Posted on 07 February 2011.
The Rugby season to date has been a mixed bag.
Both Cup Teams lost to the eventual winners, with the Senior side having a better Cup run than the Juniors.
The inclement weather conditions before and after the Christmas break lead to the cancellation fo fixtures for all teams.
The redevelopment of the rugby pitches is taking shape, and both pitches should be back in a playable condition for the start of next season.
The 1st and 2nd Year teams are progressing well and will have several more games to come before the season is complete.
There has also been a Mount Temple Rugby Archive set up on Facebook, which has pictures and reports from several years of rugby in the school. The page can be found here – http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=138511396159515 . If you have any pictures you would like to have put on the page, please e-mail them to lansdownesteward@hotmail.com .
Seniors
The Senior team were knocked out of the Fraser McMullen Senior Cup in the Semi-Final by eventual winners Newpark. The follwing report comes from irishtimes.com :
Tries from left wing Odhran Duignan and prop Aubrey Marshall ensured Newpark Comprehensive returned to the Leinster Schools McMullen Senior Cup final at Seapoint RFC yesterday.
Newpark will be hot favourites to win the title outright given the presence of Leinster Under-19s in outhalf James Kelly, who shot eight points, and number eight Zac Jungmann. That touch of class made all the difference.
For instance, Kelly’s composed pirouette out of a tackle and simple pass sent Duignan away for the opening try in the 22nd minute.
Tighthead Marshall knifed down the blindside for the sealing try near the hour mark.
Temple responded by moving quickly up-field for their best player, Adam Merrey, to expose defensive frailties with a quick tap-and-go in what was a quality encounter.
NEWPARK COMPREHENSIVE: S Crowe; P Collins, E O’Connor, F Halpin, O Duignan; J Kelly, E Thornley; K Sundermann, J Sheehan, A Marshall, R Garland, H Connor, J Wheatley, B Clarke, Z Jungmann. Replacements: D Burke for Sundermann, A Campbell for Clarke (both 55 mins); R Sherlock for Collins 61 mins.
MOUNT TEMPLE: S Kenney-Gains; N Maxwell, J Buckett, F Brennan, S Homan; A Merrey, H O’Dea; Colm Kelly, S Reamsbottom, Conor Kelly, S Gibney, K Prout, J Oscar-Gibbons, V Gavin, C McGinley. Replacements: S O’Mahony for Conor Kelly (53 mins); D Sharkey-O’Keeffe for Kenny-Gains 57 mins.
The team then went on to compete in the Vinny Murray Senior Cup, facing stiff competition from the strong rugby school that is Newbridge. Newbridge won the tie 20-3.
Next up for the team was a chance of giving Newpark some payback for the cup knock out when the sides met in the League Cup Final. Unfortunately the Mount Temple side were down a number of players and lost the game 29-5.
The Senior team will now focus on rebuilding for next years cup campaign, with a team being entered into the 3rds league, as well as taking part in the Comprehensive Schools Cup where they will meet Newpark for the 3rd time this season…3rd time lucky perhaps??
Juniors
The Junior Cup team unfortunatley did not manage to get as far as their Senior counterparts in their respective cup. The side were overpowered by a very strong and quick Skerries side in the First Round, despite a brave and hugely impressive defensive display by several players, Skerries won the game 39-13.
The side’s confidence suffered from this and they lost to St.Fintan’s in the Shield, 46-15.
U-14′s
The 2nd Year side are coming along well. They are competing with the A teams from the more established rugby playing schools and although they may not always win their games, they are experienceing rugby at a higher level than previous Mount Temple sides, which bodes well for the future.
Along with this, 5 members of the squad were involved with the Junior Cup team this season. They were: Jack Colley, Declan Monaghan, Conor Doyle, William Moloney and Cillian Nolan.
The team will continue to play challenge games for the remainder of the season, which along with the Otto Palcaic competition against St.Paul’s Raheny should see the team playing several more games.
U-13′s
The 1st Year team have been training well. They were given a lesson in what a well drilled side can do in an insightful encounter with St.Gerrard’s,Bray, but learnt from this and bounced back by putting over 60 points on Templeogue College.
The team is training well, and several players are splitting their time between both rugby and hockey, which shows what a talented and sporting group they are.
There are several more matches planned, and the team will also compete for the Bull Trophy with St.Paul’s towards the end of the season.
Sam O’Byrne
