recent days.

Ardscoil Ris opened the scoring inside the opening two minutes when second Daniel O'Flaherty created the opening with a fine break, before passing to full-back Frank Sheehan-Williams who touched down.

Out-half James Butler also added the conversion for 7-0.

Ardscoil increased their advantage to 12-0 after nine minutes when exciting centre Leo Connolly made a terrific break through the Castletroy defence before finding winger Daniel O'Connell who touched down in the left corner. 

While Ardscoil hit the ground running, Castletroy were slow to get going, perhaps the lack of a competitive game for four weeks being a contributing factor.

Ardscoil tightened their grip on the game when the impressive Butler added two further penalty goals on 26 and 29 minutes to stretch their half-time advantage to 18 points.

While Castletroy needed the quick start to the second half, it was Ardscoil who got it.

The winners had one foot in the final when striking for their third try shortly after the restart. Ardscoil opted for a scrum off a penalty award deep inside the Castletroy '22, with second row Lloyd Costelloe touching down.

Trailing 0-23, Castletroy's prospects looked bleak. However, the wind-assisted Newtown students rolled up their sleeves and tackled their sizeable task with relish.

Off a tap-and-go penalty award, captain Cillian McNamara fed Ben O'Connell, who in turn found the highly influential Travis Tchokotieu who powered his way over the tryline.

Full-back Robbie Widger added the conversion points for 23-7.

In the 53rd minute Castletroy were back in the contest when lively scrum-half Ronan Collopy dotted down after some excellent work from impressive centre Robert O'Donnell and influential tighthead prop Trevor Tchokotieu.

The game was up for grabs at the end of normal time as O'Donnell scored a smashing try for Castletroy to leave just side points between the sides.

However, timely ultimately ran out on Castletroy's hopes of producing their own version of the 'Great Escape' as Ardscoil Ris saw out the nail-biting period of injury time before securing their passage to the shiwpiece U16 Munster Schools final.

Ardscoil Rís: Frank Sheehan Williams, Daniel O’Connell, Leo Connolly, Aaron Kelly, Dylan Quirke, James Butler, Ollie Desmond; Jamie Kelly, David Salmon, Lochlann Brown, Lloyd Costelloe, Daniel O’Flaherty, Jack Rafferty, Brendan Morrissey, Darragh Leyden. Replacements: Jack Hartigan, Jake Das, Matthew Collins, Christian Cantillon, Brian O’Loughlin, Cathal O’Doherty, Conor Ryan, Louis O’Flanagan, Alexander Fennell, Jack Thorne.

Castletroy College: Robbie Widger, Tyler Kelly, Robert O’Donnell, Joel Rowntree, Pierce Walter, Conor Gavin, Ronan Collopy; Mark Hickey, Cian O’Hanlan, Trevor Tchokotieu, Donncha Donnelly, Adam Power, Ben O’Connell, Travis Tchokotieu, Cillian McNamara. Replacements: Kevin Griffin, Jordi Frigola Ward, Andrew Berkery, Denis Blackwell, Sam Prendergast, Cormac Devitt, Michael Flannery, Sean Quilter, Robert Sheehan, David Joseph.