Plenty of movers and shakers in Division 1B of the Energia All Ireland League after the weekend’s events, Old Belvedere remain top of the pile four clear of Nenagh Ormond, with the pair now pulling away from the chasing pack. At the foot of the table Queen’s University picked up a five point haul to move out of the relegation zone.
Blackrock College 25-5 UCC, Stradbrook
Blackrock are back in the top four after a strong display to get the better of UCC on Saturday, the students dropping out of the top four as they only managed one score in the tie.
Rock set the opening half tempo and a pair of Barry Galvin tries converted by Conor O’Shaughnessy, along with a penalty from the out-half, ensured a 15-0 margin was in place by the interval.
Further tries from Brian Colclough and Liam McMahon wrapped up the points in the second half. David Cogan crossed for a consolation score for UCC.
Highfield 17-35 Queen’s University, Woodleigh Park
Queen’s have jumped out of the relegation zone and occupy seventh spot in the table, after a high scoring second half ensured the points away to Highfield.
It was the visitors who started the brighter with Jack Boal crossing for the opening try in the seventh minute and Jack Murphy made no mistake adding the extras. Highfield replied in the 19th minute to grab their opening try, Darragh Fitzgerald powering his way over to touch down for an unconverted try.
Queens would however reply just before the break to snatch their second, Murphy with a lovely grubber kick on the left flank which Ben McFarlane chased and touched down, the visitors went into the break ahead 12-5.
With that momentum Queen’s stormed ahead in the second half. McFarlane added his second try before Wilhelm de Klerk also crossed the whitewash. Murphy converted all three and landed three penalties also in that period. Highfield never gave up and fought right until the end with Fitzgerald adding a second before Patrick McBarron also crossed. Shane Buckley converted the former.
Nenagh Ormond 19-18 Naas, New Ormond Park
A nervy finish in the end for Nenagh but they held their nerve to record a one point win over Naas, as Jack Sheridan’s 71st minute try made it a grandstand finish in New Ormond Park.
Naas started brightly and struck first blood early with Sheridan crossing the line in the second minute, converted by Peter Osborne for the opening try. Nenagh Ormond responded quickly, with Evan Murphy and Willie Coffey scoring tries, both converted by Conor McMahon, giving Nenagh a 14-7 lead. Osborne added a penalty to reduce the deficit to 14-10 at halftime.
Osborne cut the gap further with a penalty to open the scoring in the second stanza. Nenagh extended their lead when Josh Rowland touched down in the 60th minute, though McMahon missed the conversion, leaving the score at 19-13. Naas fought back through a second try from Sheridan, the missed conversion saw them trail by one, but despite their efforts to craft a late score, Naas fell just short.
Old Belvedere 39-24 Shannon, Ollie Campbell Park
Leaders Old Belvedere had a tough battle with Shannon on their hands on Saturday, but delivered a strong performance in the end for five important points, putting them four clear at the summit.
Belvo started strong, with early tries from Kale Thatcher, Calum Dowling and Ryan McMahon. Dowling added a second before halftime, while Sam Wisniewski converted one from three. Shannon responded with tries from Cian O’Halloran and Tadhg O’Brien, but trailed 22-10 at the break.
Into the second half, the hosts extended their lead with Dowling completing his hat-trick and further tries from Will McDonald and Jack Keating along with another Wisniewski conversion growing their lead. John O’Sullivan and Steven Kiely did add tries for Shannon in the closing stages, with Sean Nolan converting both.
Old Wesley 38-17 Dublin University, Energia Park
A dominant second half showing saw Old Wesley climb to third spot in the table, as they bested their Dublin counterparts Trinity in Energia Park.
Old Wesley got off to a strong start with tries from Ian Cassidy and Cronan Gleeson, Cassidy converting his try for an ideal 12-0 lead. Trinity replied with David Colbert and Hugh Goddard diving over for tries, with one conversion from Zach Quirke for Goddard’s try enough to level matters. In a flash Wesley replied and Josh Pim dotted down seconds later and Wesley held a 17-12 lead at the break.
The hosts pulled away in the second half, scoring three more tries through Harry Noonan, Alex Molloy, and Thomas O’Callaghan. Cassidy added three conversions to secure a commanding lead. Dublin University’s James O’Sullivan scored a late consolation try.
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.