by Matthew Bonar and Chris D’Souza

On December 6th, Clonkeen faced St. Colmcille’s College in Terenure in the junior rugby Leinster semifinal.
Spirits were high for the Clonkeen squad as the players warmed for an intense battle for a Leinster final in Donnybrook. They started well, unfazed by the aggressive Colmcille squad.
The subs were cheering on their teammates to get them the win. As scraps broke out, crunching tackles, near tries for both sides and countless cuts and bruises, neither team was able to get the ball past the try line.
The full-time whistle blew; would it go to overtime, maybe a shootout or even a rematch? NO!
The verdict came down to a coin flip! Clonkeen lost the toss, resulting in their knockout. There was anger and sadness from coach and players. 2nd year players Liam Finn and Darragh Kelly were interviewed. Both had only one word to describe the outcome, ‘a disgrace’!
Despite this outrageous call from the referee and Leinster youth organisers, we are still immensely proud of our team.