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St. Mary’s Hold On For Stradbrook Win

St. Mary’s Hold On For Stradbrook Win

St. Mary’s College kept up their recent resurgence by clinging on for a one-point victory over hosts Blackrock College at Stradbrook on Saturday.

Peter Smyth's side triumphed thanks to the accurate place-kicking of full-back Gavin Dunne, who finished with 14 points, and a second half try from scrum half Matt D'Arcy.

Blackrock, late winners over Old Belvedere last time out, came with another second half surge which included a try from the in-form Brendan Macken.

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But D'Arcy's converted effort – his second of the league campaign – was enough to seal a third win in their opening five Division 1A games for St. Mary’s.

Try-scoring chances proved to be few and far between in the opening period, as both defences managed to cut down the space for the likes of Fionn Carr and Ronan Doherty.

The Templeville Road outfit did have an edge during the opening 40 minutes of play however, as Dunne punished indiscipline from the home side with four successfully struck penalties.

Blackrock were still in touch at the break though, as the first try of the contest from flanker Alex Dunlop meant that they only trailed by seven points (12-5) heading into the second period.

This ensured that the game was still within the reach of 'Rock, and they had their very own reliable place-kicker in the form of out-half Darragh Fitzpatrick.

He found the range with two penalties after the resumption, and he was also on target with a conversion after bustling centre Macken broke through for an excellent individual try.

This put Blackrock in a good position to lift themselves out of the danger zone but St. Mary's had other ideas and D'Arcy's try, converted by Dunne, got the visitors over the finish line.

Referee: Mark Patton (IRFU)