Man of Match Mbekezeli Masuku drives Tipperary school into rugby cup final

Under 15 McCarthy Cup Semi-Final

CBS CORK 0 CLONMEL HIGH SCHOOL 10

The High School Under 15 Rugby team have reached the McCarthy Cup final following a hard-fought win against CBC at their grounds in Lansdowne, Cork, last Tuesday week.

The match kicked off in lovely December sunshine and both sides immediately went on the attack looking for an early score. CBC looked sharp, with their backs and forwards combining well. The High School defence was solid and gradually gained the upper hand and got good field position in the CBC 22.

The High School was physically bigger than their opponents and used this to their advantage. Several big carries from captain Mbekezeli Masuku, Aaron Egan and Natan Gucwa brought the High School underneath CBC's posts. Egan was in for a try only to knock on over the line. The resulting scrum saw CBC make a line break halfway up the pitch. High School full-back Aidan McMaugh and wing Alex Pyke made crucial tackles to break up the attack.

The High School forwards dominated the lineout and CBC opted to run their penalties instead of kicking for field position. This suited the High School defence which was able to soak up the CBC pressure, typified by Sam Normile, Jerome Phelan and Conor Williams.

A CBC scrum five metres from their try line was pushed back by the High School pack. The ball popped out and Masuku touched down but the try was disallowed as the High School was judged to have pushed too far in the scrum.

The High School pressure finally paid off when outhalf Conal Morrison kicked a penalty on 23 minutes to give them a 3-nil lead which they took into the half time break.

The second half began with CBC attacking the High School deep in their 22. Several penalties against the High School gave CBC the confidence to go for a score. However, they continued to run the ball instead of kicking points or taking field position.
Several big tackles by Darragh Dempsey, Cody Lee and Jack Fitzpatrick were crucial in stemming the CBC tide. Jakub Prazan and Seb Hopkins impressed with their work rate at the breakdown. Aaron Egan was outstanding in the loose, carrying ball after ball making the hard yards, while scrum half Olan Doocey was sharp and moved the ball well all day.

Mbekezeli Masuku gave a man of the match performance: from several big carries and a dozen turnovers, he was a constant threat to CBC and lead his team by example. It was fitting that with eight minutes left, he was on hand to take a lovely pass from Doocey and crash through the CBC defence to score the all-important try. Morrison kicked the conversion to extend the High School lead to 10-nil. Indeed, the match ended minutes later when Masuku won a CBC lineout and kicked the ball into touch to end the match, to the delight of his teammates.

The win extends the High School's unbeaten run this year to six matches, following their successful league campaign.

FINAL V ST MUNCHIN’S
The High School will play St.Munchin’s in the McCarthy Cup Final on Monday next, December 18 at 2pm on UL's 4G pitch in Limerick. They defeated PBC 17-7 in the other semi-final.
The High School panel:
Aidan McMaugh, Cody Lee, Conor Williams, Jerome Phelan, Alex Pyke, Conal Morrison, Olan Doocey, Mbekezeli Masuku (C), Sam Normile, Natan Gucwa, Darragh Dempsey, Seb Hopkins, Jakub Prazan, Jack Fitzpatrick, Aaron Egan, Patrick Normile, Sean Delahunty, Tony O’Brien, Michael Maher, Ben Tierney, Billy Cooney, Calum Condon, Jamie Cahill, Conor Corbett, Jack Prendergast, Sean Woods, James Blanchfield.