The title race in 1A remains unchanged after the weekend, Lansdowne not losing ground to the chasing pack as results favoured them. At the bottom Trinity and Shannon got much needed wins to keep up their hopes of survival.
Clontarf (5T) 31-12 (2T) Young Munster, Castle Avenue
Clontarf continued to set the pace in 1A as they claimed the points over Young Munster in Castle Avenue.
Ben Griffin gave Tarf the ideal start as he powered over for the opening try putting five points on the board. The Cookies reply was swift as Chris Moore had them on the board and Cian Casey’s conversion was good for the lead.
The hosts would kick on from this point on. Josh Murphy with their second try which again went unconverted, Tony Ryan would add their third on the stroke of half time, converted by Conor Kelly for a 17-7 lead.
Into the second half and Matt D’Arcy secured the bonus point, Kelly on hand to do the rest. Clontarf were motoring well and Kelly who was tasked with the kicking duties turned try scorer as he glided in the fifth try and nailed his third conversion in the process. James Horrigan with a late consolation score for the visitors.
Dublin University (4T) 31-26 City Of Armagh (4T), College Park
Trinity picked up a big win for their survival hopes this weekend as they overcame fellow basement opposition City of Armagh at College Park. Armagh remain outside the drop zone thanks to two valuable bonus points.
The hosts started on top with Matthew Lynch striking an early penalty for the lead. A lead soon increased by a beautiful flowing move that resulted in Davy Colbert crossing in the corner. Lynch on hand to strike the conversion between the uprights for a 10-0 lead. Shy of the break Niall Carville struck for the visitors, the try converted by Shea O’Brien reduced arrears to three at the interval.
Into the second half and again Trinity drew first blood, Aaron Coleman finishing off a move kickstarted by Louis McDonagh and Lynch added the extras on offer. Chris Parker’s side hit straight back, Cameron Doak with their second try and O’Brien again made it a three point game with the conversion.
End to end stuff in College Park and with these too trading blows, Trinity managed to hit the next one. Cuan Doyle with their third try, again the narrative was that Armagh would hit back again and Barry Finn played antagonist and crossed for the third try, O’Brien converting 24-21.
Advantage still with the Dubliners, Lynch furthered the lead with a penalty before Conall Henchy added the bonus point try. Armagh never gave up and O’Brien powered over in the corner to secure their bonus point of tries, along with a valuable losing bonus in the grand scheme of things it could be a pivotal score in their season.
Lansdowne (3T) 19-25 Cork Constitution (3T), Aviva Stadium Back Pitch
Cork Con came away with the points in a cagey contest in the capital, neither side backing down in an absolute war of attrition.
The opening half was a real game of chess between the two, the game almost at the half house mark before a score was registered, Matthew Bowen over for Con as the try went unconverted. Lansdowne would use that score to settle them into the game, after some serious pressure, Andy Marks went over and Stephen Madigan converted at a crucial stage to see the hosts lead 7-5 at the break.
Con came out swinging early in the second half, Bowen over for a second try which Rob Hedderman converted before the full-back nailed a penalty to further their lead. From the resulting restart Lansdowne managed to retain the ball and kept working the ball up to the point Marks gilded under the posts, Madigan converting for a one point game, 15-14.
Hedderman extended the visitors lead to four with a well taken penalty, before Bowen added his third try of the day, Hedderman with a testing conversion from the corner found the mark. Lansdowne would hit back straight away and Jack Cooke touched down their third try, the conversion wide.
The sides fought for possession in those final minutes, a massive steal from David Hyland proved to be a portal moment late on. Hedderman did have the chance to further their lead with a penalty but it went narrowly wide.
Shannon (3T) 20-14 Ballynahinch (2T), Thomond Park
With the threat of the relegation play-offs still looming, Shannon got a big win to boost their hopes of surviving as a late penalty try saw the hosts overcome Ballynahinch.
Shannon started playing with plenty of confidence and almost bagged an early try as Kelvin Brown was held up. Soon after Shannon did get their try as Cian O’Halloran went over under the posts for an unconverted try. Mike Cooke soon furthered the lead with a penalty.
The hosts had a man sent to the bin and with the numerical advantage Hinch bagged a try. Claytan Milligan went over and Conor McKee converted to leave a point between the two. Into stoppage time Shannon would grab a key score before the break, their maul causing Hinch issues as Jordan Prenderville went over for the crucial score. 13-7 at the break.
Hinch hit a new gear in the second half, awarded a penalty try to take the lead in the 50th minute, they were held up over the line after the hour mark to push on for further scores. Minutes later the game turned on its head when Shannon had a penalty try with ten minutes left. Getting a penalty on their line after soaking up a Hinch attack proved vital, game management in those dying embers vital to secure the win.
Terenure College (3T) 19-12 UCD (2T), Lakelands Park
Terenure continue to be one of the most inform sides in the AIL as their winning streak continued at the weekend, sitting in third place hoping to secure a home semi final in the coming weeks if they do not drop points.
A gruelling battle with UCD as they took the Dublin bragging rights but had to show their class to overcome a dogged effort from the Belfield faithful. Nure pressed early but the game was largely even until some incredible patience by Nure with 15 minutes elapsed saw Jordan Coghlan cross for the opening try. The remaining minutes were a ferocious battle but the score remained 5-0 at the break.
Into the second half and Terenure did draw first blood, held short and awarded a penalty, Nure opted for a scrum and Alan Bennie powered his way over for their second try, Aran Egan converting. UCD would hit back with a beautiful score, James Tarrant with a crossfield kick and Tim Corkery did the rest. Micahel Moloney converted for a 12-7 scoreline.
Terenure were quick to reply having conceded those points, recycling play from the restart they looked for an opening and with 55 minutes on the clock Coughlan finished his dinner and added a second try for his tally and put Nure 19-7 ahead as Egan slotted the extras. Ruairi Shields did cross late on to secure a losing bonus point for the students.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.