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Con captain Aidan Moynihan (file pic). Ben Brady/INPHO
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Con continue to build momentum, Terenure build four-point lead atop Division 1A

Young Munster, meanwhile, inflicted a first defeat of the season on champions Clontarf.

CORK CON CAPTAIN Aidan Moynihan showed his class with a 16-point haul in their 36-25 win over Lansdowne in Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A.

After a testing start to the season, Jonny Holland’s Cork Con have strung together four victories on the trot. A third of the way into the campaign, they are fourth in the table, a full nine points clear of their nearest rivals.

Lansdowne, on the other hand, are struggling for results despite being competitive for long spells. Their fifth defeat in six games has them eighth overall, although they did pick up a try-scoring bonus point at Temple Hill.

Mark McHugh’s men were only 19-15 behind at half-time, but came under immediate pressure from an eager Con outfit with former skipper Niall Kenneally and George Coomber linking up well to spark a pacy counter attack.

Michael Silvester had to put in an early try-saving tackle on Daniel Hurley, with Con continuing to force the issue until Moynihan opened the scoring on the 10-minute mark.

A scrum penalty and a strong series of pick-and-drives got them into range, and Hurley was crowded out before Moynihan brilliantly squeezed over in the right corner past Sean Galvin and Silvester. He then tucked away the touchline conversion.

Barely two minutes later, Lansdowne winger Peter Sullivan intercepted a loose pass to send Sean Galvin darting down the left touchline and he fed Silvester to score despite Coomber’s scrambling tackle.

Peter Hastie landed a well-struck conversion and added a 18th-minute penalty to give the visitors a 10-7 lead. A Connor O’Sullivan turnover, allied to a subsequent penalty, saw Lansdowne’s defence hold firm as Con tried to respond.

The Leesiders regained the lead on the half-hour mark, lifting the tempo in attack with Kenneally’s nicely-delayed pass releasing Billy Crowley up into the Lansdowne 22. Jack Kelleher then broke a tackle from Tadgh McElroy to raid over from 15 metres out.

After Hastie missed a central penalty, the sides swapped late tries with Donegal man Conor McMenamin muscling over for Lansdowne, and then Con replacement Luke Kerr charging down a Jack Matthews kick to score in the left corner.

Moynihan’s conversion gave the hosts a four-point buffer, yet Lansdowne made sure they had the better of the third quarter as they edged their way back in front in the 50th minute.

A defence-slashing break involving Galvin and Cillian Redmond was the highlight before number eight Darragh Murphy burrowed over from a metre out. It was 20-19 until a crisp long-range penalty from Moynihan in the 57th minute.

Lansdowne replacement James Doyle sent a penalty wide from distance following good work from the visitors’ scrum. The Con set piece then gained the upper hand to give them crucial field position entering the final quarter of an hour.

Kenneally carried strongly in the 70th minute, bringing his side back to the edge of the Lansdowne 22. Moynihan managed to put Andrew Treacy through a gap and he had replacement Alessandro Heaney up on his shoulder to slide over beside the posts.

Moynihan converted the bonus-point score to make it 29-20 and Con sealed the result just three minutes later, their captain adding the extras to full-back Coomber’s 40-metre run-in for the try of the day.

Playing with a penalty advantage, long passes from Kerr, Moynihan and Bruce Matthews released replacement Mark Stafford into space. He drew in a defender and put Coomber haring clear of his chasers for a smashing score that suddenly made it a 16-point margin.

Credit to Lansdowne, they regrouped quickly and made sure they took something out of the game. Murphy threatened from his own quick tap and kick through, hounding Eoin Quilter into a loose kick and the visitors worked the ball wide for Galvin to dot down.

aidan-moynihan-takes-a-kick Aidan Moynihan takes a kick (file pic). Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Meanwhile, Dublin University bounced back from last week’s late heartbreak at Clontarf to triumph 34-28 over a battling Shannon side.

Trinity were quickest out of the traps at College Park, captain Louis O’Reilly finishing off a breathless break involving James Dillon for an opening 11th-minute try.

The students began the second quarter with a second converted score, Harry Sheridan to the fore before number 8 Diarmuid McCormack expertly spun out of a tackle to score under the posts.

Shannon’s impressive maul, which did so much damage against Garryowen, worked them back into contention from 17-0 down. Munster Academy scrum-half Ethan Coughlan’s sumptuous offload was turned into a try by the pacy Aran Hehir.

Mike Cooke’s conversion was cancelled out by an Aran Egan penalty, but Killian Dineen tidied up a late cross-field kick to unleash Dan Hurley for a smashing finish from 45 metres out, cutting the gap to 20-14.

However, Shannon flanker Odhran Ring saw yellow for a shoulder-led tackle early in the second half, and Trinity hooker Mark Nicholson powered over from a maul. Egan’s boot made it 27-14.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, the students effectively wrapped up the result. Nice hands from Egan sent Gavin Jones breaking through the middle and he put the supporting Louis McDonough over just to the right of the posts.

Nonetheless, Shannon deserve huge credit for how they finished the game. They took home two hard-earned bonus points thanks to late scores from replacement Alan Flannery and former captain Lee Nicholas.

Coughlan supplied another assist, his inviting pass releasing Flannery to score from close range, and it was a break from his half-back partner Cooke which gave them the momentum for Nicholas to burrow over right at the death.

Young Munster, meanwhile, recovered from an early 13-point deficit to hand defending champions Clontarf their first defeat of the season.

A superb solo try from replacement Pa Ryan, coupled with a pick-and-drive effort from Dan Walsh, delivered a hard-fought 24-16 victory for the Cookies.

Gearoid Prendergast’s men recovered from an early Cian O’Donoghue try to trim the gap back to 16-10 by half-time.

Out-half Conor Kelly kicked Clontarf’s other points at Greenfields, but a crucial defensive stand from Munsters early in the second period spurred them on to claim a famous result.

Securing their sixth straight bonus-point win, Terenure College now have a four-point lead at the top of the table after beating Ballynahinch 38-21 at Lakelands Park.

An early penalty miss from Caolan Dooley mattered little as Terenure were soon into their try-scoring stride. Flanker Luke Clohessy crossed from a bulldozing lineout maul in the seventh minute.

They swiftly added a second one, captain and player-of-the-match Harrison Brewer offloading out of a tackle for fellow lock Matthew Caffrey to rampage over from outside of the ‘Hinch 22.

He shrugged off Ethan Graham’s attempted tackle to score out wide on the right, with centre Dooley converting for a 12-0 lead. Just as the visitors were making some headway, they were stung by their former back rower Conall Boomer in the 17th minute.

‘Nure number 8 Boomer won a turnover penalty and took it quickly to dart back into the ‘Hinch half. He put boot to ball as he was tackled, his kick just evading the grasp of George Pringle and it bounced up for Alan Bennie to collect at the second attempt and touch down.

Adam Craig’s charges hit back through a well-executed lineout maul, which drove hooker Claytan Milligan over from 10 metres out. A break from centre Pringle and a quickly-taken penalty from Conor McAuley had gobbled up the metres before that.

The conversion from Greg Hutley closed the gap to 19-7 for half-time, ‘Hinch going close to adding to their tally when a Mark Best cross-field kick just had too much on it for Aaron Cairns, and Tom Martin was also stopped short of the line.

Their defensive work offered further encouragement as they stalled a ‘Nure maul and then skipper Tom Donnan and Best combined to win a turnover when holding up Dooley inside the ‘Hinch 22.

Nonetheless, ‘Nure got the scoreboard moving again in the 50th minute when nice hands from Brewer and Callum Smith released Colm de Buitléar to bag the bonus point try despite a tackle from his opposite number Pringle. Adam La Grue converted.

A well-taken Sean McNulty maul try extended the lead to 31-7, but ‘Hinch continued to press for scores at the other end, a Jamie Macartney break going unrewarded and a costly offside decision against replacement Kyle Gill robbing them of a maul opportunity.

There was no stopping the speedy Pringle in the 68th minute, though, as he nipped over in the left corner just ahead of La Grue. ‘Hinch had countered from a kick and a slick one-handed offload from Best opened the way for Cairns to dart through and supply the scoring pass.

Hutley’s conversion made it a 17-point deficit, but when Craig Adams collected replacement Henry McErlean’s well-placed restart, ‘Nure were back on the front foot. Foul play at a ruck landed ‘Hinch replacement Chris Gibson in the sin bin.

The home side took a familiar route to the try-line, a powerful lineout drive delivering a second try for McNulty, which McErlean converted. Cairns, who stepped in at scrum half for ‘Hinch, had the final say when slaloming clean through from a ruck.

harrison-brewer-mick-melia-and-adam-melia-celebrate-a-turnover 'Nure's Harrison Brewer, Mick Melia and Adam Melia. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO

Down at Dooradoyle, brothers Alex and Dylan O’Grady scored three tries between them as UCD opened their win account. They outscored Garryowen by seven tries to three in a 47-22 bonus-point success.

DIVISION 1A:

CORK CONSTITUTION 36 LANSDOWNE 25, Temple Hill

  • Scorers: Cork Constitution: Tries: Aidan Moynihan, George Coomber, Luke Kerr, Alessandro Heaney, Jack Kelleher; Cons: Aidan Moynihan 4; Pen: Aidan Moynihan
  • Lansdowne: Tries: Conor McMenamin, Michael Silvester, Darragh Murphy, Sean Galvin; Con: Peter Hastie; Pen: Peter Hastie

HT: Cork Constitution 19 Lansdowne 15

CORK CONSTITUTION: George Coomber; Daniel Hurley, Greg Higgins, Niall Kenneally, Billy Crowley; Aidan Moynihan (capt), Louis Kahn; Brendan Quinlan, Billy Scannell, Luke Masters, Andrew Treacy, Eoin Quilter, Jack Kelleher, James Murphy, David Hyland.

Replacements: Tadhg McCarthy, Alessandro Heaney, Anthony Ryan, Mark Stafford, Luke Kerr, Bruce Matthews.

LANSDOWNE: Michael Silvester; Peter Sullivan, Cillian Redmond, Connor O’Sullivan, Sean Galvin; Peter Hastie, Jack Matthews; Ben Popplewell, Tadgh McElroy, Temi Lasisi, Conor McMenamin, Arthur Greene, Clive Ross (capt), Joey Szpara, Darragh Murphy.

Replacements: Jamie Kavanagh, Conan Dunne, Dan Murphy, James Doyle, Mike Walsh, Conall Doherty.

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 34 SHANNON 28, College Park

  • Scorers: Dublin University: Tries: Louis O’Reilly, Diarmuid McCormack, Mark Nicholson, Louis McDonough; Cons: Aran Egan 4; Pens: Aran Egan 2
  • Shannon: Tries: Aran Hehir, Dan Hurley, Alan Flannery, Lee Nicholas; Cons: Mike Cooke 4

HT: Dublin University 20 Shannon 14

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Colm Hogan; James Dillon, Louis McDonough, Gavin Jones, Liam McMahon; Aran Egan, Louis O’Reilly (capt); Bart Vermeulen, Mark Nicholson, Paddy McCarthy, Harry Sheridan, Max Dunne, Anthony Ryan, Aaron Coleman, Diarmuid McCormack.

Replacements: Matthew Victory, Jerry Cahir, Stephen Woods, Dan Barron, Cormac King, Hugh O’Kennedy, Dylan Ryan, Sam Berman.

SHANNON: Jamie McGarry; Aran Hehir, Killian Dineen, Jack O’Donnell, Dan Hurley; Mike Cooke, Ethan Coughlan; Kieran Ryan, Jordan Prenderville, Darragh McSweeney, Ronan Coffey (capt), Sean McCarthy, Odhran Ring, Kelvin Brown, Lee Nicholas.

Replacements: Alex Long, Cathal Hynes, David Maher, Jade Kriel, John O’Sullivan, Alan Flannery.

GARRYOWEN 22 UCD 47, Dooradoyle

  • Scorers: Garryowen: Tries: JJ O’Neill 2, Nick Greene; Cons: Jack Oliver 2; Pen: Jack Oliver
  • UCD: Tries: Dylan O’Grady, James Tarrant, Emmet Burns, Alex O’Grady 2, Gus McCarthy, Ross Deegan; Cons: Tim Corkery 6

HT: Garryowen 19 UCD 28

GARRYOWEN: Jamie Shanahan; Henry Buttimer, Matt Sheehan, JJ O’Neill, Tommy O’Hora; Jack Delaney, Jack Oliver; Michael Veale, Max Clein, Darragh McCarthy, Des Fitzgerald, Scott Leahy, Sean Rennison (capt), Nick Greene, Brian Gleeson.

Replacements: Dean Fanning, Ben O’Sullivan, Rhys O’Malley, Evan Maher, Ed Barry, Mikey Sheahan.

UCD: Niall Carroll; Alex O’Grady, Harry Donnelly, James Tarrant, Dylan O’Grady; Tim Corkery, Michael Moloney; Emmet Burns, Gus McCarthy, Evin Coyle, Gerry Hill, Joe Cronin, Bobby Sheehan (capt), Bill Burns, Mark Fleming.

Replacements: Ryan McMahon, Chris Hennessy, Tom Coghlan, Simon Burke, Rob Gilsenan, Ross Deegan.

TERENURE COLLEGE 38 BALLYNAHINCH 21, Lakelands Park

  • Scorers: Terenure College: Tries: Alan Bennie, Matthew Caffrey, Luke Clohessy, Colm de Buitléar, Sean McNulty 2; Cons: Caolan Dooley 2, Adam La Grue, Henry McErlean
  • Ballynahinch: Tries: Claytan Milligan, George Pringle, Aaron Cairns; Cons: Greg Hutley 3

HT: Terenure College 19 Ballynahinch 7

TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam La Grue; Stephen O’Neill, Colm de Buitléar, Caolan Dooley, Craig Adams; Callum Smith, Alan Bennie; Campbell Classon, Levi Vaughan, Adam Tuite, Harrison Brewer (capt), Matthew Caffrey, Adam Melia, Luke Cohessy, Conall Boomer.

Replacements: Sean McNulty, Liam Hyland, Craig Trenier, Mike Murphy, Henry McErlean, Sam Coghlan Murray.

BALLYNAHINCH: Ethan Graham; Ben Moxham, George Pringle, Mark Best, Aaron Cairns; Greg Hutley, Conor McAuley; George Saunderson, Claytan Milligan, Kyle McCall, Tom Donnan (capt), James Simpson, Tom Martin, Bradley Luney, Jamie Macartney.

Replacements: Conor Piper, Nacho Cladera Crespo, Kyle Gill, Chris Gibson, Oscar Yandall, Ben McMullan.

YOUNG MUNSTER 24 CLONTARF 16, Tom Clifford Park

  • Scorers: Young Munster: Tries: Penalty try, Pa Ryan, Dan Walsh; Cons: Pen try con, Evan Cusack, Conor Hayes; Pen: Evan Cusack
  • Clontarf: Try: Cian O’Donoghue; Con: Conor Kelly; Pens: Conor Kelly 4

HT: Young Munster 10 Clontarf 16

YOUNG MUNSTER: Shay McCarthy; Conor Hayes, Jack Harrington, Harry Fleming, Conor Phillips; Evan Cusack, Adam Maher; David Begley, Dan Walsh, Conor Bartley, Tom Goggin, Eoin O’Connor, Alan Kennedy (capt), John Foley, Bailey Faloon.

Replacements: George Jacobs, Paulo Leleisiuao, Sean Rigney, Ronan O’Sullivan, Donnchadh O’Callaghan, Pa Ryan.

CLONTARF: Tadhg Bird; Seni Reilly Ashiru, Hugh Cooney, Matt D’Arcy (capt), Cian O’Donoghue; Conor Kelly, Ben Murphy; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan, JP Phelan, Fionn Gilbert, Mick Kearney, Cormac Daly, JJ O’Dea, Tony Ryan.

Replacements: Cal Marrey, George Hadden, Ed Brennan, Angus Lloyd, Steve Crosbie, Ben Griffin.

DIVISION 1B:

BANBRIDGE 7 CITY OF ARMAGH 10, Rifle Park

  • Scorers: Banbridge: Try: David McCann; Con: James Humphreys
  • City of Armagh: Try: James McCormick; Con: Kyle Faloon; Pen: Kyle Faloon

HT: Banbridge 0 City of Armagh 3

BANBRIDGE: Rob Lyttle; Conor Field, Andrew Morrison, Ben Carson, Josh Cromie; James Humphreys, Neil Kilpatrick; Callum Reid, Peter Cromie (capt), Michael Cromie, Matthew Laird, Max Lyttle, David McCann, Robin Sinton, Greg Jones.

Replacements: Tim Savage, Ross Haughey, Alex Weir, Nico Vorster, Lewis Nelmes, Cameron Millar.

CITY OF ARMAGH: Kyle Faloon; Andrew Willis, Matthew Hooks, Ross Taylor, Dylan Nelson; Evin Crumie, Michael McDonald; Jonny Morton, James McCormick, Paul Mullen, Frank Bradshaw-Ryan, John Glasgow, Nigel Simpson (capt), Ryan O’Neill, Neil Faloon.

Replacements: Jack Treanor, Dylan Poyntz, James Crummie, Barry Finn, Shea O’Brien, Tim McNiece.

BUCCANEERS 29 UCC 0, Dubarry Park

  • Scorers: Buccaneers: Tries: Harry West, Frankie Hopkins, Oisin McCormack, Josh O’Connor; Cons: Harry West 3; Pen: Harry West
  • UCC: –

HT: Buccaneers 10 UCC 0

BUCCANEERS: Shane Jennings; Josh O’Connor, Shane Layden, Stephen Mannion, Saul O’Carroll; Harry West, Frankie Hopkins; Matthew Burke, Shane Delahunt, Martin Staunton (capt), Ruairi Byrne, Danny Qualter, Darragh Murray, Oisin McCormack, Ciaran Booth.

Replacements: Steveni Lombard, Sean O’Connell, Sean Masterson, Will Reilly, Michael Hanley, Orrin Burgess.

UCC: Johnny Murphy; Sean Condon, Louis Bruce (capt), Daniel Squires, Joe O’Leary; Cian Whooley, Andrew O’Mahony; Rory Duggan, Scott Buckley, Corey Hanlon, Mark Bissessar, Aiden Brien, Peter Hyland, Jacob Sheahan, Patrick McBarron.

Replacements: Luke McAuliffe, Stewart Lynch, David O’Halloran, Conor Booth, Alex Walsh, Billy Kiernan.

HIGHFIELD 21 OLD BELVEDERE 10, Woodleigh Park

  • Scorers: Highfield: Tries: Richard Cassidy, Cian Bohane, Miah Cronin; Cons: Shane Buckley 3
  • Old Belvedere: Tries: Darragh O’Callaghan, Calum Dowling

HT: Highfield 14 Old Belvedere 5

HIGHFIELD: Mark McLoughlin; Ben Murphy, Cian Bohane, Liam McCarthy, Luke Kingston; Shane Buckley, Richard Cassidy; Cillian Buckley,Rob Murphy, James French, John O’Callaghan, Aidan Keane, Dave O’Connell (capt), Ahmlaoibh Porter, Miah Cronin.

Replacements: Travis Coomey, Daragh Fitzgerald, Sean Garrett, Mark Fitzgibbon, Chris Banon, Mark Dorgan.

OLD BELVEDERE: David Wilkinson; Gavin Nugent, Jayden Beckett, Justin Leonard, Joe White; Mick O’Kennedy, Conall Bird; James Bollard (capt), Calum Dowling, Ronan Foxe, Paddy Dowling, Fionn McWey, Darragh O’Callaghan, Tom Mulcair, Kale Thatcher.

Replacements: Joe Horan, Anthony O’Donnell, Eoin Buggy, Will McDonald, Briain Leonard, Jamie McAleese.

NAAS 30 ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 32, Forenaughts

  • Scorers: Naas: Tries: Andrew Osborne 2, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan; Cons: Craig Ronaldson 2; Pens: Craig Ronaldson 2
  • St. Mary’s College: Tries: Hugo Conway, Conor Hickey, Adam McEvoy, Harry MacDonald; Cons: Mick O’Gara 3; Pens: Mick O’Gara 2

HT: Naas 20 St. Mary’s College 15

NAAS: Mark McDermott; Andrew Osborne, Charlie Sheridan, Henry Smith, Donal Conroy; Craig Ronaldson, Connor Halpenny; Adam Coyle, Conor Doyle, Peter King, Paul Monahan (capt), David Benn, Eoin Walsh, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey.

Replacements: Nato Kiripati, Jordan Duggan, Patrick O’Flaherty, Mark Dennis, Oscar Cawley, Bryan Croke.

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Conor Hickey; Hugo Conway, Mark Fogarty, Mick O’Gara, Steven Kilgallen; Conor Dean, Adam McEvoy; Adam Mulvihill, Steven O’Brien, Jack Reidy Walsh, Peter Starrett, Daniel Leane, Niall Hurley, Ethan Baxter, Ronan Watters (capt).

Replacements: Richie Halpin, Padraig Dundon, Harry MacDonald, Andrew Walsh, Ryan O’Loughlin, Liam Corcoran.

OLD WESLEY 31 MALONE 18, Energia Park

  • Scorers: Old Wesley: Tries: David Poff 2, Nathan Randles; Cons: Ian Cassidy 2; Pens: Ian Cassidy 4
  • Malone: Tries: Dan Kerr, Peter Caves; Con: Rory Campbell; Pens: Rory Campbell 2

HT: Old Wesley 23 Malone 8

OLD WESLEY: Alex Molloy; Nathan Randles, James O’Donovan, Eoin Deegan, David Poff; Ian Cassidy, Keith Kavanagh; Harry Noonan, Howard Noonan, Cronan Gleeson, David Motyer, Iain McGann (capt), Sam Pim, Josh O’Hare, Reuben Pim.

Replacements: Ty Chan, Sam Kenny, Will Fay, Dom Maclean, Ben Daly, Josh Miller.

MALONE: Andy Bryans; Rory Campbell, David McMaster, Ben Gibson, Mark McGlynn; Conor Spence, Zach Shore; Ben Halliday, Dan Kerr, Ricky Greenwood, Neill Alcorn, Adam McNamee, Daryl Maxwell, Dave Cave (capt), Stuart Dodington.

Replacements: Sam Green, Lawson Porter, Zach Devine, Michael Crothers, Jack McMurty, Peter Caves.

DIVISION 2A:

  • Ballymena 21 MU Barnhall 22, Eaton Park
  • Blackrock College 26 Navan 25, Stradbrook
  • Dolphin 19 Cashel 24, Musgrave Park
  • Old Crescent 29 Nenagh Ormond 28, Takumi Park
  • Queen’s University 41 UL Bohemians 19, Dub Lane

DIVISION 2B:

  • Dungannon 24 Galway Corinthians 31, Stevenson Park
  • Enniscorthy 10 Belfast Harlequins 30, Alcast Park
  • Galwegians 11 Malahide 13, Crowley Park
  • Greystones 29 Rainey Old Boys 7, Dr Hickey Park
  • Wanderers 19 Sligo 22, Merrion Road

DIVISION 2C:

  • Ballina 15 Clonmel 29, Heffernan Park
  • Bangor 17 Midleton 30, Upritchard Park
  • Instonians 36 Bruff 28, Shaw’s Bridge
  • Skerries 14 Omagh Academicals 3, Holmpatrick
  • Tullamore 29 Sunday‘s Well 10, Spollanstown
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