FOR THE FIRST time in their history, St Fintan’s High School will compete in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup today.
The Sutton-based school take on eight-time champions Clongowes this afternoon, with the first-round tie screened live on eir Sport 1 at 3pm.
This huge occasion at Donnybrook is just reward for the hard work that has been done in a school that began playing rugby as recently as 2001. A non-fee-paying school, St Fintan’s have had a remarkable rise under coach Robert Forbes in recent years.
Advertisement
From humble beginnings, the north Dublin institution now finds itself in among the big boys of this top-tier competition, and St Fintan’s are out to cause an upset.
Their squad includes the Leinster Youths-capped Frankie O’Dea, Conor Moore, Aziz Naser, Declan Adamson and captain Sean Cribbin.
Jack Aungier has played for Ireland Youths, while Darragh Kelly is currently part of the Ireland Schools squad. Former student Andrew Feeney, now part of the coaching team, was the first Fintan’s player to earn Ireland honours, featuring for the Youths in 2014.
St Fintan’s train and play at Suttonians RFC just over the back wall of the school, and the bond with the club is very strong – many of the players starring for both club and school.
There are also ties with Clontarf FC and Malahide RFC, with St Fintan’s continuing to grow their rugby programme year on year.
This season’s highlights have included a stunning comeback win against Castleknock in the quarter-finals of the Section A League, when St Fintan’s came from 27-12 down with only four minutes left to win 29-27.
While they have not been handed the easiest draw against the historically-strong Clongowes for the first round of the cup, captain Cribbin and his team-mates have some belief that they can cause an upset.
We visited St Fintan’s to speak to Cribbin, Forbes and their supportive principal, Mary Fox, to find out more about the school’s journey.
New boys St Fintan's looking to cause an upset in the LSSC today
Updated 31 January, 10.00am
FOR THE FIRST time in their history, St Fintan’s High School will compete in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup today.
The Sutton-based school take on eight-time champions Clongowes this afternoon, with the first-round tie screened live on eir Sport 1 at 3pm.
This huge occasion at Donnybrook is just reward for the hard work that has been done in a school that began playing rugby as recently as 2001. A non-fee-paying school, St Fintan’s have had a remarkable rise under coach Robert Forbes in recent years.
From humble beginnings, the north Dublin institution now finds itself in among the big boys of this top-tier competition, and St Fintan’s are out to cause an upset.
Their squad includes the Leinster Youths-capped Frankie O’Dea, Conor Moore, Aziz Naser, Declan Adamson and captain Sean Cribbin.
Jack Aungier has played for Ireland Youths, while Darragh Kelly is currently part of the Ireland Schools squad. Former student Andrew Feeney, now part of the coaching team, was the first Fintan’s player to earn Ireland honours, featuring for the Youths in 2014.
St Fintan’s train and play at Suttonians RFC just over the back wall of the school, and the bond with the club is very strong – many of the players starring for both club and school.
There are also ties with Clontarf FC and Malahide RFC, with St Fintan’s continuing to grow their rugby programme year on year.
This season’s highlights have included a stunning comeback win against Castleknock in the quarter-finals of the Section A League, when St Fintan’s came from 27-12 down with only four minutes left to win 29-27.
While they have not been handed the easiest draw against the historically-strong Clongowes for the first round of the cup, captain Cribbin and his team-mates have some belief that they can cause an upset.
We visited St Fintan’s to speak to Cribbin, Forbes and their supportive principal, Mary Fox, to find out more about the school’s journey.
Champions Cup double-header in store for Leinster and Munster in April
U20 captain Kelly eager to learn as he leads
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Clongowes Darragh Kelly Jack Aungier LSSC Rob Forbes Schools Rugby Sean Cribbin senior cup st fintan's St Fintan's High School