Cork Constitution ended a wait since 2019 to take home Division 1A silverware, down to 14 men at the finish and for a time 12 men was all they had, James Taylor was a big catalyst scoring 18 points.

The Dublin dominance of 1A is over. Cork Con who have endured some painful years since the 2019 win have gotten their reward for a stellar season in a cracking final against Terenure. 

Jonny Holland’s men dug deep and when they had it cut out with limited numbers they kept that defence strong and when Taylor had a shot at the posts he ensured they had points. Terenure’s reign is over but they gave it everything.

Cork Con started brighter and won a penalty on the Nure 10m line they kicked for the corner. The lineout maul superb and the phase ended with Rob Hedderman driving over for the opening try. James Taylor landed the conversion for an early 7-0 lead.

Nure had possession but could not grab a score immediately in response. Shy of the 20th minute Taylor struck a penalty from near halfway to silence the noisy Nure section and put the Cork side ahead 10-0.

Then the game changed. Con down to 14 men as John Forde was shown a straight red card for a high tackle that looked like the elbow being used. Aran Egan landed a penalty minutes later as Nure looked to build on that numerical advantage. 

Well that was until Con grabbed their second try. Another penalty kicked to the corner and another incredible lineout maul resulted in Billy Scannell crossing on the half hour mark and Taylor added the extras. 

Terenure in the final ten minutes did grab their opening try when Jordan Coughlan crossed the whitewash and Egan reduced the arrears to seven points. Niall Kenneally was sent to the bin late in the opening half but Con held up Nure from scoring a try late on to lead 17-10 at the interval.

Into the second half an early doors saw Con down to 12 players when Sean Duffy was shown a yellow card. Nure would grab their opening score of the half a minute later as Egan dotted down, the conversion to level just missed the target.

Two further Taylor penalties helped Con move 23-15 clear. Terenure, who had the massive numerical advantage added a third try when Adam LaGrue raced clear and crossed the whitewash Egan converting for a one point game. Terenure almost added a second in a flash, Egan sped clear soon after the restart having spotted a gap and offloaded to Conor Phillips on the left wing, he put on the afterburners but was held up in the crossing.

Down at the other end Taylor struck his fourth penalty and Con moved four points clear just after the hour mark. When Nure came knocking on the door shy of the 70th minute mark Con soaked up the pressure and won a crucial turnover when it looked like the Dubliners were about to pounce. 

And turning defence into attack Taylor fired a penalty to touch and minutes later substitute Danny Sheahan powered over from close range and Taylor slotted the conversion for a 33-22 lead.