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Donnellan hat-trick inspires Clontarf to victory over Young Munster

Dave Mervyn rounds up this weekend’s AIL action.

DYLAN DONNELLAN showed he is the lineout maul maestro with a hat-trick of tries as Clontarf ended Young Munster’s unbeaten start to the Energia All-Ireland League season.

Munsters’ five-match winning run was halted by Clontarf who triumphed 33-17 in Greenfields this afternoon to move to the top of Division 1A. In-form hooker Donnellan now has eight tries to his name.

A devastating lineout drive in the 10th minute propelled him over for his first score, superbly converted from out wide by Conor Kearns.

It was 21-5 by half-time as the north Dubliners continued to pack a punch up front. Donnellan had a carbon copy score midway through, after the Cookies were pinged for going off their feet at a ruck.

Seni Reilly Ashiru had a break down the left wing, and Ben Griffin carried well close in, before another infringement by the hosts allowed the ‘Tarf maul to do its thing, allowing Donnellan to complete a first half hat-trick.

Jack Harrington gave Young Munster a lift before half-time with a try in the left corner, set up by Evan Cusack. However, yellow cards have been a problem for the Limerick men and they lost prop David Begley to the bin, early in the second half.

Munsters did manage to force a turnover when Clontarf opted to kick to the corner, but several infringements at the scrum led to referee Andrew Cole awarding a penalty try for the visitors’ bonus point.

Max Kearney’s sin-binning was preceded by a second Munsters try, Cusack’s inviting pass drawing an excellent line from Dan Walsh who finished well for the out-half to convert, leaving it 28-12.

The home side were really starting to put the pressure on at this stage, but Clontarf struck a killer blow on 67 minutes. Michael Brown breached the defence and his excellent offload released replacement Adrian D’Arcy for their fifth try.

michael-brown Clontarf's Michael Brown. Tommy Grealy / INPHO Tommy Grealy / INPHO / INPHO

Although Conor Hayes gave the Cookies hope of a late bonus point, running in his seventh try of the season, it was Clontarf’s day and they were good value for the 16-point victory.

Meanwhile, after putting it up to Young Munster last time out, UCC broke their duck with a hard-earned 10-6 win at Ballynahinch. All of the points in this basement battle were crammed into the opening 19 minutes.

Tricky winger Matthew Bowen was back on the scoresheet, scampering through for his fifth try of the season after just three minutes. Captain Rob Hedderman converted it and added a penalty.

Out-half Jack Milligan sandwiched in two penalties for Ballynahinch, both sides enjoying purple patches and ‘Hinch were left kicking themselves after missing touch from a penalty, with UCC skipper Hedderman in the sin bin.

The County Down side’s maul was causing problems for the students until Munster Academy hooker Scott Buckley broke up a promising drive. They also could not turn scrum pressure into points, Alessandro Heaney holding firm for the Cork youngsters.

UCC gritted their teeth in defence, none more so than impressive openside flanker Jack Kelleher, as they hung onto their slim advantage late on, despite the best efforts of ‘Hinch’s Aaron Cairns and Bradley Luney.

Defending champions Cork Constitution have undoubtedly hit form, this time handing UCD a 38-10 beating at Temple Hill for their third successive win.

Now just three points off the top four, Cork Con strung together four first half tries and six in all, with half of them shared between classy centres Greg Higgins (2) and Niall Kenneally.

They scored just before the quarter hour mark, John Forde going close following a JJ O’Neill break and then the ball was moved wide for Higgins to put the first five points on the board.

UCD fell 10-0 behind just five minutes later, the maul providing the platform and captain Aidan Moynihan crisply delivered a cross-field kick over for winger O’Neill to touch down out wide.

A long-range Chris Cosgrave penalty opened UCD’s account, but they were 22-3 behind at the break courtesy of further tries from Higgins and Kenneally, the latter tearing through a defensive gap to go over by the posts.

chris-cosgrave Chris Cosgrave in action. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

With the bonus point in the bag, Con took their foot off the gas and UCD came more into it during the third quarter. They could not force a score, though.

Instead, Brian Hickey’s men stretched their lead when Cathal O’Flaherty crossed, profiting from Brendan Quinlan’s rip in the tackle, and fellow replacement John Poland sniped through from a tap penalty.

The try count was six tries to one in the end, Kevin Croke’s students salvaging some pride with a late effort from out-half James Tarrant which he converted himself.

Following their recent last-gasp heroics at Trinity, Terenure College reeled off three second half tries to overcome Garryowen 25-13 at Lakelands Park.

Centre Caolan Dooley was ‘Nure’s goal-kicking star the last day and he had a tidy 10-point return today, helping ‘Nure climb back up towards mid-table.

terenure-celebrate Terenure celebrate their win. Evan Treacy / INPHO Evan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

His second successful penalty in the 18th minute edged the hosts ahead for the first time, cancelling out a well-taken debut try for Garryowen flanker Nicky Greene.

In wet and windy conditions, Garryowen exerted pressure through their forwards approaching half-time, but a score eluded them until Tony Butler, who has been brought into the Munster Academy, nailed a penalty from just inside the 22.

Eight minutes into the second half, a well-executed lineout drive saw ‘Nure hooker Levi Vaughan pile over for their opening try, converted by Dooley.

The Dubliners soon moved the ball wide at pace for winger Craig Adams to reach over in the corner, past two covering defenders. With a man in the bin, Garryowen trailed 18-8 with a quarter of the game remaining.

There was no way back for the Light Blues, though, as Terenure settled the issue with a 71st-minute try from Alan Bennie. The wily scrum half finished off good work from his forwards after a penalty had been kicked to the corner.

Garryowen have dropped to fourth spot but are only three points behind Clontarf at the summit. They gained a late consolation try with a kick bouncing up for winger Jamie Shanahan to athletically score in the left corner.

On Friday night, Lansdowne, the 22-5 conquerors of Clontarf, lost 27-25 on their home patch to Dublin University who watched their stand-in out-half Aran Egan arrow over a last-gasp match-winning penalty.

Replacement Jamie Kavanagh’s try had nudged Lansdowne in front, as big carries from Mark Boyle and captain Jack O’Sullivan got them into range on the back of some poor discipline from the visitors.

However, Egan, who deputised for injured skipper Mick O’Kennedy at out-half, showed nerves of steel to take his haul to 12 points and seal a memorable success for Tony Smeeth’s young guns.

Trinity really brought the game to Lansdowne early on, scoring two first-quarter tries. Alan Francis’ maul score was followed by as good a try as you will see, created by a Ronan Quinn intercept and kick case and finished by scrum half Louis O’Reilly.

Nonetheless, Lansdowne snapped back from 14-3 down to trail by a single point at the interval, thanks to a couple of well-worked tries from Peter Hastie and Mark Boyle.

Brought on from the bench, Leinster’s Jack Dunne carried well in the build-up to Trinity’s third try. Again, they were first out of the traps on the resumption and fellow replacement Jamie Berrisford barged over with Egan converting.

aran-egan-celebrates-winning-the-match Aran Egan celebrates at the end of the game. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO

Driven on by former Ulster back rower Clive Ross, Lansdowne spent much of the final quarter deep in Trinity territory. The pressure paid off with tries from replacements Eamonn Mills and Kavanagh, securing their bonus point while Egan sandwiched in a penalty.

Leading for the first time at 25-24, Mark McHugh’s charges appeared to be on course for their fifth victory when the visitors knocked on. However, the students turned the tables on them with a massive scrum penalty, teeing up Egan to split the posts one final time.

WEEKEND RESULTS:

DIVISION 1A:

LANSDOWNE 25 DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 27, Aviva Stadium back pitch (played on Friday)
Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: Peter Hastie, Mark Boyle, Eamonn Mills, Jamie Kavanagh; Con: David Moran; Pen: Peter Hastie
Dublin University: Tries: Alan Francis, Louis O’Reilly, Jamie Berrisford; Cons: Aran Egan 3; Pens: Aran Egan 2
HT: Lansdowne 13 Dublin University 14

LANSDOWNE: Stephen Madigan; Liam O’Sullivan, Paul Kiernan, Corey Reid, Andy Marks; Peter Hastie, Cormac Foley; Frank Kavanagh, Luke Thompson, JJ Hession, Joey Szpara, Jack Dwan, Clive Ross, Jack O’Sullivan (capt), Mark Boyle.

Replacements: Jamie Kavanagh, Oisin Michel, Daniel Murphy, James Kenny, Eamonn Mills, David Moran.

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Luis Faria; Hugh Twomey, Marcus Kiely, Gavin Jones, Ronan Quinn; Aran Egan, Louis O’Reilly; Bary Vermeulen, Mark Nicholson, Thomas Connolly, Joe McCarthy, Harry Sheridan, Anthony Ryan, Alan Francis, Diarmuid McCormack.

Replacements: Donnacha Mescal, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Dunne, Jamie Berrisford, Cormac King, Louis McDonough.

BALLYNAHINCH 6 UCC 10, Ballymacarn Park
Scorers: Ballynahinch: Pens: Jack Milligan 2
UCC: Try: Matthew Bowen; Con: Rob Hedderman; Pen: Rob Hedderman
HT: Ballynahinch 6 UCC 10

BALLYNAHINCH: Yasser Omar; Shane Ball, Tagen Strydom, Rory Butler, Aaron Cairns; Jack Milligan, Chris Gibson; John Dickson, Zack McCall (capt), Kyle McCall, James Simpson, John Donnan, Thomas Donnan, Oli Loughead, Bradley Luney.

Replacements: Nacho Cladera Crespo, Joshua Hanlon, Diego Vidal Souza, Callum Irvine, Conor McAuley, Greg Hutley.

UCC: Rob Hedderman (capt); Louis Bruce, Darragh French, Daniel Squires, Matthew Bowen; Cian Whooley, Louis Kahn; Alessandro Heaney, Scott Buckley, Corey Hanlon, Sam O’Sullivan, Mark Bissessar, Aidan Brien, Jack Kelleher, Jack O’Sullivan.

Replacements: Daniel O’Connor, Tom Ormond, Michael Cogan, Patrick McBarron, Luke Kerr, Timothy Duggan.

CORK CONSTITUTION 38 UCD 10, Temple Hill
Scorers: Cork Constitution: Tries: Niall Kenneally, Greg Higgins 2, JJ O’Neill, Cathal O’Flaherty, John Poland; Cons: Aidan Moynihan 4
UCD: Try: James Tarrant; Con: James Tarrant; Pen: Chris Cosgrave
HT: Cork Constitution 22 UCD 3

CORK CONSTITUTION: Billy Crowley; JJ O’Neill, Greg Higgins, Niall Kenneally, Rob Jermyn; Aidan Moynihan (capt), Gerry Hurley; Brendan Quinlan, Max Abbott, Paddy Casey, Cian Barry, Eoin Quilter, John Forde, Michael Casey, David Hyland.

Replacements: Jack Dinneen, Dylan Murphy, Cathal O’Flaherty, Luke Cahill, John Poland, Tomas Quinlan.

UCD: Chris Cosgrave; David Heavey, David Ryan, James Moriarty, Jack Ringrose (capt); James Tarrant, Rob Gilsenan; Chris Hennessy, Bobby Sheehan, Evin Coyle, Diarmuid Mangan, Tom Coghlan, Alec Byrne, Sean O’Brien, Ronan Foley.

Replacements: Richie Bergin, Rory Mulvihill, Rory McGuire, Jack Gardiner, Harry Donnelly, Tim Corkery.

TERENURE COLLEGE 25 GARRYOWEN 13, Lakelands Park
Scorers: Terenure College: Tries: Levi Vaughan, Alan Bennie, Craig Adams; Cons: Caolan Dooley 2; Pens: Caolan Dooley 2
Garryowen: Tries: Nicky Greene, Jamie Shanahan; Pen: Tony Butler
HT: Terenure College 6 Garryowen 5

TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam La Grue; Sam Coghlan Murray, Colm de Buitléar, Caolan Dooley, Craig Adams; Cathal Marsh, Alan Bennie; Campbell Classon, Levi Vaughan, Andy Keating, Mike Murphy, Michael Melia, Harrison Brewer, Luke Clohessy, Conall Boomer.

Replacements: Conor McCormack, Adam Tuite, Matthew Caffrey, Robert Lalor, Mark O’Neill, Jake Swaine.

GARRYOWEN: Jamie Heuston; Colm Quilligan, Bryan Fitzgerald, Jack Delaney, Jamie Shanahan; Tony Butler, Ed Barry; Mark Donnelly, Pat O’Toole, Darragh McCarthy, Roy Whelan, Kevin Seymour (capt), Nicky Greene, Daniel Feasey, Sean Rennison.

Replacements: Dylan Murphy, Michael Veale, Jack Madden, Aaron Cosgrove, Tommy O’Hora, Alan Fitzgerald.

YOUNG MUNSTER 17 CLONTARF 33, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers: Young Munster: Tries: Jack Harrington, Dan Walsh, Conor Hayes; Con: Evan Cusack
Clontarf: Tries: Dylan Donnellan 3, Penalty try, Adrian D’Arcy; Cons: Conor Kearns 3, Pen try con
HT: Young Munster 5 Clontarf 21

YOUNG MUNSTER: Patrick Campbell; Conor Hayes, Pa Ryan, Harry Fleming, Jack Harrington; Evan Cusack, Jack Lyons; David Begley, Mark O’Mara, Conor Bartley, Alan Kennedy (capt), Tom Goggin, Bailey Faloon, John Foley, Dan Walsh.

Replacements: Peter Meyer, Paul Allen, Sean Rigney, Eoin O’Connor, Adam Maher, Craig O’Hanlon.

CLONTARF: Jack Power; Michael Brown, Michael Courtney, Matt D’Arcy (capt), Seni Reilly Ashiru; Conor Kearns, Angus Lloyd; Darragh Bolger, Dylan Donnellan, Ben Griffin, Cormac Daly, Ed Kelly, Adrian D’Arcy, Max Kearney, Tony Ryan.

Replacements: Barry Gray, Ivan Soroka, Jonny Phelan, Peter Hoy, Cian O’Donoghue, Fionn Gilbert.

DIVISION 1B:

HIGHFIELD 20 OLD WESLEY 7, Woodleigh Park
Scorers: Highfield: Tries: Cathal Gallagher, Paul Stack; Cons: James Taylor 2; Pens: James Taylor 2
Old Wesley: Try: Ben Burns; Con: Ian Cassidy
HT: Highfield 3 Old Wesley 0

HIGHFIELD: Luke Kingston; Gavin O’Leary, Paddy O’Toole, Mark Dorgan, Paul Stack; James Taylor, Chris Banon (capt); James Rochford, Travis Coomey, Ian McCarthy, Dave O’Connell, Fintan O’Sullivan, Ryan Murphy, Cathal Gallagher, Miah Cronin.

Replacements: Robert Murphy, Cillian Buckley, Ronan O’Sullivan, Eddie Earle, Shane O’Riordan, David O’Sullivan.

OLD WESLEY: Conor Gaston; Tommy O’Callaghan, Jack Costigan, Eoin Deegan, David Poff; Ian Cassidy, Ben Murphy; Cronan Gleeson, Ben Burns, Rob O’Donovan, JJ O’Dea, Iain McGann (capt), Paul Derham, Josh Pim, Reuben Pim.

Replacements: Robert Byrne, Sam Kenny, Alastair Hoban, Will Fay, Paddy McKenzie, Charlie O’Regan.

MALONE 22 BANBRIDGE 21, Gibson Park
Scorers: Malone: Tries: Stewart McKendrick, Aaron Sexton 2; Cons: Rory Campbell 2; Pen: Rory Campbell
Banbridge: Tries: Conor Field, Max Lyttle; Con: Adam Doherty; Pens: Adam Doherty 3
HT: Malone 12 Banbridge 8

MALONE: Aaron Sexton; Rory Campbell, David McMaster, Nathan Brown, Andy Bryans; Callum Smith, Lewis Finlay; Tommy O’Hagan, Claytan Milligan, Ricky Greenwood, Adam McNamee, Stewart McKendrick, James McAlister, Dan Kerr, Dave Cave (capt).

Replacements: Harry Andrews, Aidan McSwiggan, James Welling, Conor Spence, Shane Kelly, Ben Halliday.

BANBRIDGE: Adam Doherty; Conor Field, Joseph Finnegan, Josh Cromie, Ross Cartmill; Andrew Morrison, Neil Kilpatrick; Michael Cromie (capt), Peter Cromie, Stuart Cromie, Alex Thompson, Brendan McSorley, David O’Connor, Max Lyttle, Robin Sinton.

Replacements: Tim Savage, Josh Chambers, Matthew Laird, Alexander Weir, Aaron Kennedy, Dean Hayes.

NAAS 17 CITY OF ARMAGH 18, Forenaughts
Scorers: Naas: Try: Bryan Croke; Pens: Peter Osborne 4
City of Armagh: Tries: Andrew Willis 2; Con: Kyle Faloon; Pens: Kyle Faloon 2
HT: Naas 8 City of Armagh 11

NAAS: Peter Osborne (capt); Donal Conroy, Gary Kavanagh, Matt Stapleton, Sam Cahill; Craig Ronaldson, Connor Halpenny; Conor Doyle, John Sutton, Adam Coyle, David Benn, Paul Monahan, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey.

Replacements: Connor Johnson, Peter King, Patrick O’Flaherty, Paulie Tolofua, Tim Murphy, Bryan Croke.

CITY OF ARMAGH: Kyle Faloon; Andrew Willis, Chris Colvin, Matthew Hooks, Tim McNiece (capt); Harry Boyd, Gerard Treanor; Peter Lamb, Jack Treanor, Paul Mullen, Josh McKinley, Sam Glasgow, James Hanna, Ryan O’Neill, Neil Faloon.

Replacements: Jack Sleator, Aaron Whyte, John Glasgow, Ryan Morton, Alex Johnston, Evin Crummie.

NAVAN v SHANNON, Balreask Old (Covid-19-affected match cancelled – 0-0. Both teams are awarded two points)

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 24 OLD BELVEDERE 21, Templeville Road

Scorers:

St. Mary’s College: Tries: Liam Curran, Mick O’Gara, Ronan Watters; Cons: Conor Dean 3; Pen: Conor Dean
Old Belvedere: Tries: Jerry Cahir, James McKeown; Con: Justin Leonard; Pens: Justin Leonard 3
HT: St. Mary’s College 14 Old Belvedere 10

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Mark Fogarty; Matt Timmons, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Ruairi Shields; Conor Dean, Dave Fanagan; Daniel Lyons, Richie Halpin (capt), Mick McCormack, Liam Corcoran, Ian Wickham, Liam Curran, Niall Hurley, Ronan Watters.

Replacements: Steven O’Brien, Tom O’Reilly, David Aspil, Tim MacMahon, Aaron O’Neill, Daniel Leane.

OLD BELVEDERE: Colm Hogan; James McKeown, Robbie Deegan, Jack Gilheany, Jack Keating; Justin Leonard, Aaron Atkinson; Jerry Cahir, John McKee, Ryan McMahon, Connor Owende (capt), Fionn McWey, Paddy Dowling, Jack Breen, Tom Ryan.

Replacements: Joe Horan, Hugh Flood, Dean Moore, Jack Culligan, Tommy Whittle, David Butler.

DIVISION 2A:

Cashel 24 Ballymena 14, Spafield
Dolphin v Buccaneers, Musgrave Park (Covid-19-affected match cancelled – 0-0. Both teams are awarded two points)
MU Barnhall 18 Old Crescent 23, Parsonstown
Nenagh Ormond 15 Queen’s University 45, New Ormond Park
UL Bohemians 32 Rainey Old Boys 24, UL Arena

DIVISION 2B:

Ballina 24 Wanderers 40, Heffernan Park
Belfast Harlequins 9 Greystones 13, Deramore Park
Blackrock College 14 Sligo 16, Stradbrook
Galway Corinthians 52 Dungannon 16, Corinthian Park
Malahide 33 Galwegians 17, Estuary Road

DIVISION 2C:

City of Derry 9 Clonmel 6, Judge’s Road
Enniscorthy 32 Sunday’s Well 0, Alcast Park
Midleton 27 Skerries 28, Towns Park
Omagh Academicals 17 Bruff 15, Thomas Mellon Playing Fields
Tullamore 34 Bangor 15, Spollanstown

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