Energia Men’s All-Ireland League round-up
PAUL KIERNAN CAME back to haunt his boyhood club as Lansdowne launched their Energia Men’s All-Ireland League campaign with a dramatic 16-11 win over defending champions Cork Constitution.
After a Mark Boyle try had brought the hosts level on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch, it looked like these Division 1A heavyweights were going to have to settle for a share of the spoils.
That was until busy centre Kiernan, who featured prominently in the underage ranks for Cork Con, pounced in the final minute for a superb match-winning try.
It was Constitution’s first league defeat since March 2019, ending a run of 18 victories. However, the losing bonus point could be an important one in the long run.
It had all started so brilliantly for Brian Hickey’s men today, winger JJ O’Neill bursting through a gap to send former Munster scrum half Duncan Williams over inside the opening 60 seconds.
They led 8-6 at half-time, Peter Hastie picking off two penalties for Lansdowne as their pack began to make inroads. Con captain Aidan Moynihan responded with a 35th minute penalty.
The out-halves had a ding dong battle, Moynihan tagging on his second penalty before his cross-field kick almost set up O’Neill for a try in the right corner.
On the hour mark, and with Lansdowne pressure landing Con lock Eoin Quilter in the sin bin, the home side struck. Number 8 Boyle, younger brother of Connacht and Ireland flanker Paul, crossed from a scrum on the left wing.
Con rallied but there was a final sting in the tail. Space opened up out wide and Kiernan, the former Ireland Under-20 international, was picked out for the game’s decisive score.
Garryowen are the league leaders after the opening round, stunning a slow-starting Dublin University with a 35-10 bonus point triumph at College Park.
The Light Blues were in clinical form, Munster’s Liam Coombes helping himself to a brace of tries. Ennis youngster Tony Butler took to top-flight rugby like a duck to water, kicking 15 points from out-half.
Second-placed Terenure College racked up five tries in dispatching UCC 37-13 at the Mardyke. Centre Stephen O’Neill starred with an impressive double, including a length-of-the-field effort to close out a very encouraging result.
‘Nure fielded a formidable back row of Harrison Brewer, James Connolly and Jordan Coghlan – all with experience in the professional ranks – and another new signing, Peter Sylvester, came off the bench to score against his former club.
Clontarf also marked their AIL return with a confidence-boosting 29-12 bonus point success against UCD. Leinster Academy graduate David Hawkshaw scored a try and kicked nine points in a strong performance from out-half.
The 22-year-old scampered over for the opening try, following a break from halfway, before Conor Kearns doubled ‘Tarf’s lead at the Bull Ring. UCD captain Jack Ringrose hit back with a try from a cross-field kick.
However, second half tries from Dylan Donnellan and league debutant Jordan Mulvaney had ‘Tarf out of reach, before David Heavey notched a late consolation score for College.
Young Munster blitzed Ballynahinch 29-7 with two tries in each half at Tom Clifford Park. A beautiful chip from Evan Cusack played in Conor Hayes for the first try, with out-half Cusack adding a terrific touchline conversion.
‘Hinch made it a tight contest, scrum half Chris Gibson intercepting a wayward pass for a 40-metre run-in approaching half-time. There was still time for the Cookies to sneak in a second converted try.
The outstanding Patrick Campbell broke from Munsters’ 22 before passing to Shay McCarthy. The young winger then beat the covering Paddy Wright with a sumptuous step off his left, and he had the pace to avoid Gibson’s attempted ankle tap tackle for a fine score.
Into the second half, scrum half Adam Maher dived over for the third try, Cusack took his haul to nine points from the tee, and the bonus point was pocketed by replacement Aaron Hennessy who touched down from a powerful lineout drive.
Results
Round 1 – Saturday, 2 October
DIVISION 1A:
Clontarg 29 UCD 12, Castle Avenue
Scorers for Clontarf: Tries: David Hawkshaw, Conor Kearns, Dylan Donnellan, Jordan Mulvaney; Cons: David Hawkshaw 3; Pen: David Hawkshaw
Scorers for UCD: Tries: Jack Ringrose, David Heavey; Con: James Tarrant
CLONTARF: Jack Power; Seni Reilly Ashiru, Michael Courtney, Matt D’Arcy (capt), Jordan Mulvaney; David Hawkshaw, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan, Ben Griffin, Cormac Daly, Fionn Gilbert, Brian Deeny, Martin Moloney, Tony Ryan.
Replacements: Cathal O’Flynn, Darragh Bolger, Max Kearney, Andrew Feeney, Conor Kearns, Cian Egenton.
UCD: Luke Maloney; David Heavey, David Ryan, Tim Corkery, Jack Ringrose (capt); James Tarrant, Robert Gilsenan; Christopher Hennessy, Bobby Sheehan, Evin Coyle, Jack Gardiner, Gerard Hill, Donal McMahon, Ronan Foley, Dan O’Donovan.
Replacements: Richie Bergin, Robert Byrne, Alec Byrne, Harry Donnelly, James Moriarty, Jamie Murphy.
Dublin University 10 Garryowen 35, College Park
Scorers for Dublin University: Tries: Jamie Berrisford, Matthew Jungmann
Scorers for Garryowen: Tries: Liam Coombes 2, Jamie Heuston, Bryan Fitzgerald; Cons: Tony Butler 3; Pens: Tony Butler 3
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Matthew Jungmann; Hugh Twomey, Luis Faria, Gavin Jones, Liam McMahon; Micheal O’Kennedy, Louis O’Reilly; Giuseppe Coyne, Mark Nicholson, Thomas Connolly, Harry Sheridan, Jamie Berrisford, Anthony Ryan, Alan Francis, Diarmuid McCormack.
Replacements: Ben Nel, Bart Vermeulen, Darren Magee, Ronan Murphy, Cormac King, Aran Egan.
GARRYOWEN: Jamie Heuston; Jamie Shanahan, Bryan Fitzgerald, Jack Delaney, Liam Coombes; Tony Butler, Edmond Barry; Niall Horan, Dylan Murphy, James Kendrick, Roy Whelan, Kevin Seymour, Johnny Keane, Jack Daly, Sean Rennison.
Replacements: Pat O’Toole, Mark Donnelly, Alan Fitzgerald, Neil Cronin, Tommy O’Hora, Cian Hurley.
Lansdown 16 Cork Constitution 11, Aviva Stadium back pitch
Scorers for Lansdowne: Tries: Mark Boyle, Paul Kiernan; Pens: Peter Hastie 2 Scorers for Cork Constitution: Try: Duncan Williams; Pens: Aidan Moynihan 2
LANSDOWNE: Eamonn Mills; Sean Galvin, Corey Reid, Paul Kiernan, Liam O’Sullivan; Peter Hastie, Jack Matthews; Frank Kavanagh, Luke Thompson, Conan Dunne, Ruairi Clarke, Jack Dwan, Clive Ross, Jack O’Sullivan (capt), Mark Boyle.
Replacements: Greg McGrath, Ben Popplewell, Joey Szpara, Cormac Foley, Stephen Madigan.
CORK CONSTITUTION: Billy Crowley; Sean French, Alex McHenry, Greg Higgins, JJ O’Neill; Aidan Moynihan (capt), Duncan Williams; Gavin Duffy, Luke McAuliffe, Dylan Murphy, Cian Barry, Eoin Quilter, John Forde, Ross O’Neill, David Hyland.
Replacements: Jack Dinneen, Brendan Quinlan, Paddy Casey, Luke Cahill, Richard Cassidy, Barry Galvin.
UCC 13 Terenure College 37, the Mardyke
Scorers for UCC: Try; Richard Thompson; Con: Rob Hedderman; Pens: Rob Hedderman 2Scorers for Terenure College: Tries: Alan Bennie, Harrison Brewer, Stephen O’Neill 2, Peter Sylvester; Cons: James Thornton 3; Pens: James Thornton, Jake Swaine
UCC: Rob Hedderman (capt); Louis Bruce, Sam Tarleton, Daniel Squires, Timothy Duggan; Cian Whooley, Joe O’Leary; Alessandro Heaney, Billy Kingston, Corey Hanlon, Mark Bissessar, Richard Thompson, Jack Kelleher, Ronan Barry, Jack O’Sullivan.
Replacements: Harry Jephson, Alan McDonald, Sam O’Sullivan, John Hodnett, Darragh French, Luke Kerr.
TERENURE COLLEGE: Colm de Buitlear; Craig Adams, Stephen O’Neill, Caolan Dooley, Jake Swaine; James Thornton, Alan Bennie; Campbell Classon, Conor McCormack, Adam Tuite, Luke Clohessy, Mike Murphy, Harrison Brewer, James Connolly, Jordan Coghlan.
Replacements: Levi Vaughan, Dewald Barnard, Adam Melia, Cathal Marsh, Peter Sylvester, Adam La Grue.
Young Munster 29 Ballynahinch 7, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers for Young Munster: Tries: Conor Hayes, Shay McCarthy, Adam Maher, Aaron Hennessy; Cons: Evan Cusack 3; Pen: Evan Cusack
Scorers for Ballynahinch: Try: Chris Gibson; Con: Greg Hutley
YOUNG MUNSTER: Patrick Campbell; Conor Hayes, Harry Fleming, Jack Harrington, Shay McCarthy; Evan Cusack, Adam Maher; Conor Bartley, Mark O’Mara, Colm Skehan, Tom Goggin, Sean Rigney, Alan Kennedy (capt), John Foley, Bailey Faloon.
Replacements: Aaron Hennessy, David Begley, Fintan Coleman, Dan Walsh, Jack Lyons, Patrick Ryan.
BALLYNAHINCH: Paddy Wright; Ronan Patterson, Yasser Omar, Ryan Wilson, Aaron Cairns; Greg Hutley, Chris Gibson; Ben Cullen, Zack McCall (capt), Kyle McCall, James Simpson, John Donnan, Thomas Donnan, Oli Loughead, Callum Irvine.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Peter Cooper, Bradley Luney, Diego Vidal Souza, Ruairi Meharg, Jack Milligan.
DIVISION 1B:
Banbridge 10 City of Armagh 20, Rifle Park
Scorers for Banbridge: Try: Adam Doherty; Con: Adam Doherty; Pen: Adam DohertyScorers City of Armagh: Tries: Shea O’Brien 2; Cons: Kyle Faloon 2; Pens: Kyle Faloon 2
BANBRIDGE: Adam Doherty; Alexander Morrow, Andrew Morrison, Jonny Little, John Porter; Josh Cromie, Neil Kilpatrick; Michael Cromie, Peter Cromie, Stuart Cromie, Brendan McSorley, Chris Allen, Alexander Weir, Ryan Hughes, Max Lyttle.
Replacements: Timothy Savage, Josh Chambers, Alexander Thompson, Matthew Laird, Lewis Nelmes, Harry Bird.
CITY OF ARMAGH: Kyle Faloon; Andrew Willis, Shea O’Brien, Chris Colvin, Matthew Hooks; Romain Morrow, Alex Johnston; Paul Mullen, Peter Lamb, Philip Fletcher, John Glasgow, Josh McKinley, Nigel Simpson, Ryan O’Neill, Neil Faloon.
Replacements: Jack Treanor, Eoin O’Hagan, Oliver Millar, James Morton, Gerard Treanor, Evin Crummie.
Highfield 21 St Mary’s College 17, Woodleigh Park
Scorers for Highfield: Tries: Dragh Fitzgerald, James Taylor, Eddie Earle; Cons: James Taylor 3
Scorers for St. Mary’s College: Tries: Niall Hurley, Conor Corcoran; Cons: Conor Dean 2; Pen: Conor Dean
HIGHFIELD: Luke Kingston; Ben Murphy, Paddy O’Toole, Mark Dorgan, Paul Stack; James Taylor, Chris Banon; Cillian Buckley, Travis Coomey, Daragh Fitzgerald, Eoin Keating, Fintan O’Sullivan, Dave O’Connell, Ronan O’Sullivan, Miah Cronin.
Replacements: Robert Murphy, James Rochford, Mick Dillane, Eddie Earle, David Harrington, Sam Burns.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: David Fanagan; Mark Fogarty, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Craig Kennedy; Conor Dean, Adam McEvoy; Niall McEniff, Richie Halpin (capt), Michael McCormack, Liam Corcoran, Liam Curran, David Aspil, Joe Nolan, Niall Hurley.
Replacements: Jamie Coolican, Padraig Dundon, Conor Corcoran, Ian Wickham, Ruairi Shields, Nick McCarthy.
Malone 30 Navan 17, Gibson Park
Scorers for Malone: Tries: Dave Cave, Claytan Milligan, Aaron Sexton; Cons: Rory Campbell 3; Pens: Rory Campbell 3
Scorers for Navan: Tries: Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon; Cons: Liam McLoughlin 2; Pen: Liam McLoughlin
MALONE: Aaron Sexton; Rory Campbell, Ben McCaughey, Matthew Hamilton, Andy Bryans; John Creighton, Shane Kelly; Tommy O’Hagan, Claytan Milligan, Aidan McSwiggan, James Welling, Adam McNamee, Dan Kerr, Dave Cave (capt), Max Porter.
Replacements: Scott Finlay, Ben Halliday, Stewart McKendrick, Conor Spence, David McMaster, Richard Greenwood.
NAVAN: Paddy Fox; Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon, Harry Hester, Rory Gordon; Colm O’Reilly, Mark Farrell; Liam Carroll, Jack Nelson, Eoin King, Andrew Doyle, Conor Hand, Shane Faulkner, Conor Farrell, Hardus Van Eeden.
Replacements: Gary Faulkner, Ciaran Tobin, Ronan Meegan, Liam McLoughlin, Ben McEntagart, Niall Farrelly.
Old Wesley 23 Shannon 22, Energia Park
Scorers for Old Wesley: Tries: Alastair Hoban, Jack Costigan, Eoin Deegan; Con: Josh Miller; Pens: Josh Miller 2Scorers for Shannon: Tries: Aran Hehir, Jamie McGarry, Ikem Ugwueru; Cons: John O’Sullivan 2; Pen: John O’Sullivan
OLD WESLEY: Conor Gaston; Tommy O’Callaghan, Eoin Deegan, Jack Costigan, Nathan Randles; Josh Miller, Ian Cassidy; Harry Noonan, Ben Burns, Sam Kenny, JJ O’Dea, Iain McGann (capt), Will Fay, Alastair Hoban, Reuben Pim.
Replacements: Howard Noonan, Robert Donovan, Brian Short, Stephen Clery, Paddy McKenzie, Charlie O’Regan.
SHANNON: Jamie McGarry; Ikem Ugwueru, Killian Dineen, Jack O’Donnell, Darren Gavin; John O’Sullivan, Aran Hehir; Conor Glynn, Jordan Prenderville, Luke Rigney, Ronan Coffey, Sean McCarthy, Odhran Ring, Kelvin Brown, Lee Nicholas (capt).
Replacements: Gus Harrington, Tony Cusack, Kieran Ryan, Colm Heffernan, Ian Leonard, Alan Flannery.
Old Belvedere 16 Naas 13, Ollie Campbell Park (played on Friday)
Scorers for Old Belvedere: Try: Billy O’Hora; Con: Justin Leonard; Pens: Justin Leonard 3Scorers for Naas: Try: Donal Conroy; Con: Peter Osborne; Pen: Peter Osborne; Drop: Fionn Higgins
OLD BELVEDERE: Colm Hogan; James McKeown, David Butler, Robbie Deegan, Billy O’Hora; Justin Leonard, Peter O’Beirne; Jerry Cahir, John McKee, Stewart Maguire, Connor Owende (capt), Dean Moore, Patrick Dowling, Ethan Baxter, Colin Mallon.
Replacements: Joe Horan, Adam Howard, Ryan McMahon, Oran O’Brien, Briain Leonard, Tommy Whittle.
NAAS: Peter Osborne (capt); Donal Conroy, Gary Kavanagh, Matt Stapleton, Fionn Higgins; Bryan Croke, Tim Murphy; Adam Coyle, John Sutton, Peter King, Paul Monahan, David Benn, Ryan Casey, Will O’Brien, Paulie Tolofua.
Replacements: Connor Johnson, Stephen Lackey, John Waters, Cillian Dempsey, Sam Cahill, Connor Halpenny.
DIVISION 2A:
Buccaneers 18 Cashel 16, Dubarry Park
Nenagh Ormond 24 MU Barnhall 32, New Ormond Park
Queen’s University 40 Ballymena 24, Dub Lane
Rainey Old Boys 24 Old Crescent 17, Hatrick Park
UL Bohemians 6 Dolphin 20, UL Arena
DIVISION 2B:
Belfast Harlequins 28 Malahide 24, Deramore Park
Blackrock College 19 Galway Corinthians 6, Stradbrook
Galwegians 23 Ballina 22, Crowley Park
Greystones 34 Dungannon 8, Dr Hickey Park
Sligo 25 Wanderers 17, Hamilton Park
DIVISION 2C:
Bangor 22 Bruff 13, Upritchard Park
Enniscorthy 39 Midleton 17, Alcast Park
Skerries 42 Omagh Academicals 29, Holpatrick
Sunday‘s Well 17 Clonmel 17, Musgrave Park
Tullamore 23 City of Derry 19, Spollanstown
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