Clontarf remained unbeaten top of the summit three clear of Cork Con who kept the pressure applied, Terenure moved into the top four following favourable results. Shannon jumped out of the relegation zone with an important win.
Shannon (2T) 14-13 Dublin University (1T), Thomond Park
A penalty try after the hour mark helped Shannon turn around a 10-0 half time deficit to overcome Trinity in the shadow of Thomond Park, ending a five game losing streak.
With 13 minutes gone Dan Barron went over for Trinity to draw first blood on Shannonside. Trinity controlled the scoreboard in that opening half and added a second try after 37 minutes Cormac King finding his way over for a 10-0 lead. The elements testing for the conversions.
Into the second half and six minutes in, Shannon were on the board as Jack O’Donnell got his way over the line and Mike Cooke’s conversion left three between them. Harry Colbert kicked a penalty shy of the hour mark to leave six between the teams, however the penalty try would soon cost Trinity the lead, Shannon took it by a chokehold and failed to let go until the final whistle sounded.
Ballynahinch (1T) 13-16 Young Munster (1T), Ballymacarn Park
The boot of Shane O’Leary proved the difference as Young Munster continued their recent winning streak with a narrow three point win on the road against Hinch.
It was advantage Cookies in the early stages as Aidan Shortall went over and O’Leary made it an impressive start putting seven on the board. 11 minutes later however Hinch added a try of their own as Aaron Sexton went over and the ever reliable Conor Rankin slotted the conversion. O’Leary edged Young Munster ahead with a penalty before Rankin levelled matters at the break with a penalty of his own, 10-10 at the interval.
A slice of cheese went the way of Young Munster ten minutes into the second half and Rankin obliged to give Hinch the lead with his second penalty. Not to be outdone however, O’Leary was on hand to secure the win as his side pressed to the bitter end. A 76th minute strike was added by one in stoppage time to seal the result at the death. Four points from the top four as a result of their third win in succession.
Cork Constitution (5T) 38-25 UCD (3T), Temple Hill
Cork Con are three points adrift of Clontarf after bouncing back from last weekend’s defeat to come from behind and defeat UCD.
While Michael Moloney gave UCD the lead from the tee, Con replied as Billy Crowley and a penalty try had the hosts 14-3 ahead. Harry Donnelly and Ross Deegan added tries for UCD, Moloney converted the first but missed the second, he did slot a penalty however for a 18-14 lead at the break.
Rory McGuire did add a third UCD try in the second half which Moloney converted, Con hit a different gear however and drove home for the win. Crowley added a second try, while James Taylor and Jack Kelleher added to the board. Taylor struck four conversions in the contest, while Te Atawhai Mason added a late penalty.
Lansdowne (4T) 27-31 Clontarf (5T), Aviva Stadium Back Pitch
Clontarf were made to work till the very end by Lansdowne as the pair played out a classic in Donnybrook.
Tarf remained unbeaten and started well with Tony Ryan crossing from close range for the lead in the early stages, Jack Murphy converting. Peter Sullivan made use of the wind to get the bounce of a kick in behind to score, Stephen Madigan converting to level. Clontarf replied through Dylan Donnellan and Murphy again converted but seconds later it was 14-14 as Sullivan went over for his second and Madigan landed the kick from the tee.
The league leaders continued to apply pressure and were awarded with two further tries before the interval. Donnellan added a second try before Brian Deeny added the bonus minutes later, Murphy missed both with the wind a factor, Lansdowne did cut the gap before the break as Madigan dissected the posts from the tee, 24-17 at the break.
Matt Darcy added a fifth Tarf try minutes to stretch the gap to 31-17 as Murphy added the extras. From here Lansdowne applied the most pressure to be rewarded with scores, Donough Lawlor following a lineout cross to cut the gap to 31-22, while cheese went the way of Tarf, Lansdowne were taking tries, Hardus van Eeden with the bonus try for a four point game at the finish.
Terenure College (4T) 29-17 City of Armagh (3T), Lakelands Park
Terenure are back in the title race as they continue to rise the charts to fourth, the Christmas number one will not however be up for grabs.
Nure started well, Levi Vaughan crossing after 12 minutes for the lead, Armagh showed resilience to cross almost immediately with Niall Carville bagging the unconverted effort. From the restart that followed confusion allowed Nure to race in for a second try Vaughan with a brace, Callum Smith converting the first try. It was all end to the end stuff as Armagh then went over through Andrew WIlls the conversion went wide and the score was 12-10 at the break.
Conan O’Donnell added the third Terenure try four minutes into the second half. Converted by Smith as the action pact opening half still left many catching their breath. The tempo slowed down however as the next score arrived in the 68th minute as Jordan Coghlan added the bonus and Aran Egan added the extras and a penalty to stretch the lead. City of Armagh added a late try with Dylan Nelson going over and Brayden Laing adding the extras.
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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.