St. Mary's College RFC & The Winters Cup
The Col. Winters Memorial Cup — our club's history in this long-running Junior competition, final by final.
The Col. Winters Memorial Cup began in 1963, when it was presented by UCD RFC.
The Col. Winters Cup has traditionally been a J4 XV cup competition. In more recent times, it is the cup contested by teams in Metro League Division 6 & 7.
St. Mary's College RFC have reached the Col. Winters Cup Final 7 times, winning on 6 occasions — 1963, 1978, 1989, 1990, 1996 & 2009 — and being losing finalists on 1 occasion — 1997.
We've tried to put together information on all of our previous finals below. If anyone has any memories of winning or losing finals to share, please send them to archives@smcrfc.com and they'll be added below.
Click any final to expand team photos, line-ups and match reports. Winning finals are marked in green.
1963 S. Tracey — beat Blackrock 3–0 Won
Inaugural winners of the Col. Winters Memorial Cup, 1962–63.
Back: J. Reddy (Manager), C. Hutton, B. Cassidy, L. Roche, P. Best, K. Ryan, B. O'Sullivan, N. Carmody (Coach), Fr. Seagrave
Centre: D. White, J. Cronin, O. Curran, A. Whelan, S. Tracey (Captain), B. Moran, N. Nagle, L. McMullen, L. Birkett
Front: S. Doyle, D. Churchward
The 3B XV emerged this season as perhaps the most illustrious in the club. Under the paternal guidance of Steve Tracey, assisted by manager John Reddy, they developed a spirit and level of fitness unsurpassed by any other team. This was clearly shown throughout an arduous cup campaign, enabling them to subdue all opposition and win the newly presented Col. Winters Memorial Cup, beating a very strong Blackrock team in the final. The name of St. Mary's is thus the first to appear on this trophy, and we congratulate Steve and his "lads" on the success that bestowed this honour on the club.
Captained by Steve Tracey, coached by Ned Carmody and managed by John Reddy, they won the Col. Winters Cup in its inaugural year — emphasising the strength-in-depth the club enjoyed. St. Mary's holds the distinction of being the first club to win the Winters Cup, one of several Leinster Branch trophies the club won in that trophy's first year of presentation.
(Team photo caption and season detail from the club's Centenary Book.)
1978 Peter Elliott — beat Palmerston 8–3 Won
Peter Elliott captained the Junior Four XV to win the Winters Cup.
Still needed: 1978 winning line-up, and a fuller match report if one exists.
1989 Frank Kennedy — beat Greystones 10–3 Won
Captained by Frank Kennedy, the J4s beat Greystones 10–3. This win was part of a J4 Double — St. Mary's took both the Winters Cup and the J4 League in the same 1989 season.
Still needed: 1989 winning line-up and a match report.
1990 Brendan Foley — beat Terenure 15–6 Won
Still needed: 1990 winning line-up, match report, and a direct image link to embed the photo inline.
1996 Kevin Lum — beat Old Belvedere 10–8 Won
Skippered by Kevin Lum and coached by Donal Swift — with the help of Pat O'Brien and the Jennings family, Phillip and Derek — the J4s beat Old Belvedere 10–8 to win the Winters Cup and complete the League-Cup double. It capped a strong season across the club, with further wins for the J2s (Cup) and the J3s (League).
(Coaching detail and double confirmed by the club's Centenary Book.)
Still needed: 1996 winning line-up and a fuller match report.
1997 Lost to Blackrock Lost
St. Mary's reached the Winters Cup final in 1997 but finished as losing finalists to Blackrock.
Still needed for 1997: captain, final score, opponent detail, match report, and any photo. (Roll of honour confirms Blackrock as the 1997 winners.)
2009 Brian (Teddy) Moran — beat Blackrock 24–20 Won
Energia Park, Donnybrook, Tuesday 5th May 2009. Captained by Brian (Teddy) Moran, the J4s beat Blackrock 24–20 — remembered ever since for the famous last-minute try-saving tackle by Chi Yuen. It capped a strong season in which the J4s also topped J4 League Pool 1 and reached the League play-offs.
(Detail from the 2017 J4/J5 Reunion Day booklet, which marked the 8th anniversary of this win.)
Path to the final
| Round 1 | 28.03.2009 — Wanderers 0–43 St. Mary's (Merrion Rd) |
| Round 2 | 08.04.2009 — St. Mary's 48–8 Monkstown (Templeville Rd) |
| Round 3 | 18.04.2009 — Old Wesley 19–22 St. Mary's (Ballycorus Rd) |
| Semi Final | 25.04.2009 — St. Mary's 23–14 Coolmine (Templeville Rd) |
| Final | 05.05.2009 — St. Mary's 24–20 Blackrock (Energia Park, Donnybrook) |
Still needed: 2009 winning line-up and a written match report.
Season-by-season J4 progress in the Winters Cup, 2006–07 to 2016–17.
| 2006–07 | Round 1 |
| 2007–08 | Round 2 |
| 2008–09 | Winners — beat Blackrock 24–20 |
| 2009–10 | Quarter-finalists |
| 2010–11 | Semi-final |
| 2011–12 | Round 3 |
| 2012–13 | Round 2 |
| 2013–14 | Round 2 |
| 2014–15 | Round 2 |
| 2015–16 | Round 3 |
| 2016–17 | Round 2 — v Old Belvedere |
Source: 2017 J4/J5 Reunion Day booklet.
Every winner since the competition began in 1963. St. Mary's wins highlighted.
Most successful clubs in the competition's history.