UL Bohs moved to third in the only change to the top four heading into the final round before the break. Elsewhere Ballymena and Malone both secured important wins at the foot of the table.
Ballymena (1T) v MU Barnhall (2T), Eaton Park
Pierce Crowe proved the match winner with a strong showing from the tee giving Ballymena a much needed win to end a four game losing streak.
Crowe struck an early penalty for the lead, Barnhall replied two with tries however for a 12-5 lead with the latter going unconverted. Following a lineout Ballymena mauled their way over to cut the gap to four, Crowe missed that conversion but a successful 48m in driving rain saw Ballymena trail by one at the break 12-11.
As the second half wore on the intensity in this one was making it a cracker of a contest. Both sides pressed on with some tackles having a degree of danger as Barnhall had a man shown some cheese in the period. A red card at the death for a high tackle saw Crowe step up and kick a valuable three points for the win.
Banbridge (1T) 17-31 Malone (5T), Rifle Park
Malone secured a much needed win in their Ulster Derby meeting with Banbridge closing the gap between them and Ballymena.
Adam Doherty made it one way traffic for Ballymena in the early exchanges, a penalty and converted try gave the hosts a 10-0 cushion shy of the half hour mark. Malone hit back well before the break, Shane Kelly struck an unconverted try before Nathan Burns levelled matters and Peter Caves conversion left the score 12-10 at the break.
Two minutes into the second half Malone added their third try, Stuart Dodington crossing and Caves stretched the gap 19-10. The bonus point followed as Mark Galvin went over but the effort from Caves was missed. A fifth try added the cherry on top for Malone Nathan Brown going over and Caves added the extras. Neil Filpatrick struck a late try in consolation for the hosts.
Navan (2T) 10-17 UL Bohemian (3T), Balreask Old
UL Bohemian moved to third in the standings as Joe Johnston’s late try gave the visitors a big four points in their promotion push.
Darragh O’Gorman gave UL the lead who had the breeze to their backs in that opening half, Harry Byrne on a bad afternoon for kickers saw the conversion missed with the lead remaining at five after ten minutes. Liam McAree struck a try for Navan shy of the interval and as it looked like Rory Gordon gave the hosts the lead with the conversion, the wind blew the ball back backwards and the score remained 5-5 at the break.
With 11 minutes elapsed in the second half Navan powered over for a second try Peter McEntaggart finding space in the corner but the conversion was wide. From the restart that followed UL Bohs were in again. A move started by their forwards finished by O’Gorman to level the game with a second try. Johnston sealed the win and his pace saw the winger win the foot race to dot down a loose ball inside the goal area. Byrne struck the conversion and Navan had to settle for a losing bonus point.
Nenagh Ormond (6T) 38-5 Greystones (1T), New Ormond Park
With their eight consecutive win of the year, Nenagh Ormond remained in pole position in 2A as they powered home to a win over Greystones.
Tries from John Healy, Conor McMahon, Joe Coffey, Paddy Scully and Nicky Irwin with four converted by McMahon gave the hosts a 33-0 lead going to the break. The leaders face Cashel in the final round and this was a much needed performance to remain composed for that local derby.
Scully added his second try in the second half that went unconverted, Killina Marmion crossed late on for the visitors. They remain sixth despite the heavy defeat.
Old Crescent (0T) 6-20 Cashel (3T), Takumi Park
Cashel with a strong second half comeback took Munster Derby day bragging rights on Shannonside.
Crescent had the lead early and controlled the opening half on the scoring front as two Ronan McKenna penalties put them 6-0 to the good. Ben Twomey struck a penalty before the whistle sounded for the break to leave just three between the teams.
Cashel would find their from in the second half, Jack Evenden, Brendan Ryan and Kieran Ryan all crossed for tries to secure the points in a hard earned win for the Tipp men, Twomey adding a conversion also on a tough afternoon for kicking.
More Info on Division 2A 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.