There was a dramatic finish to the Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools Junior Cup 1st Round tie between CBC Monkstown and Kilkenny College at Donnybrook Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Kilkenny started the better of the two sides, exerting some early pressure which resulted in a try from Keith Tunstead.
Neither side could grab a hold of the game after a fast start, but Monkstown found a foothold through their set piece.
First, a Monkstown scrum provided the platform for outside centre Robbie Browne and left wing Daniel McGovern to break down the touchline, with number 8 Jack Reynolds finishing in the corner to level the contest.
Monkstown took the lead before half-time through a lineout at the Kilkenny 22. Josh Curran broke off the back of a maul to make the initial break, with Browne carrying to draw in a couple of defenders to send Adam Moore over for a 10-5 lead at the break.
Kilkenny came out with a point to prove in the second half. They struck twice in quick succession to take a 19-10 lead.
The first score came from a break down the left by Greg Edogan, who evaded a couple of would-be tacklers to get Kilkenny’s second try. The conversion from Liam Foot gave them the lead.
Then from the restart, Kilkenny scored again, claiming the ball and running it in through Tom Kavanagh. The conversion made it 19-10 and Monkstown had it all to do, but they weren’t phased by the challenge.
They worked through the phases in the Kilkenny 22 and were rewarded when captain Eoin Quinn put a grubber through for his half-back partner Sam Montayne to score under the posts.
The conversion made it a two-point game with five minutes to play. The next score, if there was one, would be crucial.
When the referee blew for a penalty to Monkstown on the Kilkenny 22 it was captain Quinn who stepped up again to make it 20-19 and kick his side into the next round of the Junior Cup.
CBC Monkstown 20 (J Reynolds, A Moore, S Montayne try each; E Quinn one con, one pen) Kilkenny College 19 (K Tunstead, G Edogun, T Kavanagh try each; L Foot 2 cons)
CBC Monkstown: Daniel Heeney; Adam Moore, Robbie Browne, Ross Clarke, Daniel McGovern; Eoin Quinn (Capt.), Sam Montayne; Conor Lehane, Ruaidhrí O’Hanlon, Harry O’Neill; Josh Curran, Sean Comiskey; Finn Calverly, Hugh Ross, Jack Reynolds.
Replacements: David McNamee, Hayden Hempenstall, Ben Hickey, Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin, Karl Kirby, Ewan Watson, Robert Theunissen, Shane Gevero.
Kilkenny College: Richard Crotty; Tom Kavanagh, Neville Bennett, Fiach O’Byrne, Greg Edogun; Harry Rogers, Liam Foot; Andrei Hassett, Bob Landers, Stephen Young (Capt.); Keith Tunstead, Thomas Atkinson; Stephen Fennell, Daragh Bagnall, Joshua Akanji.
Replacements: Daniel Neale, Ashton Botha, Samuel Purser, Jackson Oyo, Josh Codd, Zach Furlong, Troy Pienaar, Tristan Harris.
Referee: Ian Hayes.
