Mary’s Are Aviva Stadium-Bound After Ending Terenure’s Title Hopes

St. Mary’s College will contest next Sunday’s Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A final – just two years after coming up as Division 1B champions – thanks to an absorbing 20-13 win over local rivals Terenure College at Templeville Road. Watch the match back on irishrugby+.

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE MEN’S DIVISION 1A SEMI-FINAL:

Saturday, April 18 –

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 20 TERENURE COLLEGE 13, Templeville Road
Scorers: St. Mary’s College: Tries: Daniel Leane, Conor Dean, Richie Bergin; Con: Mick O’Gara; Pen: Mick O’Gara
Terenure College: Try: Adam La Grue; Con: Chris Cosgrave; Pens: Chris Cosgrave, Caspar Gabriel
HT: St. Mary’s College 12 Terenure College 10

In front of a brilliant semi-final crowd, swelled into the thousands with a lively Schools Cup-like atmosphere, Daniel Leane, captain Conor Dean, and replacement Richie Bergin all crossed for St. Mary’s who followed up on their table-topping finish from the regular season.

Mark McHugh’s men experienced semi-final heartbreak at home to Cork Constitution last year, but there was no denying them this time. A late Mick O’Gara penalty made certain of their victory in this fiercely-contested Dublin 6W derby.

2023 champions Terenure College gave it their all, leading twice with Adam La Grue grabbing an opportunist 30th-minute try, yet Mary’s, who were top flight winners in both 2000 and 2012, showed exactly why they have the division’s best defensive record this year.

Wind-backed Terenure twice took the lead during an at-times frantic first half, with La Grue’s timely score adding to a Chris Cosgrave penalty. However, Mary’s, who had lost Mick McCormack to an early sin-binning, showed their mettle.

Young second row Leane (20 minutes) and Dean (37) showed their finishing skills, the latter’s well-taken effort, converted by O’Gara, giving the home side a hard-earned 12-10 lead at half-time.

Although ‘Nure responded well to an Arthur Ashmore yellow card, Bergin squeezed over from a 65th-minute maul. Caspar Gabriel cut the gap to 17-13 from the tee, only for the indefatigable Mary’s pack to grind out a clinching kick from O’Gara, the division’s top scorer with 192 points.

The immediate pressure was on the Mary’s defence, as they coughed up five penalties and a yellow card inside the opening nine minutes. They held Terenure scoreless until Cosgrave split the posts with a central 11th-minute penalty.

A Rob Gilsenan turnover ensured Mary’s avoided conceding an early try, while a bulldozing carry from the influential Dan Goggin, a few minutes later, ignited the hosts’ attack. Tighthead McCormack, who was carded for a tackle without the ball, soon returned from the sin bin, giving them a further boost.

By the end of the opening quarter, McHugh’s charges had edged ahead. After Aaron O’Sullivan and Myles Carey had threatened out wide, the latter narrowly denied by Griffin Culver, Leane managed to burrow over with support from Oisin Michel. O’Gara missed the conversion from the right.

Terenure unfortunately lost Max Russell to injury, bringing on Ashmore in his place. The Ireland Under-20 prospect quickly made an impact, his lineout steal allowing Culver to launch a kick chase. The ball evaded Ruairi Shields’ clutches and the inrushing La Grue gleefully dribbled it through to touch down.

Cosgrave’s right boot gave ‘Nure a 10-5 lead, yet the Mary’s attack clicked again just before the interval. They earned a penalty advantage off an advanced lineout, and playmaker Dean caught Seán Rigney with a well-timed hand-off to dart his way over the try-line. O’Gara curled over the extras.

Mary’s had the platform to strike for another try, early on the restart. Crucially, Terenure held out despite Ashmore being sin-binned for a maul infringement. Rigney stole possession from the next drive, and a turnover penalty won by Harrison Brewer then thwarted a Goggin-inspired attack.

Just when ‘Nure, coached by Paul Barr, were building for a score at the other end, Mary’s disrupted their lineout with Josh Gimblett getting in the air. Replacement Ethan Baxter came up with a big penalty at the breakdown, on the hour mark, to take the home side back up towards halfway.

Successive penalties soon brought Mary’s back into scoring range, and their decision to turn down a shot at the posts paid off. A well-executed lineout drive landed Bergin over the whitewash, although O’Gara’s low-slung conversion from the left went wide at 17-10.

‘Nure piled on the pressure in response, via a couple of penalties. Mary’s maul defence came up trumps, yet a subsequent offside was punished by Gabriel with three points from close in. It was all to play for with four points the margin, and just over eight minutes left.

However, the momentum suddenly swung back behind Mary’s, a big chase and counter-ruck following a Gilsenan kick gaining them a penalty. They displayed excellent game management and ball retention, going through 20-plus phases to pin Terenure back towards their own try-line.

While winding down the clock, the onslaught from the Blues – with replacements Tom O’Reilly and Finn Burke both prominent as ball carriers – set up O’Gara’s only penalty goal of the day. Their composure when in possession and also defending was the difference, as they await the winners of the Clontarf-Lansdowne clash.

TIME LINE: 3 minutes – St. Mary’s College yellow card: Mick McCormack; 11 mins – Terenure College penalty: Chris Cosgrave – 0-3; 20 mins – St. Mary’s College try: Daniel Leane – 5-3; conversion: missed by Mick O’Gara – 5-3; 30 mins – Terenure College try: Adam La Grue – 5-8; conversion: Chris Cosgrave – 5-10; 37 mins – St. Mary’s College try: Conor Dean – 10-10; conversion: Mick O’Gara – 12-10; Half-time – St. Mary’s College 12 Terenure College 10; 45 mins – Terenure College yellow card: Arthur Ashmore; 65 mins – St. Mary’s College try: Richie Bergin – 17-10; conversion: missed by Mick O’Gara – 17-10; 71 mins – Terenure College penalty: Caspar Gabriel – 17-13; 0 mins – St. Mary’s College penalty: Mick O’Gara – 20-13; Full-time – St. Mary’s College 20 Terenure College 13

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Ruairi Shields; Aaron O’Sullivan, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Leandro Ramirez; Conor Dean (capt), Rob Gilsenan; Oisin Michel, Jack Nelson Murray, Mick McCormack, Greg Jones, Daniel Leane, Josh Gimblett, Ronan Watters, Dan Goggin.

Replacements: Richie Bergin, Tom O’Reilly, Andrew Sparrow, Conor Pierce, Finn Burke, Ethan Baxter, Mark Fogarty, Steven Kilgallen.

TERENURE COLLEGE: Aran Egan; Adam La Grue, Craig Adams, Ethan Reilly, Chris Cosgrave; Caspar Gabriel, Griffin Culver; Marcus Hanan, John McKee, Adam Tuite, Seán Rigney, Harrison Brewer, Luke Clohessy (capt), Max Russell, Will Hickey.

Replacements: Mark Nicholson, Karl O’Brien, Luke Rigney, Oisin Shannon, Arthur Ashmore, Conor McKeon, Caolan Dooley, Henry McErlean.

Referee: Andrew Cole (IRFU)