Moyne Community School captured the Leinster Schools Junior Development Cup following a highly entertaining contest against old rivals Scoil Chonglais Baltinglass at Tullamore RFC.
For the second time this season, the north Longord School managed to come out on top. In their previous encounter Moyne also defeated the Baltinglass School with practically the last set piece of the game. In doing so they booked their berth in the Duff Cup, with Mark Hughes kicking the winner on that occasion.
The Baltinglass School threw everything including the kitchen sink at Moyne in the closing fifteen minutes of this enthralling affair. Moyne’s airtight defence marshalled by Joe Reynolds and captain James McGaharan however refused to buckle under the relenting pressure and swept away the potential danger time and time.
Rob Farrell for the Scoil Chonglais came close to crossing over for the games first try, but two metres from the try line, he was firmly stopped in his tracks by a well-timed tackle from Cathal McCabe.
In the 17th minute, Moyne finally broke the deadlock and penetrated the Baltinglass rearguard to register the games first try. A brilliant team move involving Mark Hughes and Cathal McCabe worked the ball across the Wicklow’s school 22-metre line and the final offload was picked up by the outstanding Cormac McCabe who broke free for the try line.
The midlanders extended their advantage further minutes later when the deadly accurate Mark Hughes converted a penalty kick.
With the half time interval fast approaching, Scoil Chonglais pushed deeper into Moyne’s final third and in the last minute, their inside centre Adam Doyle tapped down for a try.
After the break, the Baltinglass School continued to apply all their pressure but was unable to break down Moyne’s rock solid defence. Cathal McCabe continued to impress for Moyne throughout the second half and when he set up his captain James McGaharan midway through the second period for the final try of the game Mark Hughes continued his 100% record in front of the sticks with a close range conversion to secure the title for north Longford School.
SCORERS: Moyne CS- Cormac McCabe, James McGaharan one try, Mark Hughes pen, 2 cons. Scoil Chonglais- Adam Doyle try.
MOYNE CS: Morgan De Vere Browne, Barry Smith, Joe Reynolds, James Kiernan, James Heslin, Francis Flynn, John Martin, James McGaharan (try), Mark Hughes (1 pen, 2 cons), Cathal McCabe, Oisin Sheridan, Paul Donnelly, Cormac McCabe (try), Aaron McCabe, Ryan Magarahan. Replacement: Shane Hamilton.
SCOIL CHONGLAIS: Thomas Doyle, Sean Byrne, Shane Farnon, Brendan Doyle, Jody Doyle, Nathan Balfe, Tom Burke, Gavin Owens, Seanie Germaine, Rob Farrell, Pat Burke, Adam Doyle (try), Ross Nolan, Jack McMillan, Daniel Kelly.
