All the results in 1B went in favour of the home teams this weekend. Buccaneers, City of Armagh, Old Wesley, Highfield, and Old Belvedere all won their games. Buccaneers and City of Armagh are now level on 38 points each at the top of the table. The gap between the top 6 and the rest is also starting to widen.
Buccaneers 13-11 Naas, Dubarry Park
League leaders Buccaneers got back to winning ways by avenging their defeat to Naas in the last round, beating them 13-11 in the reverse fixture.
Eddie O’Sullivan’s troops were pushed all the way by the Kildare men. Ring winger Josh O’Connor got their only try of the contest, with Harry West making an eight point contribution from the kicking tee.
The exciting Charlie Sheridan was on the scoresheet again for the visitors. However, they couldn’t get a repeat result this time around.
Highfield 20-14 St Mary’s College, Woodleigh Park
Highfield did the double over St Mary’s College in a back and forth battle in Woodleigh Park on Saturday.
The game came to life in the second half, with the lead exchanging hands on numerous occasions. The away side led 14-5 at one stage. But the Cork men scored 15 unanswered points to get a great comeback victory to keep them in the playoff positions.
Sean Cronin’s side drop out of the top four for the first time in a while after that defeat, now sitting in sixth place.
Old Belvedere 52-13 UCC, Ollie Campbell Park
Ben Mannion’s Old Belvedere went on a try scoring rampage easing past a UCC side that looked to be really lacking in confidence.
The Ollie Campbell faithful were treated to eight tries from their team on Saturday afternoon. It was a great performance. Their third win on the bounce, seeing them jump to third in the table.
Things look to be going from bad to worse for UCC. Although, on a brighter note Sean Edogbu, younger brother of Munster played Edwin scored a try of the season contender. If you blinked you would have missed the speedy finish.
Old Wesley 28-12 Banbridge, Energia Park
Old Wesley are another team that are very much in the conversation for those top four places after another impressive 28-12 win over Banbridge.
They made sure of the try bonus point. Alex Molloy, Cronan Gleeson, Tommy O’Callaghan and Keith Kavanagh all crossed the line for the D4 club.
Unfortunately for Banbridge, they still sit at the foot of the table.
City of Armagh 22-6 Malone, Palace Grounds
City of Armagh are making no fuss as they continue their winning run and keep the pressure firmly on Buccaneers at the top of the table.
Dark horses was a term used to describe Chris Parker’s team at the start of the season, they look like more than that now. Ryan Purvis, Shea O’Brien, Jack Treanor and Glen Faloon all touched the ball down to seal an important bonus point.
It was another tough defeat for Malone who are struggling near the bottom end of the table.
