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The Belvedere players celebrate their victory. Ryan Byrne/INPHO

The draw for the Leinster Schools Senior Cup semi-finals has been made and we got two crackers

Belvedere beat CBC Monkstown comfortably to join Clongowes, Roscrea and Newbridge in the final four.

A BREATHTAKING WEEK of schools rugby was rounded off today by Belvedere College as they blasted CBC Monkstown 42-14 to reach the semi-finals of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.

The scoreline doesn’t even reflect the dominance of the winners as they led 32-0 at half time and had the luxury to ease up late on.

A strong start by the northside Dublin school saw them lead 14-0 after just nine minutes and this excellent try put them 29-0 ahead late in the first half.

belv

Belvo saw out the second half with ease and their reward was to be drawn with last year’s runners-up Clongowes in the semi-final.

The other semi-final sees Newbridge take on a Roscrea side who dumped out two-time defending champions Blackrock with a last-gasp try in the quarter-final.

The semi-finals will be played on 3 and 4 March at Donnybrook and both will kick off at 4pm.

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    Mute Oval Digest
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:25 AM

    Brilliant interview.

    Everyone is a critic online and we all discuss player’s performances every week.

    But some of the stuff Williams was subjected to over the years by ‘fans’ was just nasty and personal.

    Good to hear he has some perspective on it. He had a pro rugby career with one of the biggest teams in Europe. Everyone commenting here and elsewhere would kill for that.

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    Mute Decko49
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:33 AM

    @Oval Digest: Your right. The criticism he received was deplorable at times. The fans who went to see Munster week in week out appreciated Duncan. It’s the armchair supporters and the keyboard warriors who think they know it all. Dave Kearney suffered a lot of the same. They guys are great professionals and do their very best. They deserve better

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    Mute Chicinho
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    Dec 24th 2019, 11:41 AM

    @Oval Digest: brilliant interview is right! Most normal folk freak out when they’ve annual performance reviews yet give it loads of the same week in week out to others that just happen to be gifted at sport!

    Always found him a frustratingly solid guy to play against when he wore the Jolly Roger on his shirt. He continued in that vein and had a career albeit not in the highlight that was the dream of many!

    Fair play!

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    Mute RabidHorizon
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:36 AM

    I wish I was a Munster cap behind you Dunc. Enjoy whatever you do next. A great servant to Munster rugby.

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    Mute Jonathan Meany
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:56 AM

    @RabidHorizon: Well said!

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    Mute Ger
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:28 AM

    O’Mahony’s tribute says it all. Totally underestimated player.

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Dec 24th 2019, 9:23 AM

    Loved the guy. Persevered through it all and just got on with it. Used to frustrate me a lot but towards the end of his career he was rock solid and the best 9 that regularly played in the league.

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    Mute Ted O'Dalaigh
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    Dec 24th 2019, 9:39 AM

    Always liked him, never deserved the grief he got which was almost always on the back of his forwards going backwards.

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    Mute TL55
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    Dec 24th 2019, 10:07 AM

    Very unfortunate with injuries & being compared to Stringer, O’Leary & Murray.

    Great servant to Munster Rugby. Best for your next Career Duncan

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    Mute Con Henihan
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    Dec 26th 2019, 12:12 PM

    @TL55: how is being compared to his peers unfortunate?

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    Mute Peter McCarthy
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    Dec 24th 2019, 12:42 PM

    The way he was treated by a tiny fraction of Munster supporters was very unpleasant. Shows a nasty underside. Not at all a pop at Munster btw, every single sports team in the world has trolls like them, unfortunately. Plenty on these pages. Just have to mute them until they slither off. Met him a few times through work. One of the game’s nice guys. Absolute gent.

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    Mute Decko49
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    Dec 24th 2019, 1:03 PM

    @Peter McCarthy: Yes you’re right. Some Munster fans didn’t treat him right. But we have to remember these guys try their best. But some are not as good as others. So long as they genuinely try their best that’s all you can ask. I think he he’s a very good last season with Munster.

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    Mute Cortiss
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    Dec 24th 2019, 8:32 AM

    He should go down to leinster and pass his experience onto McGrath and the young lads like he did with Murray and matthewson at Munster.

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    Mute Alan Mulcahy
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    Dec 24th 2019, 3:43 PM

    Great professional, gave his all every time.
    You can’t as for any more.

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    Mute Aaron
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    Dec 25th 2019, 9:12 AM

    Will never forget that double tackle in Sandy Park, unreal

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    Mute De Zach Same
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    Dec 24th 2019, 6:51 PM

    I can empathize with him as I wasn’t great at scrum half either and got plenty of abuse from the sidelines. Difference was he stuck at it and never gave in to the haters and reached a seriously high level in rugby.

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    Mute Mark Smith
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    Dec 24th 2019, 1:02 PM

    It’s a tough world when you are not blessed the the same high skill set as most of the players around you.

    Unfortunately he was just a squad player and a ream of Munsters standing always needs and demands a higher calibre of player when they are one of the top teams in Europe.

    I am sure he is a dead on bloke and you can feel the hurt from him in his interview but at the end of the day it’s a professional sport and you have to take the rough with the smooth

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    Mute Alan Mulcahy
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    Dec 24th 2019, 3:51 PM

    @Mark Smith: “take the rough with the smooth” – nobody deserves personal abuse for just doing their best.
    I would love if each brave abuser had to wear a t-shirt with their quotes on, and walk through a crowd of ex players (with no cameras). Imagine how brave they would be then!

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    Mute UKL
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    Dec 25th 2019, 9:54 PM

    Dunc has the one of the most admirable traits you could look for in a person, perseverance.

    He wasn’t a superstar 9, but you could never doubt the guys heart – and in his last few seasons, I think he was pretty good.

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