The favourites for this year’s Leinster Senior Cup have one win under their belts already. Can this side add the 2013 Senior to their 2010 Junior Cup success?
It wasn’t a classic by any stretch but a wins a win and Terenure got their Leinster Senior Cup campaign for 2013 off to a positive start by beating Belvedere at the weekend. The 13-7 result was tighter than the management would have expected but we doubt that Des Thornton will be too upset with having an extra motivating factor for his lads.
Of course, an added incentive for the Dublin school is the chance to claim second place overall in the all-time Leinster roll of honour. Blackrock are streets ahead of the rest with 66 wins, but with the other side on 10 wins, Belvedere, now dispatched, the path is clear for Terenure to win their 11th, and first since 2003, to claim second place on the all-time list.
And the bookies think they will do it too. Terenure are the favourites at 11/10 with the next priced team, Blackrock, available at 7/4. So, where does this confidence come from?
At the top of the page you will see Ternure’s victorious Junior Cup side of 2010. A staggering 19 members of that squad are in Terenure’s Senior Cup side this season and they return 32 members from last year’s squad. That means it is a panel of players packed with experience, a winning mentality and a real goal to aim for.
Last year they went down at the semi-final stage to Clongowes 13-10 in a close-fought game and they have the tools to at least go one better this year and make the final. They are stacked with players on various Irish and Leinster underage squads and in full back Billy Dardis they have the star man from the most recent school interprovincials. Dardis scored five tries in two games and he could well be the star man in this year’s Senior Cup too.
However, centre Harrison Brewer is also a class act and, as we saw at the weekend against Belvedere, they have scoring power up front too, as front-row Andy Roche crossed for both tries in that game.
All the signs point to Terenure claiming that 11th crown this year, but that is much easier said than done.
