It was a remarkable day for rugby in Portlaoise CBS yesterday as they claimed two titles in Donneybrook.
Leinster Rugby held their Development Cup and Shield finals in Dublin and the Laois school contested in both age categories.
For the second year in a row, their senior team were crowned Anne McInerney Cup champions – defeating East Glendalough on this occasions.
While earlier in the day, the Junior team claimed Shield glory by defeating Creagh College, Gorey.
Portlaoise CBS 31 East Glendalough 27
Anne McInerney Cup Final
Portlaoise CBS retained the Anne McInerney Cup as they edged out East Glendalough by four points in a pulsating final.
Paddy Reddin and Senan Sloan-Kelly exchanged early tries and that set the tone for what was to come.
Portlaoise briefly regained the lead when Darragh Walker crossed and Conor Raggett converted but their Wicklow opponents went on to score 19 unanswered points.
George Tutty and Brian Fitzpatrick both crossed for tries as Glendalough led 17-12 at half time.
Hugo Sloan-Curry added another try when play resumed and when James Curry converted it, they now led by 12 points.
But Portlaoise CBS, led by the excellent of Conor Raggett, came roaring back when he scored and converted a try before kicking a penalty.
The Portlaoise boys were more methodical in their movement, centre Jake Darcy using the fend to good effect before Felix Rotshcild snared a turnover penalty.
Just when Glendalough looked to have escaped, out-half Daniel Thornton completed a miraculous block and gather for a try, converted by Raggett.
And Raggett had a second try before the end as Portlaoise held on to retain the cup.
SCORERS – Portlaoise CBS: Conor Raggett 2 tries, 3 cons; Paddy Reddin, Darragh Walker and Daniel Thornton try each. East Glendalough: Senan Sloan-Kelly, George Tutty, Hugo Sloan-Kelly, Brian Johnston try each; James Curry pen, 2 cons.
PORTLAOISE CBS: Tadhg O’Sullivan; Coramc Deegan, Conor Raggett, Jake Darcy, Paddy Reddin; Daniel Thornton, Patrick Larkin; Charlie O’Dwyer, Darragh Walker, Ciaran O’Brien-McCormack, Aaron Kingston, Nathan Duffy, Cian Butler, Adam Glynn (Capt), Evan Bergin. Replacements – Tomi Adayemi, Adam Raji, Jamie Bartley-Bra, Clinton Eijofor, Robert Keane, Jake Byrne, Theo Adams, Conor Stack.
EAST GLENDALOUGH: William Fitzpatrick; George Tutty, Hugo Sloan-Kelly, James Curry, Kai Arthur; Brian Johnston, Conor Anderson; Conor Thornton, Ben Cross, Felix Rothschild, Charlie O’Boyle, Stephen Duke, Zach Kenny, James Deveraux, Senan Sloan-Kelly (Capt). Replacements – Jack Roe, Jack McCall, Elliot Gaynor, Ryan Williams. Jake Nally, Jake Whyte, Edward Valentine, Louis White.
Portlaoise CBS 38 Creagh College, Gorey 7
Leinster Junior Development Rugby Shield Final
Portlaoise CBS proved far too strong for Creagh College of Gorey in the Junior Shield final yesterday afternoon.
A brace of tries for Stradbally’s Joe Larkin and Ratheniska’s Dan Downey did the trick as they won by 31 points in the end.
A solid defence and some devastating finishing saw Portlaoise lead 12-0 at half time.
Dan Downey opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a try that was converted by David Timmons.
And then they added a second when Number 8 Shane Foley evaded several tacklers to finish in the corner.
Gorey needed to start the second half quicker but instead Ciaran Dunne made the line break and Sean Tuohy crossed the line for the CBS’ third try.
When Aaron Fitzpatrick was turned away by a gang tackle, St Mary’s had the intelligence to move the ball left for Downey to dot down. Eoghan Deegan converted.
Straight away, replacement Joe Larkin turned defence into attack, galloping up the right for a demonstration of impressive athleticism in running in the fifth try, converted by Deegan again.
Larkin popped up on the left for his second try and slotted the conversion for good measure too.
Gorey got a late try through Ryan Murphy but Portlaoise were worthy champions.
SCORERS – Portlaoise CBS: Joe Larkin 2 tries, con; Dan Downey 2 tries; Shane Foley, Sean Tuohy try each; Eoghan Deegan 2 cons; David Timmons con. Creagh College: Ryan Murphy try, con.
PORTLAOISE CBS: Aaron Fitzpatrick; David Timmons, Dan Downey, Eoghan Deegan, Daniel Murrell; Finn Darcy, Paul Byrne; Mark Ging, Ryan O’Brien-McCormack, Jack Dowling, Daragh Lalor, Ciaran Dunne, Odhran Fitzpatrick, Bill Rigney, Shane Foley.
Replacements: Mark Fennell, Harry Redmond, Kallmu Bartley-Bray, Joe Larkin, Alex Walsh, Sean Tuohy, Reuben Plunkett, Jim Hanamy.
CREAGH COLLEGE, GOREY: Jamie Maguire; Faolan Corbett, Ryan Murphy, Sean Lewandowski, Calmu Whelan-Smith; Jack Doran, Harry Graves; Sam McGough, Eric Young, Jack Doran, Hubert Zienkowski, Charlie Embly, Kian Armstrong, Oisin Urquhart, Sean Dunne Replacements – Liam Errity, Morgan Corbett, Odhran Furlong, Donnacha English, Oisin Farrell, Zach White, Noah Byrne, Julo Ashanadi.
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