AIL Roundup: Men’s Semi-Finals

A weekend of dramatic semi-final action, saw Clontarf and Cork Con advance to the Division 1A Final, while elsewhere, City Of Armagh were relegated to 1B. The Play-Off Finals will be sure to be filled with drama as some fight to stay up, others to move up.

AIL Division 1A- Semi Finals:

St Mary’s College 8-16 Cork Con, Templeville Road

Holders Cork Constitution ground out a gritty away win against St. Mary’s College in a bruising, low-scoring affair at Templeville Road, to book their place in Sunday’s Final.

It was the home side who struck first through Ethan Baxter, who powered over in the eighth minute to give St. Mary’s an early 5–0 lead. Cork Con responded with a James Taylor penalty just before halftime to keep themselves in touch, with the scoreline reading 5–3 at the break.

The second half saw Cork Con take control through the boot of Taylor and a key try from David Hyland, who crossed in the 54th minute. Taylor slotted the conversion and followed up with two more penalties in the 63rd and 79th minutes, stretching their advantage.

St. Mary’s attempted to rally with a Conor Hayes penalty in the 67th minute, but they couldn’t breach the Cork defence again, as the visitors closed the game out professionally.

Clontarf 17-15 Lansdowne, Castle Avenue

Clontarf edged out Lansdowne in a tightly contested All-Ireland League clash at Castle Avenue, holding onto a narrow halftime lead in a match that saw all the scoring packed into the first 40 minutes.

Lansdowne were first on the board through Ruairi Clarke in the 15th minute, with Charlie Tector pulling the strings and adding the extras after his own try in the 31st minute. Tector also slotted a penalty in the 37th minute, bringing Lansdowne’s tally to 15.

Clontarf responded impressively with two well-worked tries. Sam Owens crossed in the 21st minute before Ben Griffin went over just before the break. Conor Kelly was perfect from the tee, converting both tries and adding a penalty of his own in the 37th minute to edge ‘Tarf ahead by two points at halftime.

The second half proved a tense, defensive battle with no addition to the scoreboard. Clontarf’s game management and physicality at the breakdown frustrated Lansdowne, who couldn’t break through despite late pressure.

AIL Division 1A Promotion Playoff:

City Of Armagh 10-17 UCC, Palace Grounds

UCC booked their place in the 1A Play-Off Final, after holding off a spirited second half fightback from City Of Armagh. The Ulster side suffered the drop to 1B as a result.

UCC wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Daniel Squires crossed in the eighth minute and converted his own try. City of Armagh responded with a try from James McCormick on 15 minutes, converted by Rocky Olsen, but were unable to build on it further before the break.

The students increased their advantage on the half-hour mark through Gene O’Leary Kareem, with Squires again adding the extras to make it 14-7, a lead they held to the break. The second period saw momentum swing slightly toward the home side. 

A Rocky Olsen penalty on 49 minutes narrowed the gap to 14-10, putting Armagh within a score. But Squires answered with a clutch penalty in the 74th minute to restore a seven point cushion for UCC. City of Armagh pressed hard late on, but UCC’s defence held firm to secure a valuable win on the road to keep their promotion hopes alive. 

Nenagh Ormond 25-17 Blackrock College, New Ormond Park

In their debut season in 1B, Nenagh will contest a play-off decider to move up to the top table next season, as Conor McMahon’s dynamic input fired them to victory. 

Blackrock started strongly with a try from David McCarthy in the 11th minute, converted by Conor O’Shaughnessy to open up a 7-3 lead on the road. Nenagh had gotten on the board with a Conor McMahon penalty in the fifth minute. A quick burst of scores saw both sides hit the try line before the break.

Matthew Dwan added a second try for the visitors just before halftime converted by O’Shaughnessy, but Nenagh stayed in it thanks to scores from McMahon and Mikey Doran. McMahon converted Doran’s effort to keep the hosts within two points at the break, 17-15.

Nenagh took control after the restart. Willie Coffey’s try on 49 minutes, converted by McMahon, edged them ahead. A late McMahon penalty on 70 minutes provided the cushion they needed, as the home side kept Blackrock scoreless in the second half through resolute defence.

AIL Division 1B Promotion Playoff

Dublin University 20-18 Greystones, College Park

Trinity held their nerve in a tense second half to keep their hopes of preserving a spot in 1B alive, as a late Stephen Woods try converted by Matthew Lynch saw them past Greystones.

It was a closely fought opening to the tie played in wet conditions, but the home side started with intent, gradually building pressure and taking the lead through a Matthew Lynch penalty in the 32nd minute. Moments later, Callum O’Reilly crossed for a try, which Lynch converted to give Trinity a 10-0 cushion. Greystones responded on the stroke of halftime with a David Baker penalty, cutting the deficit to 10-3 at the break.

Lynch struck again early in the second half with another penalty, pushing the Dubliners further ahead. But Greystones roared back with a flurry of tries. Reeve Satherley opened their account in the 53rd minute, followed by a quick-fire brace from Ferdia Kenny on 64 and 67 minutes, flipping the scoreboard in their favour, 18-13.

However, Trinity were not done. With the game hanging in the balance, Stephen Woods powered over for a crucial try in the 75th minute, converted expertly by Lynch to restore a narrow lead, one they held until the final whistle.

Cashel 26-14 MU Barnhall, Spafield

A powerful opening half performance led the way for Cashel to get revenge from 12 months ago, as they booked their place in the 1B Promotion Final with a clinical showing in Spafield.

Cashel came out firing, with Ben Twomey slotting two penalties to give them an early cushion. The home side’s pressure soon translated into a try, with Alan Flannery crossing in the 11th minute, converted by Twomey for a 13-0 lead. The Full-Back continued his form with two more penalties to give Cashel a healthy half time margin.

MU Barnhall responded with more attacking intent after the interval. Conor Duggan crossed for their opening try in the 55th minute, converted by Adam Chester. Cashel responded almost immediately through Joseph Callery, again converted by Twomey, extending their advantage to 26-7.

Barnhall grabbed a late consolation try via Abdul Olaosebikan in the closing stages, with Chester adding the extras, but it was too little, too late as Cashel closed out a composed and deserved win.

AIL Division 2A Promotion Playoff

Navan 29-19 Galwegians, Balreask Old

It will go down to a Play-Off Final to see if Navan can retain their 2A status, tries from Shane Walshe and Harry Watters helped them to a big win on home soil.

Navan got off to a dream start when Mark Farrell crossed the line in the fifth minute, converted by Watters. Galwegians responded quickly with a try from Darragh Kennedy, and then Jack Winters dotted down in the 18th minute to put the visitors in front.

Ryan Roche added the extras for a 12–7 Galwegians lead, but Navan clawed their way back with a Farrell penalty on 30 minutes and a well-taken try from Harry Watters just before halftime. Farrell converted to send the hosts into the break with a 17–12 lead.

Galwegians regained their lead early in the second half with Winters grabbing his second try, again converted by Roche, but Navan had the stronger finish.

Shane Walshe scored in the 71st minute, followed just four minutes later by Watters’ second try of the day, sealing a crucial victory. Farrell converted both, securing a 10-point cushion that Galwegians couldn’t overcome in those closing stages, 

Dungannon 23-22 Clogher Valley,  Stevenson Park

In a match full of momentum swings, Ben McCaughey held his nerve to slot a decisive penalty in the dying moments, putting Dungannon within 80 minutes of promotion to 2A.

Clogher Valley were the first to strike with an early try from Taine Haire in the third minute. Dungannon responded through the boot of McCaughey, who slotted penalties in the 25th and 40th minutes to keep the hosts in touch. A David Maxwell penalty on 29 minutes helped Valley take a narrow 8–6 lead into the break.

The visitors surged ahead early in the second half, with back-to-back tries from Ewan Haire and Matthew Bothwell, both converted by Maxwell, stretching their lead to 22-6. But Dungannon were far from done. Adam Milligan powered over in the 61st minute, followed by a crucial try from Toby Gribben on 71 minutes, both converted by the flawless McCaughey, leaving two between the teams.

Then came the decisive moment: with the clock ticking into the final minute, Dungannon earned a penalty, and McCaughey coolly slotted it to complete a remarkable comeback, as they travel to Navan next Saturday, looking to banish the memories of 2023.

AIL Division 2B Promotion Playoff

Skerries 27-10 Ballyclare, Holmpatrick

A composed performance by Skerries has kept their hopes of retaining their 2B status, as they were clinical against a spirited Ballyclare side. 

The hosts got off to a flying start when Tim Deering crossed the line in just the third minute, setting the tone for the day. Ballyclare responded with a Matthew McDowell penalty in the seventh minute, but Ronan Mulcahy replied with one of his own midway through the half to restore the advantage.

Darragh McEneaney added to Skerries’ tally with a well-finished try in the 34th minute, converted by Mulcahy. Ballyclare answered back with a strong finish to the half, as Peter Gillespie touched down in the 37th minute and McDowell added the extras to make it 15-10 at the break.

The second half was all Skerries. Deering notched his second try of the match in the 65th minute, extending the lead. Ballyclare fought hard but struggled to break down the home defence.

Peter O’Neill sealed the win with a late try in the 77th minute, converted again by Mulcahy to cap off a solid all-round performance by the hosts.

Midleton 18-17 Dolphin, Towns Park

A last-gasp penalty from Conall Doyle, saw Midleton snatch a dramatic one point victory over Dolphin in a tense all Cork encounter at Towns Park.

Midleton came flying out of the blocks with early tries from Kyle Read in the fifth minute and JB Du Toit just under ten minutes later, as they capitalised on Dolphin’s sluggish start. Conall Doyle added a conversion to make it 12-0.

Dolphin eventually found their rhythm, and Brian O’Mahony got them on the board with a try in the 37th minute, but the conversion was missed, leaving the halftime score at 12-5.

The visitors struck quickly after the break with Dalton O’Shaughnessy crossing in the 46th minute. Midleton responded through a Doyle penalty to cancel that out for a 15-10 advantage.

Dolphin then looked to have turned the game on its head when John Fitzgerald touched down in the 68th minute, and Jordan Soli converted to give them a 17-15 lead heading into the dying minutes.

But with the game deep into added time, Midleton earned a crucial penalty. Up stepped Doyle, holding his nerve in the 86th minute to split the posts and seal an 18-17 victory in dramatic fashion.