Galway Corinthians reduced Greystones lead at the top of 2B to three points, while Rainey Old Boys put in a strong showing to increase their hopes of a top four finish.
Belfast Harlequins 36-45 Galway Corinthians, Deramore Park
Galway Corinthians made it a three point gap between them and Greystones after edging a dramatic high scoring tie with Belfast Harlequins, with both teams picking up bonus point wins.
Harlequins opened the scoring with a converted try but Joe Gannon replied to level matters minutes later, Matthew Devine got over for the second Corinthians try, this one unconverted to give them the lead but again the Belfast side stayed with them and levelled again with their second try.
Tom Waters got the third try for the Tribesmen but just as it looked like they would take the lead to the break Harlequins got over again in a frantic opening half the scores tied 19-19 at the interval.
The visitors got their bonus point not long after the restart as Adam Madden crossed and the conversion moved them 26-19 ahead, however the hosts battled back and two unconverted tries not only had them a bonus point secured but the second try also brought the lead.
Finn McNulty was the next to cross for Corinthians as his try put them back ahead by just two points as the conversion missed the mark to extend the lead further, Logan Allen used that momentum to get their next score as the fly-half crossed and converted his own try for a 38-29 lead.
The hosts replied again and added a full seven to male ot a three point game in the latter stages, the visitors however dug deep and Mark Boyle the number 8 got over for the insurance score, with Allen converting the took a valuable five points.
Rainey Old Boys 26-20 Enniscorthy, Saturday February 11th, Hatrick Park, 12:30pm
Rainey Old Boys moved up the third spot having defeated a spirited Enniscorthy this weekend taking the full five points from the tie.
The hosts had the ideal start as their maul off their storing lineout powered over for a try, while Jamie Barron found himself going to the bin for the Wexford natives. Nick Doyle replied with a try having sprinted down the wing to get over but the hosts still had a two point margin.
That lead was quickly overturned as MJ Doyle got their second try with this one being converted to give them a seven point lead, while Rainey also had a man in the bin just beforehand. However the strong maul of the hosts got them over again for a second try for a 14-12 lead at the break.
Scorthy notched a three pointer from a penalty to move a point ahead before again the Rainey maul showed no signs of stopping to get their third converted try of the contest, Ben Kidd made it a one point game after getting the third try for the visitors to cut the deficit but Rainey late on secured their bonus point and with it dashed Enniscorthy’s hopes of putting pressure on at the end of the table.
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.