St Mary’s have a 13 point lead at the summit going into Christmas, elsewhere Highfield moved back to fourth spot, while Garryowen and UCC could not be separated in Dooradoyle. Buccaneers picked up an important win on the road at the weekend.
Blackrock College (3T) 19-26 Buccaneers (4T), Stradbrook
Score difference keeps Buccaneers bottom of 1B despite picking up just their third win of the season on the road against Blackrock.
The hosts set the tempo in the opening half as Chris Rolland and David Heavey crossed for tries converted by James Fennelly to lead 14-12 at the interval. Matthew Victory and Cian McCann kept Buccaneers in the tie, with Michael Hanley converting one from two.
Into the second half Buccs took the lead with Conor O’Shaughnessy getting over for their third try and Haley added the extras. Rock responded to level the game with Liam Nicholson powering over for an unconverted try. Liam McNamara sealed the win and added a valuable bonus point for the Pirates as they were in dire need of a result in this one.
Garryowen (5T) 35-35 UCC (4T), Dooradoyle
The spoils were shared in Dooradoyle as 70 points were scored in a thrilling Munster derby on Shannonside, UCC missing a late conversion to win the contest.
It was the visitors who started the better as two Cian Whooley penalties gave them a 6-0 lead. Tries from Colm Quilligan and Colm Hogan with the former converted by Jack Delaney gave Garryowen the lead after 15 minutes. Mike Colgan crossed for UCC minutes later and Whooley’s conversion made it a 13-12 lead for the visitors.
Delaney restored the lead for Garryowen from a penalty before Bryan Fitzgerald added a third Garryowen try shy of the half hour mark which went unconverted. Patrick McBarron went under the posts for a second UCC try and Whooley levelled the tie as the break approached. UCC would lead at the interval as Whooley was accurate once again to slot a penalty from well over 45m. 23-20 the score at the break in Dooradoyle.
The boot of Delaney levelled matters early in the second half, soon after advantage went back the way of Garryowen, Quilligan getting in for his second of the contest securing the bonus point, the lead 28-23 as the conversion was missed. Quilligan completed his hat trick shy of the hour mark and Jack Oliver converted for a 35-23 lead.
UCC finished well however, Tom Coughlan on his AIL debut powering over for their third try and Whooley left five between them from the tee. Deep in stoppage time Colgan crossed for his second try to tie the game, Whooley stepped up but his conversion struck the post and a cruel end saw both teams share the points in the finish.
Naas (2T) 12-13 Highfield (1T), Forenaughts
Shane Buckley proved to be an influential figure for Highfield as the out-half kicked eight of Highfield’s 12 points to see them move back to fourth spot.
It was a titanic tussle in Forenaughts between these two and in a very tight game Highfield struck first with Travis Coomey crossing and Buckley converting for a 7-0 lead after 13 minutes. Stoppage time saw Naas get on the board as Donal Conroy crossed for an unconverted try to make it 7-5 at the break.
Buckley struck a penalty ten minutes into the half for a five point lead, three minutes later Nass took the advantage for the first time in the contest. Conroy with his second try three minutes later and Peter Osborne’s conversion made it 12-10. With 13 minutes left on the clock Buckley lined up a penalty and dissected the uprights, a narrow one point margin was all to separate these two.
Old Wesley (0T) 9-10 Old Belvedere (1T), Energia Park
Belvedere came from 6-0 down at the break to win by the narrowest of margins in a tight contest against their Dublin rivals Old Wesley.
Wesley controlled the opening half and two penalties from the boot of Eoin Monahan gave the hosts a 6-0 lead at the break. Monaghan added a third in the second half, however a try from Jayden Beckett and a conversion and penalty from David Wilkinson turned the tie in the favour of Belvedere as they held on for the win.
Queens University (3T) 17-22 St Mary’s College (4T), Dub Lane
Mary’s remained unbeaten in 1B, leaving Belfast with a bonus point having had to work hard to get past a seriously impressive Queens side.
Queens certainly were on top in the opening half moving 12-0 ahead Harry Long and Jack Boal crossing for tries while Ben McFarlane converted the latter. Mary’s grabbed a try prior to the break Conor Hayes with an unconverted effort in the corner, Queens ahead 12-5 at the break.
Mary’s came out the better early in the second half, Conor Dean and Jamie Harding crossing for tries with both also going unconverted. The bonus point was added by Leandro Ramirez as his try converted by Mick O’Gara made it 22-12. McFarlane added a late try for a losing bonus point for the Ulstermen, important to keep them second from bottom going into the break.
More Info on Division 1B here.
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.