#7 Donal Mongey cwc sct 15 proof 4 low res

Clongowes Wood College

#7 Donal Mongey SCT 2015 Bicentenary year

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SCT v Castleknock College Although he might have assumed that he would quietly slip away into the sunset upon his retirement, the enigmatic Mr. Tony Pierce, erstwhile Latin and Maths teacher, found himself back in the limelight in both capacities as Clongowes took on Castleknock at Donnybrook yesterday. Taking up his usual position on the halfway line opposite the hollering of his former charges, Mr. Pierce was subject to much interrogation: “Tony, what’s the score?”

“How about now?”

As the resident mathematician in Clane for many years, those gathered around expected that he would be the very man to provide them with an answer. Alas, not even one of Clongowes’ greatest minds could keep up, not to mention the Wesley-end scoreboard.

Following their commendable exploits in the Vinnie Murray Cup - their semi-final bout against St. Gerard’s went to a replay less than a week ago - Castleknock College looked like a spent force as the blue-capped Will Connors jaunted away from the defensive cover for his third try of the game after just 20 minutes. Unfortunately for the North Dublin school, a much-anticipated trip to the revamped home of Leinster schools’ rugby was fast becoming an exercise in damage limitation.

From this perspective, Clongowes appear to be the complete package. Up front captain John Molony and converted flanker Donal Mongey were immense at the breakdown - to the point of complete disregard for their own safety, while Connors and Sean McCrohan wrought havoc in the loose at every given opportunity. Even diligent prop Nick Rinklin gave credence to his outlandish claims that he was once an out-half. Having been put through by Johnny Glynn, the German showed sleight of foot to send the Castleknock fullback the wrong way for an impressive score under the posts (some detractors suggested that the defender was merely safeguarding his own well-being…)

Out wide meanwhile, clean ball on the 4G surface was clearly suiting a classy Clongowes backline. Having settled into the game in the early stages, Glynn was pulling the strings with consummate ease. Within moments, Michael gpfoto 45

Silvester, Michael McDermott and James Lappin had all exploited gaps in the Castleknock defence and would continue to do so throughout. But, despite their efforts, it was McDermott’s centre partner Colm Mulcahy who was making the real mark on the fixture. A veteran of two previous senior campaigns, Mulcahy used his experience to bring solidity to proceedings in the first-half, before stretching his legs in the second to claim four tries of his own.

No respite Going into the break 29-3 to the good, with tries from Connors (3), Rinklin and Mongey, Clongowes might have been forgiven for taking their foot off the gas somewhat.

However, that would not have been in keeping with Head Coach Noel McNamara’s philosophy. Instead the purple army continued to work hard and ignored the temptation to make glorified individual contributions. The standard of ball presentation was something to behold, continuously allowing Rowan Osborne to keep his opponents on the back foot. Indeed, as soon as Castleknock had picked themselves off the floor following Mulcahy’s first effort three minutes into the second-half, they were back with their hands on knees again as McDermott found his way through following great interplay between McCrohan and Osborne from the subsequent kick-off.

Remarkably, despite the introduction of seven new personnel, the sustained onslaught on the Castleknock line did not relent for the remaining twenty minutes. Having put in a firm shift in the front row (including three scrums against the head), Charlie Carroll was replaced by his namesake Ed who duly helped to win a fourth in his first involvement. The resulting play saw Mulcahy make his way to the try-line for a second time. Four minutes later, replacement No. 8 Patrick Nulty fed Mulcahy for his third off the back of a scrum deep into the Castleknock ’22. Although a loose pass from Conor Murray allowed Castleknock in for a consolation score as the game drew to a close, Clongowes still found time to add three further scores through Silvester, Dan O’Leary and Mulcahy (again).

While this rout will have sent out an emphatic statement to their rivals, there nevertheless remain several unanswered questions that will undoubtedly be asked of this Clongowes side at some stage in this competition. However, nobody will fancy their chances against a side in this form whilst oozing quality in the shape of the tremendous trio - Connors, Molony and Mulcahy. As for Castleknock, the Vinnie Murray Cup Final against The King’s Hospital awaits. But they will be back; of that there is no question and we wish them the very best of luck.

So, as Mr. Tony Pierce departed Donnybrook basking in his re-found fame brought about by this mathematical conundrum, he could be heard to profess in his own distinctive way: Possunt quia posse videntur - They can because they seem to be able to. Hopefully the undoubted ability of this crop of Clongownians shines through the rest of this latest assault on the Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup. Richard McElwee The Quarter Final will take place in Donnybrook on Sunday week, February 8th, when Clongowes will take on St Michael’s College...

Team: Michael Silvester, James Lappin, Colm Mulcahy, Michael McDermott, Conor Murray (Fionnan Madden ’65), Johnny Glynn (Joe Murphy ’60), Rowan Osborne (Tom Monaghan ’54), Sean McCrohan (Patrick Nulty ’50), Donal Mongey, Will Connors, Dan O’Mahony, Tim Burke (Jack Moore ’58), Charlie Carroll (Ed Carroll ’50), John Molony (Hugo McDermott ’60), Nick Rinklin (Dan O’Leary ’60) Scorers: Mulcahy (4 T), Connors (3 T), Mongey, Rinklin, M. McDermott, Silvester, O’Leary, Glynn (4 C), Lappin (1 C).

SCT hold on in cracker

For three heart-stopping minutes and forty nail-biting seconds yesterday, the spellbound crowd in Donnybrook watched as wave after wave of St Michael’s players broke on the Clongowes line, only to be repulsed time after time by the the defence. The Kildare school was leading by six points at the time and many of their supporters hoped that the seemingly inevitable try would be scored far enough wide to make the ensuing conversion attempt difficult if not impossible.

When the referee finally blew the whistle and raised his hand many in the ground (including this editor) were unclear if he had awarded a try or defensive penalty. It was only when Clongowes took possession and the ball was booted exultantly out of play to finish the match that we realised what had happened and that we could breathe again. Here’s how Richard McElwee saw the game unfold…

The sound of a thousand hearts beating In the past few weeks a mobile heart screening service has been offered to the boys and staff in the infirmary. Had they known, an army of surgeons might have chosen to set up base at Donnybrook on Sunday instead. As the contest crept into the final stages one began to feel sorry for David Dudeney as he sought to lead the Clongowes cheering from the stand. Try as he might, the sound of the his drum was drowned out by that of several thousand beating hearts as St. Michael’s laid siege to the Clongowes line.

In advance of the draw for the Senior Cup quarterfinal, some of us chose to fly to Rome to watch some rugby; in truth, all the rugby was to be seen in Dublin 4. Sitting in Flumicino airport inhaling one last pizza slice, word came through that Clongowes fans were dancing on the streets; I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Fr. Moloney was dancing on water.

Nobody seemed to have a pen on them in Donnybrook but in all the frenetic excitement there was little time for analysis anyway. On the face of it, as St. Michael’s took to the 4G surface and stared down their Clongowes opponents, many onlookers felt that this could only go one way. Indeed, after a few minutes the St. Michael’s players were celebrating big tackles and turnovers as vigorously as any score. They were up for it.

Having scraped through a first round clash with St. Mary’s, Michael’s were already a battle-hardened group with their ‘bad game’ out of their system. Blessed with specimens of proportions not before seen in this competition, the Ailesbury Road school could also back up their bulk with quality through the likes of the impressive Max Deegan and their captain James Ryan, who had lifted the Bi-Centenary trophy in Clane a few

months ago. Clongowes on the other hand had excelled in manouveres against Castleknock but few could tell how they might fare in war.

The little generals A temporary Napoleonic complex was taking root in those in purple however. Confronted by such giants, the likes of John Molony, Donal Mongey and Rowan Osborne rose above their perceived shortcomings to help determine the outcome of this contest. Molony and Mongey were at their burrowing best while Osborne had St. Michael’s problem solving at every breakdown, with his own muscle men providing options at every play. It was the busy tempo that he injected into the tie which ultimately led to the breakthrough score as Mongey, Conor Murray, the irrepressible Will Connors and Nick Rinklin all battered away at the St. Michael’s line before Colm Mulcahy provided us with his best BOD impersonation to crash over for his 5th try in two games after 12 minutes. Jonny Glynn added the extras (7-0).

Inevitably, St. Michael’s were bound to respond and they did so over the ensuing ten minutes with Deegan to the fore. Brazenly stealing a lineout in front of the gasping Clongowes faithful, the big No. 8 thundered through the defence only to be hauled to the ground with inches to spare. The Dublin side recycled through several plays and eventually loose head Rory Mulvihill bundled over in the right corner. Clearly in the ascendancy, it was only a matter of minutes before they were back again.

Upon the awarding of a penalty three minutes later, James Ryan sought to capitalise on the St. Michael’s momentum and pointed to the corner from where a rolling maul saw Barry Fitzpatrick fall over the line with his entire pack (7-10). With Mulcahy now evidently struggling with injury, one began to wonder whether his contribution had merely served to be the catalyst for a St. Michael’s domination…

Stinging like a bee Last week Ali celebrated his 73rd birthday. In his infamous Rumble in the Jungle bout, Muhammad Ali withstood several blows from the much-feared George Foreman before staging an extraordinary revival to reclaim the world heavyweight title. In what was an unwitting tribute, there was a lot of ‘rope-a-doping’ for Clongowes on Sunday and while several sore bodies bore the marks of a beating that evening, nothing was painful enough to wipe the smiles from their scratched faces.

For all their supremacy, it was actually St. Michael’s who invited Clongowes back into the contest when Robin Cosgrave kicked into the waiting hands of Michael Silvester. The young full-back who is proving to be quite the find in that position, brilliantly danced by the first-up tacklers to alarm the blue defence which

was now scurrying to cover. As Silvester was floored, Michael McDermott instinctively picked up the placed ball, drew another couple of defenders before releasing Osborne who dashed to the try-line (12-10). Half time shortly followed but with the game so delicately poised, the loss of Mulcahy, who had finally succumbed to a niggling knee injury, left an anxious chill in the air.

With Mulcahy consigned to a watching brief, winger James Lappin moved into the 13 channel. Remarkably, despite missing two tackles from the right wing, Lappin shifted inside with great ease and, in so doing, also grew several inches taller. Hitting anything that moved whilst also probing invisible holes in the opposition resistance, Lappin, in tandem with the complete game of Michael McDermott, brought an energy to the midfield that St. Michael’s struggled to contain. Although the Dublin school had edged in front again thanks to a Harry Byrne penalty (12-13), it was probably most appropriate that Lappin was at hand to touch down near the posts following several minutes of sustained Clongowes pressure. The try was converted by Glynn and the gap stood at six points (19-13).

Last-ditch defence The remainder of the game was not for the faint hearted. One simple error could be decisive and everyone knew it. Family, friends and alumni dined on their fingernails as they watched their loved ones throw themselves at ball and blue. For many past-pupils gathered, the sight of Fionnan Madden bowling two opponents over as he rose highest for a ball brought them back to 2000 when Paddy Berkery (OC’01) raised the roof with a similar leap against Blackrock. Then there was the ‘Connors Chop,’ Lappin’s last-ditch tackling and the fear in the eyes of St. Michael’s biggest men as little John Molony bore down upon them like a rampant bull with one boot on.

As the referee brought the contest to a close five minutes into injury time, following 35 consecutive St. Michael’s phases on the Clongowes line, two things were certain: Clongowes had qualified for their seventh semi-final in 10 years, but - more importantly to the Clongowes community - the Jesuit school had once again unleashed a side that would send any heart testing off the charts.

Clongowes: M Silvester, J Lappin, C Mulcahy, M McDermott, C Murray, J Glynn, R Osborne, N Rinklin, J Molony (c), C Carroll, T Burke, D O’Mahony, W Connors, D Mongey, S McCrohan.

Replacements - F Madden for Mulcahy 28 mins; J Moore for Burke 56 mins, E Carroll for C Carroll 66 mins

Heroic Clongowes Defeat St Michael’s in Senior Cup 8 February 2015 20:24pm leinster schools senior cup Heroic Clongowes Wood held out against a full five-minute onslaught to knock St Michael’s out of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools Senior Cup in a thrilling quarter-final at Donnybrook on Sunday.

St Michael’s received the mother of all wake-up calls from St Mary’s in the first round in a match they should have lost. Clongowes would not be as generous.

Coach Brian O’Meara, the former Leinster and Ireland scrum-half, tinkered with his back division, bringing in Max O’Shea to full-back and shuffling Jack Kelly from thirteen to fourteen with James Hickey moving to inside centre and Oisin O’Meara moving out one to thirteen.

Sure enough, the rise in intensity from St Michael’s was there in their first defensive set as openside Gavin Croke forced a penalty on the floor.

Clongowes came calling again down the left. That was repelled by wing Jack Kelly taking care of the ball.

Then, the St Michael’s lineout cranked into gear for 30 metres and when they came around the corner, it was clear Clongowes were applying the chop tackle against a bigger pack.

When a ball slipped out the side of a ruck, Clongowes flanker Donal Mongey picked it up and set in train a series of drives concluded by centre Colm Mulcahy’s hard line taking him to the posts.

Jonny Glynn converted for 7-0 in the tenth minute.

An overthrown Clongowes lineout put Croke on the ball and they finally progressed when number eight Max Deegan snapped up a messy lineout to make serious headway.

He was stopped by a superb tackle by wing James Lappin. The heavy brigade took over from there. James Ryan and Oisin O’Meara took control and prop Rory Mulvihill crashed home in the right corner to make it 7-5 in the 17th minute.

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A savage hit by O’Meara shook the ball free in midfield and St Michael’s moved into attack mode, Ryan tearing up the right and full-back Max O’Shea coming close.

They were taken back for a penalty, went for touch and a maul that exploded through the middle for flanker Barry Fitzpatrick to ground out the try for 10-7 in the 22nd minute.

Clongowes took their turn to apply pressure. Flanker Will Connors fed hooker John Molony on the charge until Jack Kelly put him to ground and forced a turnover.

The exchanges were ferocious. A loose clearance out of defence was gathered in by full-back Michael Sylvester. His footwork took him beyond the first man up and scrum-half Rowan Osborne was there to fizz into the left corner for 12-10 in the 28th minute.

However, the Clane school lost number eight Sean McCrohan and Mulcahy to injury within the space of two minutes, McCrohan returning to the fray just before the break. leinster schools senior cup St Michael’s introduced Harry Byrne to fly-half and he immediately engineered a movement for wing Tom Molony to get away down the left.

This was a heavyweight bout alright. Deegan powered forward for the Ailesbury Road school. Connors almost cracked the cover in reply.

Byrne lashed a penalty to within mauling distance of the line. That didn’t work out as Clongowes defended heroically.

Deegan put in a clever grubber and then executed a turnover by keeping Conor Murray up off the floor. It prompted a multi-phase attack which drew a penalty for Byrne to make it 13-12 in the 46th minute.

Back came Clongowes. Fly-half Glynn’s hit-and-hope kick under pressure was converted into a 5-metre scrum by his chasers. There was no give from either crew as James Lappin and Jonny Molony came closest to glory.

Another scrum came when bodies piled into a ruck.

Openside Donal Mongey was held up over the line. Another scrum. Connors, Molony, McCrohan and Michael McDermott all had a go before Osborne delayed the ball for Lappin to exploit the space on the right.

Glynn’s conversion made it 19-13 in the 56th minute.

It was far from over. Deegan took off twice for major gains and Byrne began to get his forwards and backs working well on the front-foot.

Then, they were awarded a penalty for crossing straight in front of the posts 35 metres out. They went for the corner and the kick was overcooked to travel all the way to the wrong side of the corner flag.

The tension was palpable. Clongowes used prop Nicholas Rinklin and Connors directly. When St Michael’s defence stood up, they countered from deep to set up a thunderous attack, lasting a full five minutes with Clongowes holding out.

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE 19 ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE 13 At Donnybrook - CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE 19 (C Mulcahy, R Osborne, J Lappin try each; J Glynn 2 cons); ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE 13 (R Mulvihill, B Fitzpatrick try each; H Byrne pen).

Clongowes: M Silvester; J Lappin, C Mulcahy, M McDermott, C Murray; J Glynn, R Osborne; N Rinklin, J Molony (capt), C Carroll, D O’Mahony, T Burke, W Connors, D Mongey, S McCrohan.

Replacements: P Nulty for McCrohan 29 mins - temp; F Madden for Mulcahy 31 mins; J Moore for Burke 56 mins; E Carroll for C Carroll 66 mins.

St Michael’s: M O’Shea; J Kelly, O O’Meara, J Hickey, T Molony; R Cosgrave, D Duggan; R Mulvihill, G Barrett, S Griffin, O Dowling, J Ryan (capt), B Fitzpatrick, G Croke, M Deegan.

Replacements: J Dunne for Fitzpatrick 5 mins - temp; H Byrne for Cosgrave ht; T Killeen for Kelly 61 mins; R Duffy for Mulvihill 66 mins.

Referee: B Montayne, Leinster Branch.

Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup Semi-Final: Clongowes Wood College V Belvedere College – The Leinster Leader – March 10 2015 LEINSTER SCHOOLS’ SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL Heartbreak for Kildare lads Brave Clongowes give way to Belvedere College BELVEDERE COLLEGE…………………………………. 27 CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE……………………….. 26 There was heartbreak for Clongowes Wood College at Donnybrook last Tuesday afternoon, when an impressive Belvedere College denied them an opportunity to contest a fifth Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup final in six years.

Noel McNamara’s charges did enjoy a positive opening but after Belvo flanker Max Kearney claimed an opposition line-out eight minutes in, they suddenly found themselves on the back-foot.

The play was transferred towards the left-flank, where winger Oscair McGrath was on hand to supply the finishing touches to a patient move. Out-half Conor Jennings found the target from a tricky conversion (having missed an earlier penalty), before adding a second try from the subsequent attack.

The Clongowes rearguard initially seemed to be in the perfect position to gather a box-kick towards the left-corner, but Jennings ultimately grounded the ball beyond the whitewash.

He couldn’t add the bonuses to this five-pointer, but the reliable number 10 did make amends with a successful three-point attempt on the stroke of 20 minutes.

The normally assured Kildare school were struggling to settle into any sort rhythm, and were being pressed high up the field by their determined opponents. Their first-half woes were exemplified by Jonathan Glynn’s missed place-kick 24 minutes in.

Jennings was also wide of the mark three minutes before the

break, but with a commanding 15-0 interval cushion at their disposal, Belvo had reason to be confident heading into the second period but it was the 10-time champions who once again crossed over just eight minutes after restart.

Jennings was the architect for his side’s third try, finished off beautifully by full-back Eoin Cleere. He couldn’t dispatch his latest bonus kick between the posts, though, and with 20 minutes remaining in the action, Clongowes finally opened their account.

Impressive back-row Donal Mongey completed a strong maul for an unconverted contribution, only for Belvo to swiftly reply with a well-worked McCaffrey touchdown. A second Jennings conversion appeared to offer Belvo an unassailable buffer, but their numerical disadvantage did provide significant incentive to Clongowes. With McCaffrey briefly out of the picture, scrumhalf Osborne kicked off a remarkable purple patch by breaking through for a majestic five-pointer.

In the absence of Jonathan Glynn, Conor Murray struck the conversion between the uprights, and he also added two points on top of captain Molony’s 61st minute try. This meant that the gap had dramatically been reduced to a manageable eight points, and courtesy of an outstanding breakaway try from centre Lappin (as well as Murray’s third conversion), the bare minimum separated the teams four minutes from time.

However for Clongowes, time ran out for them, and as the clock past 70 minutes, it was Belvo who had the possession in enemy territory. Jennings once again failed to take advantage of another opportunity from the kicking tee, but it made little difference in the end, as Belvedere College edged a pulsating encounter.

Scorers for Belvedere College: Oscair McGrath, Eoin Cleere, Dan McCaffrey try each, Conor Jennings try, 2 cons, pen.

Scorers for Clongowes Wood College: David Mongey, Rowan Osborne, John Molony, James Lappin try each, Conor Murray 2 cons.

BELVEDERE COLLEGE: Eoin Cleere; Sean Long, James McKeown, Declan Murnaghan, Oscair McGrath; Conor Jennings, Hugh O’Sullivan; Mike Sweeney, Andrew Hynes, Eoin Molloy; Conor McCaffrey, Brian Egan; Senan McNulty, Max Kearney, Tom De Jongh.

Replacements: Dan McCaffrey for Molloy (42), Fionn Dillon-Kelly for Kearney (57-65), James Kenny for C McCaffrey (59), Jack Clarke for Hynes (61), Gregory O’Kelly for Cleere (67).

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE: Michael Silvester; Fionnan Madden, James Lappin, Michael McDermott, Conor Murray; Jonathan Glynn, Rowan Osborne; Nickolas Rinklin, John Molony, Charles Carroll; Tim Burke, Daniel O’Mahoney; William Connors, David Mongey, Sean McCrohan.

Replacements: Edward Carroll for C Carroll, Jack Moore for Burke (both 44), Thomas Monaghan for Glynn (54), Patrick Nulty for Mongey (65), Hugo McDermott for Molony (70).

Referee: Nigel Correll (Leinster Branch).

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