PBC stand in Munchin’s way

ST. Munchin’s College (with sctum-half Ben Nugent pictured below) bid to win their first Avonmore Milk Munster Schools Junior Cup title in 11 years when they renew acquaintances with Cork heavyweights PBC at Thomond Park tomorrow (3pm).


The first schools game to be played at the re-developed stadium is a repeat of the side’s quarter-final first round clash when Pres’ secured a narrow two-point victory - current Munster star Barry Murphy was a leading light in St. Munchin’s Junior Cup-winning run of 1998.
St. Munchin’s secured their final berth with a deserved 13-3 semi-final victory over a plucky Crescent College Comprehensive side at a blustery Coonagh on Friday last.
The St. Munchin’s backroom team of coach Niall McDermott and assistant coach Philip Horan will have been pleased with the improvement in their side’s displays during the campaign. Horan, brother of Munster and Irish international prop Marcus, said that while the opportunity to play in the first schools’ game to be staged at the new Thomond Park was one they were looking forward to he was confident the players would not be overawed by the occasion.
“I would give anything to be on the pitch. I will be there as a coach,” Philip Horan said.
“Even for the referee, it is something special. But our lads will be focused. It is just a pitch. It is our pitch as well as we are the home team.
“I don’t think the occasion will get to our players. I don’t believe it will. They are a switched on bunch of guys.
“I think they will be as brave as they were against Crescent College in the semi-final, play their own game and remain focused. It would be great to see the past pupils from St. Munchin’s turning up to cheer us on. It is an occasion not to be missed.
“If we get big support, I feel the lads will raise their game.”
Horan said one of the big pluses with the squad was their eagerness to learn: “Our guys are like sponges. They soak up all the experiences they have during the season. They soak up all you tell them. Each day they learn more and more about themselves.
“We met Pres’ at under-14 level and we played them twice already this season. The first time was in a friendly in Cork and then we played each other in a quarter-final first round game when we lost 10-12 in Rosbrien.
“It was a big occasion. Not too many people gave us much of a hope that day. They are well aware of us and we know a lot about them. But if we play our own game, it could be an interesting day for us.”
Philip Horan said he felt the side was continuing to improve: “Between the quarter-final win over Castletroy College and the semi-final match with Crescent College we played a few friendlies against Blackrock and Roscrea. We felt we needed more game time and we got two tough matches. They allowed us to realise where we might be going wrong. We learned a lot in that time and with each passing game we learned more and more. Against Crescent we found out even more about ourselves.
“For the first time we managed to score first in the match. We managed to hold that lead.
“The guys are very switched on. They realise that Junior Cup games are decided by a kick of a ball. As you saw in the semi-final Crescent were pushing hard for our line near the end. If they had managed to get in for a try, the only difference between the sides would have been Tom O’Neill’s penalty goal. Our lads value every score and they are always trying to push on for more.
“The continuity play we produced was good. We kept the ball moving well and the lads were very brave throughout. Our defence was excellent. They worked hard.
“The senior’s defeat the previous day was a disappointment, but the Juniors were switched on. They knew they had a job to do.”

Colm Kinsella