Portlaoise lads to the fore as Leinster crush Munster to take U/19 Interpro title

Munster U/18 Clubs 18 Leinster U/18 Clubs 52 LEINSTER put in a sensational performance to capture the PwC U/18 Clubs Interprovincial title with the defeat of Munster at Virgin Media Park on Sunday afternoon.

The mixed weather conditions tested the players’ skills. Captained by Joshua O’Keeffe, Leinster took to the field with one mission in mind in a game played at a frantic pace from the outset.

With fine work from the pack and good direction by James Walls at scrumhalf, Leinster worked a lineout in the Munster 22. As a result of a clean take by Aidan Tamming, a maul was set for Harry Heagney to crash over to open the scoring for the visitors.

From the restart, Munster came back strong, moved the ball about, eventually touching down in the left corner to level the game.

Both defences stood solid until a breakthrough try from O’Keffee, with the conversion to making it 12-5 in the 19th minute.

From there on, Leinster gained a foothold and refused to ease up. A fine team try was finished off by hooker Heagney.

Munster piled on the pressure but their only reward was a three-point penalty.

As the game restarted, the ball was worked to wing Franklin Onwuzulumba, who glided down the left to touch down in the corner to give Leinster a 24-8 advantage at half-time.

If anything, the quality of play in the second half went up a level. Showing his pace, Alan Higgins burst through for a brilliant individual try, with O’Keeffe’s adding his third conversion.

From the restart, O’Keeffe sent an inch-perfect cross-field ball which Cillian McElwee gathered and finish in style. O’Keeffe duly added the conversion to open up the gap to 38-8 in the 48th minute.

The game then began to ebb and flow as changes were made on both sides. A fantastic snipe from the captain O’Keeffe ended with another seven points added to his personal tally. The looseness of the play facilitated a Munster revival in which they plundered two well-worked tries.

Leinster made a final push to breach the 50-point barrier. Fine interplay skills from backs and forwards led to the last try from Byron O’Hara, converted by O’Keeffe.

SCORERS:

Leinster: J O’Keeffe 2 tries, 6 cons; H Heagney 2 tries; F Onwuzulumba, A Higgins, C McElwee, B O’Hara try each.

LEINSTER: Michael Redmond (Tullow); Tadg Young (Sutonians), David Cron (De La Salle Palmerston), Byron O’Hara (Terenure College), Franklin Onwuzulumba (Clondalkin); Josh O’Keeffe (Newbridge), James Walls (Skerries); Aidan McGovern (Boyne), Harry Heagney (Clontarf), Jack Power (MU Barnhall); Aidan Tamming (Naas), Ciaran Dunne (Portlaoise), Harvey Butler (Skerries), Cillian McElwee (Kilkenny), Alan Higgins (Skerries).

Replacements: 16. Seamus Whelan (Balbriggan), Philip Murphy (New Ross), Sean Glapiak (New Ross), Juwon Adeoye (Boyne), Eanna Moynihan (Portlaoise), Lorcan Craik (Navan), Turlough Donnelly (Newbridge), Dan Whelan (Portlaoise).