Instonians kept their fine form alive to remain top of 2B, no changes to the top four, a resurgent Rainey Old Boys made up ground to fifth spot after consecutive wins.
Belfast Harlequins (1T) 7-29 Rainey Old Boys (5T), Deramore Park
After a recent turnaround Rainey sit three points outside the play-offs after scoring another win of the campaign with a strong result over Belfast Harlequins.
Tries from Tommy O’Hagan and Mark Lee converted by Scott McLean gave Rainey a 14-7 lead at the break as Ben Power sniped over for the hosts with the ever reliable Charlie Beattie converting.
Rainey took control in the second half, securing their bonus point with Moli Faiva, Cormac Devlin and Ethan Canavan all going over for tries. McLean kicked one from three in the second half as Rainey are certainly resurgent in these last two weeks.
Dolphin (4T) 25-24 Sligo (4T), Musgrave Park
A late try was enough to give Dolphin the win over Sligo but not enough to take the Cork outfit off the bottom of the standings.
Sligo did start the better of the sides and took the lead after ten minutes, following a yellow card to the hosts for repeated infringement, Finn Bamber got over and Euan Brown added the extras. Daryl Foley cut the gap with a penalty after 25 minutes, Cillian Ansboro gave the hosts the lead shy of the break with their opening try, Foley leaving three between them. Sligo did end the half in style with late tries from Archie MacLean and Matthew Earley leaving the score 17-10 at the break.
Playing into a stiff wind did not phase Foley early in the second half as he struck a penalty to cut the gap to four. Alex Pope would later intercept a Sligo move and cross the whitewash to swing the momentum back in Dolphin’s favour, 20-17 after Foley remained composed despite the elements. Gal Goddard crossed for the bonus point for Sligo minutes later and with Brown making it a four point lead it looked to be over. Dolphin would get the deciding score minutes later a pulsating finish in Musgrave Park.
Instonians (5T) 35-7 (1T) Dungannon, Shaws Bridge
Instonians unbeaten run in the AIL continued with a dominant showing over their fellow Ulster faithful Dungannon.
Despite what the scoreboard might suggest, the large spells of the opening half were hard fought between the teams with very little to separate them. It took 24 minutes for the opening score to arrive as Oli Clarke dotted down at the back of a driving maul. Ritchie McMaster converting. Bradley McNamara aided the hosts to double their lead after the half hour mark with McMaster adding the conversion. Gary Dillon added a third before the break, dotting under the posts for a 21-0 lead at the break with McMaster adding the conversion.
Into the second stanza the bonus point arrived through McNamara getting his second of the afternoon crossing under the posts. As a contest with the score 28-0 it looked all but over and when Instonians added a fifth, it was points ensured as we drifted into the later stages of the half. McNamara with a delicate chip over the Dungannon defence and his pace sped him down the channel to gather and slide over for the final and final try, completing his hat trick. McMaster on the wrong side of the field for a left footed taker sent the conversion over from the touchline. Dungannon grabbed a late consolation score via a penalty try.
Malahide (2T) 20-30 Wanderers (4T), Estuary Road
Malahide dropped to eight in the standings as Wanderers proved a test too much for the hosts in the end.
A fourth loss now of the campaign for Malahide as they tumbled down the standings following consecutive defeats. Signs look good however for the Chaps sitting third following another solid outing of this campaign.
Skerries (0T) 3-40 Galway Corinthians (6T), Holmpatrick
Galway Corinthians remain on the winning path following a strong showing away from home at the weekend, putting them four behind the leaders Instonians.
Mark Doyle gave Corinthians the lead with the game’s opening try before Sean Naughton added the conversion. Ronan Mulcahy cut the gap to four but soon after the Galway side took control. Ruan Janse van Rensburg and Matthew Devine both crossed for tries with Naughton converting both for a 21-3 lead at the break.
Second half tries from Naughton and a brace from Eoin De Buitlear either side of Naughton’s try capped off another dominant outing from the Galway side. Naughton added two further conversions in the bonus point result.
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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.