Instonians marched on with their 13th straight win of the campaign, Galway Corinthians suffered their third defeat of the season against Skerries, a win that moved the Goats to sixth to ease their worries at the foot of the table.
Dungannon (2T) 20-26 Instonians (4T), Stevenson Park
It was a nervy finish to proceedings in Stevenson Park, Instonians hanging in there to keep their record breaking win record alive.
Ben McCaughey gave the hosts an early lead from a penalty, Instonians were attacking ferociously and would cross through Bevan Prinsloo, Ritchie McMaster converting for a 7-3 lead.
McCaughey replied almost immediately from another penalty, however shy of the break David Whitten crossed and McMaster converted as the visitors were 14-6 up the good at the interval.
Gannon came out strong early in the second half, Alan Whitten went to the bin and with their discipline an issue the hosts had plenty of possession. They turned possession into a spellbinding attack minutes later as a gap in the defence allowed Gannon to run half the field as Alex Kennedy dotted down, McCaughey converting. 14-13.
Stones used their driving maul to great effect and as they charged for the line, they were awarded a penalty try as Adam Milligan was also shown a slice of cheddar in the contest. The bonus point arrived by way of Bradley McNamara crossing the whitewash in the corner, the conversion missed Instonians ahead 26-13.
Gannon fought back until the very end, Milligan would cross late on and another two from McCaughey cut the deficit. Stones had a nervy finish to the game but the train continues to go full steam toward the 2B title.
Galway Corinthians (3T) 24-25 Skerries (3T), Creggs RFC
A try in the last minute of play by Taidgh Keane Boylan gave Skerries a sensational late comeback win to overcome Galway Corinthians.
Skerries did take the lead early in the contest, Davy Goodman crossing after ten minutes Ronan Mulcahy with the extras. Corinthians replied with Adam Nash crossing and Dylan Keane levelled matters with the conversion.
Mulcahy soon restored the Skerries lead with a penalty, Corinthians reply was swift and precise as Finn McNulty powered over for their second try, Keane making it 14-10 from the tee. Skerries would lead at the break, Dara Lowndes with the try and Mulcahy made it 17-14 with another accurate strike from the tee.
John Devine started the second half in emphatic fashion for the hosts as his unconverted try restored the Tribesmen’s lead. Mulcahy again kicked Skerries into the lead, but in an end to end second half, Devine crossed again for a 24-20 lead. It would be the Goats who prevailed with that late try, up to sixth now in the table, they may not need Steve McQueen to star in their great escape from the relegation battle.
Rainey RFC (4T) 27-13 Belfast Harlequins (1T), Hatrick Park
Rainey were triumphant in the Ulster derby in Hatrick Park, the pursuit still ongoing to chase fourth spot.
Quinns battled well but a red card and four yellows saw their discipline hinder their chances in taking points in this one. Charlie Beatie kicked two early penalties to give them a lead but Rainey would soon control the tempo. Tries from Damian McMurray and Lorcan Quinn converted by Scott McLean saw the hosts lead 14-6 at the interval.
Into the second half it was more of the same from Rainey, McLean added three more points from the tee, while tries from Michael McCusker and Joel Bell wrapped up the bonus point and the contest. Quins did grab a late consolation try Joel Dundas conceded by Beattie.
Sligo (3T) 23-0 Dolphin (0T), Hamilton Park
Sligo were in emphatic form as they kept Dolphin scoreless and are nine points clear in fourth spot.
It was a tight game in the opening half, taking half an hour to register the opening score of the contest, Julian Leszczynski with a penalty which proved the only score of the opening half.
Sligo found the breakthrough early in the second half, Ryan Feehily with a cross field kick taken by Philip Carter on the wing, he offloaded inside to Ethan Faitaua to score the opening try, the conversion missed on this occasion.
Leszczynski would be successful with the next attempt at the posts, a penalty moving Sligo 11-0 ahead. The hosts would finish the game in style Ben Hynes powered his way over for their second try converted by Leszczynski.
Dolphin were reduced to 13 men with yellow cards being dished out, with the numerical advantage Sligo pounced for a third try as Finn Bamber crossed the whitewash in the corner, Leszczynski converting from a difficult angle.
Wanderers (6T) 45-21 Malahide (3T), Merrion Road
Wanderers took the spoils in the Dublin derby in Merrion Road, a six try [performance seeing them leave 24 point winners.
The Chaps very much dictated the play in the early exchanges, Aaron O’Callaghan, Geoff Mullan and Conor O’Brien all crossing for tries converted by David Fitzgibbon to race into a 21-0 lead. Lee Byrne got Malahide on the board with a try and the conversion by Justin Leonard cut the gap down to 14. O’Callaghan would grab his second try just shy of the interval and with Fitzgibbon on the money again the bonus point was secured and the hosts were 28-7 up at the interval.
Fitzgibbon kicked a penalty to start the second half in continued dominant fashion, Martin O’Neill soon added try number five which again Fitzgibbon converted. Leonard would cross and convert the second Malahide try, they were unable to match the output from the hosts and Popoai Finau soon added their sixth and Fitzgibbon made sure his conversion attempt off the day remained a successful strike. Marc Kelly did add a late consolation try for the visitors, Leonard adding the bonus two.
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.