McCarthy Plate success was some consolation for Tipperary school's Under 15 team

Clonmel High School’s Under 15 rugby team came off second best against a strong Waterpark College side in the Cleary Cup quarter-final.

The match was played in beautiful spring sunshine in Waterpark Rugby Club in Waterford.

The home side opened the scoring early on with a well-worked try down the wing.

READ NEXT: Seven people arrested in Tipperary as part of major garda operation

Minutes later, the High School went ahead following good work from the pack to allow Rory O’Dwyer to power over from close range. Sam Power added the conversion to put the High School 7-5 ahead.

READ MORE: Concern raised in Tipperary as gardaí find lost dog

Waterpark College soon found their rhythm and exploited poor High School defence. They dominated the rest of the first half, leaving the score 26-7 in their favour at the break.

The second half was more even as the High School rallied. Captain Tony O’Brien led from the front and scored a good try. Power added the conversion.

Kayden O’Meara injected pace into the back line when he came off the bench and he set up Sean Callery for a fine try.
However, it was too little too late and Waterpark College had enough to seal the victory.

The season comes to an end for the High School Under 15s. Despite the disappointment of this loss, they can take pride in their McCarthy Plate Final victory before Christmas.

They now look forward to Under 16 Rugby next year.

High School: Olivers Skudrins, Kyle O’Connor, Kaine Tobin, Sean Callery, Bohdan Chumakov, Sam Power, Cillian Flavin, Tony O’Brien (captain), Eddie Lawless, Cody O’Neill Crotty, Kenzie Whelan, Daniel Fahey, Jack Lynch, Rory O’Dwyer, James Carroll, Blyce Baguio, Finn Murphy, Keelan Lee, Enaitz O’Donovan Garrido, Jack Kearney, Dara O’Flaherty, Kayden O’Meara, Alex Byrne.

Under 14 Friendly
Waterpark College 24 High School CBS 24
By Con O’Sullivan

This was a real battle. Neither team made many handling errors and with a referee encouraging an “open play” approach both sides moved the ball well.

There was good decision-making on both teams, with much improved tackling and kicking on view for this age group.

It was lovely to watch TY students take a mentoring role at this event. Both teams benefitted from their input. The drawn result was a satisfactory outcome for all.

High School team: Corey Norris Grogan, Zac Corcoran, Jack Dillon, David Lyons, Charlie Houlihan, Dean Vallo, Daryl Williamson, Ben Franklin, Alex Carney, Fionn Roche, Rory O’Dea, Noah Coffey, Darragh Keane, Ciaran Maher, Danny Holohan, Dara O’Loughlin.