TERENURE COLLEGE, Dublin University and Ballynahinch are the leading trio in Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A following a high-scoring second round.
Trinity retained the Dudley Cup by beating arch rivals 38-24, a second-minute Ronan Quinn try from a speedy counter attack setting them on their way in front of the College Park faithful.
A Lee Barron yellow card for a deliberate slap down evened up the numbers, and UCD took a 7-5 lead when Sean O’Brien thundered over from the resulting scrum.
However, Trinity were 17-12 to the good by half-time. Replacement hooker Jack Manzo broke from a 17th-minute maul and offloaded brilliantly for captain Louis O’Reilly to cross in the right corner.
Leinster Academy back rower O’Brien was unstoppable again from a five-metre scrum, but Diarmuid McCormack restored the hosts’ lead, crashing over from close range after Aran Egan had threatened from a chip and chase.
Mark Fleming’s sin-binning went unpunished until the third quarter, the impressive Paddy McCarthy going close before Ruadhan Byron – well supported by Max Dunne – burrowed over from a couple of metres out. Egan’s kick made it 24-12.
Despite losing McCormack to the bin, Tony Smeeth’s side extended their advantage when tighthead Thomas Connolly drove over in the 58th minute.
Harry Donnelly sent Dylan O’Grady over out wide for UCD’s third try, closing the gap to 31-19, only for Trinity’s Colm Hogan to respond by squeezing in under the posts for their sixth score.
It was a valiant effort from UCD and, past the 80-minute mark, they picked up their second bonus point of the campaign. Fleming scored from a well-executed lineout drive.
Terenure College’s terrific start to the new season continued with an emphatic 47-12 victory over Cork Constitution at Lakelands Park.
Scoring all seven of their tries inside the opening 40 minutes, Sean Skehan’s men had a brace from number 8 Jordan Coghlan and single efforts from Craig Adams, Callum Smith, Caolan Dooley, Adam La Grue and Conall Boomer.
Centres Colm de Buitléar and Peter Sylvester were key to Terenure’s sharp showing in attack. The former raced up to win a penalty, from which Coghlan crossed for his second maul try to make it 14-0 after just 15 minutes.
The twinkle-toed running of full-back La Grue took ‘Nure quickly back to the Con 22, and the phases were built for flanker Boomer to score. Out-half Smith knocked over his third conversion.
An Adams break had the Dubliners racing again into try-scoring range, Dooley managing to collect a pass at the second attempt to touch down. Try number five followed in the blink of an eye, Levi Vaughan bulldozing through and a quick recycle allowed Smith to ghost through a gap and go in under the posts.
La Grue followed up with an intercept try to chalk up the 40 points, and winger Adams got in on the act just before half-time. He profited from Smith’s initial break to hold off a defender and twist and turn to get the ball down.
Credit to Jonny Holland’s Con team, they dominated possession for most of the second half despite being hit by that 47-point landslide. They also went down to 14 men on the hour mark.
Con claimed two consolation scores, the first one a powerful maul effort finished by Billy Scannell. Captain Aidan Moynihan’s well-measured cross-field kick put centre Greg Higgins over to complete the scoring.
Dylan Donnellan scored his third try of the season and led by example as stand-in captain as Clontarf won their heavyweight clash with Lansdowne, prevailing 27-19.
Due to start at out-half for Lansdowne, Leinster’s Harry Byrne pulled out during the warm-up at Castle Avenue. Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winner Charlie Tector replaced him with Cillian Redmond coming onto the bench.
Early in the second quarter, ‘Tarf broke the deadlock when hooker Donnellan proved deadly again from just a few metres out. Conor Kelly converted for a 7-0 lead.
Andy Wood’s charges doubled their lead to 14 points some ten minutes later. Tony Ryan’s break lit the touch paper and scrum half Angus Lloyd was rewarded for his support line with a classy try, converted by Kelly.
Young tighthead Ben Griffin added try number three following a lineout maul, but Lansdowne cancelled that out to reduce the arrears to 21-7 at half-time.
Centre Conall Doherty slipped through a gap to score in the 39th minute, and a series of pick-and-goes resulted in Lansdowne skipper Clive Ross crossing just three minutes into the second half. Tector’s boot brought it back to a seven-point game.
However, the Wexford youngster saw yellow in the 48th minute for a deliberate knock-on. During his absence, Kelly landed a penalty to keep ‘Tarf on track.
Former Connacht winger Peter Sullivan raised Lansdowne’s hopes with a 77th-minute try in the corner, but Kelly clinched the result for the north Dubliners with a last-minute penalty from in front of the posts.
Ballynahinch went up a couple of gears in the second half to beat Shannon 41-8. Greg Hutley converted tries from Bradley Luney, Aaron Cairns (2), Jamie Macartney and Zack McCall and kicked two penalties.
Scrum half Aran Hehir captained Shannon on the day and picked up their only try, Kelvin Brown and Lee Nicholas putting in big shifts up front but a series of yellow cards – three in all – really dented their chances.
In the evening kick-off, a late Evan Cusack penalty guided Young Munster to a 26-23 derby victory over Garryowen in front of a large crowd at Tom Clifford Park.
Their scrum dominance was an important factor for the Cookies, while Munster Academy out-half Tony Butler starred for the Light Blues with two tries, two conversions and three penalties.
Butler’s early intercept try set Garryowen on their way to 17-16 half-time lead. His opposite number Cusack replied with two penalties to make it a one-point game and it was nip and tuck from there.
The Limerick rivals both added 10 points to their tallies approaching the break, with Butler completing his brace and Cusack’s right-footed dink finding Jack Harrington who stepped inside and finished smartly for Munsters’ opening try.
Butler booted two second half penalties, sandwiching a penalty try for the hosts after their powerful scrum forced three penalties in quick succession near the Garryowen line.
It was Cusack who decided the outcome, splitting the posts in the final minutes as Munsters ground out their first win of the top flight campaign. It comes just a week after they lost in similar circumstances to Cork Constitution.
ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE MEN’S DIVISIONS – ROUND 2 RESULTS:
DIVISION 1A:
BALLYNAHINCH 41 SHANNON 8, Ballymacarn Park
Scorers: Ballynahinch: Tries: Bradley Luney, Aaron Cairns 2, Jamie Macartney, Zack McCall; Cons: Greg Hutley 5; Pens: Greg Hutley 2
Shannon: Try: Aran Hehir; Pen: Mike Cooke
HT: Ballynahinch 13 Shannon 8
BALLYNAHINCH: Rory Butler; Ethan Graham, George Pringle, Mark Best, Aaron Cairns; Greg Hutley, Conor McAuley; George Saunderson, Claytan Milligan, John Dickson, James Simpson, Thomas Donnan (capt), Zack McCall, Bradley Luney, Jamie Macartney.
Replacements: Nacho Cladera Crespo, Conor Piper, Kyle Gill, Tom Martin, Chris Gibson, Ben McMullan.
SHANNON: John Bateman; Jack O’Donnell, Killian Dineen, Alan Flannery, Josh Costello; Mike Cooke, Aran Hehir (capt); Kieran Ryan, Jordan Prenderville, Darragh McSweeney, David Maher, Jade Kriel, Colm Heffernan, Kelvin Brown, Lee Nicholas.
Replacements: Alex Long, Matthew Burke, Cathal Hynes, Odhran Ring, John O’Sullivan, Dan Hurley.
CLONTARF 27 LANSDOWNE 19, Castle Avenue
Scorers: Clontarf: Tries: Dylan Donnellan, Angus Lloyd, Ben Griffin; Cons: Conor Kelly 3; Pens: Conor Kelly 2
Lansdowne: Tries: Connall Doherty, Clive Ross, Peter Sullivan; Cons: Charlie Tector 2
HT: Clontarf 21 Lansdowne 7
CLONTARF: Noah Sheridan; Aitzol Arenzana King, Michael Courtney, Conor Kearns, Seni Reilly Ashiru; Conor Kelly, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Ben Griffin, Fionn Gilbert, Mick Kearney, Cormac Daly, JJ O’Dea, Tony Ryan.
Replacements: Barry Gray, JP Phelan, Ed Kelly, Mark O’Sullivan, Jimmy Hawkshaw, Ed Brennan.
LANSDOWNE: Stephen Madigan; Peter Sullivan, Kyle Dixon, Conall Doherty, Michael Silvester; Charlie Tector, Mike Walsh; Frank Kavanagh, Luke Thompson, Temi Lasisi, Dan Murphy, Ruairi Clarke, Joey Szpara, Clive Ross, Donough Lawlor.
Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Ben Popplewell, Conor McMenamin, Liam Forster, Jack Connolly, Cillian Redmond.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 38 UCD 24, College Park
Scorers: Dublin University: Tries: Ronan Quinn, Louis O’Reilly, Diarmuid McCormack, Ruadhan Byron, Thomas Connolly, Colm Hogan; Cons: Aran Egan 4
UCD: Tries: Sean O’Brien 2, Dylan O’Grady, Mark Fleming; Cons: Chris Cosgrave 2
HT: Dublin University 17 UCD 12
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Colm Hogan; James Dillon, Liam Turner, Gavin Jones, Ronan Quinn; Aran Egan, Louis O’Reilly (capt); Paddy McCarthy, Lee Barron, Thomas Connolly, Harry Sheridan, Max Dunne, Anthony Ryan, Diarmuid McCormack, Ruadhan Byron.
Replacements: Jack Manzo, Cole Kelly, Stephen Woods, Aaron Coleman, Cormac King, Hugh O’Kennedy.
UCD: Harry Donnelly; Dylan O’Grady, David Ryan, Ben Brownlee, Chris Cosgrave; Tim Corkery, Michael Moloney; Hugo O’Malley, Bobby Sheehan (capt), Evin Coyle, Jonny Fish, Mark Morrissey, Bill Burns, Mark Fleming, Sean O’Brien.
Replacements: Killian McQuaid, Chris Hennessy, Gerry Hill, James Tarrant, Rob Gilsenan, Alex O’Grady.
TERENURE COLLEGE 47 CORK CONSTITUTION 12, Lakelands Park
Scorers: Terenure College: Tries: Jordan Coghlan 2, Craig Adams, Callum Smith, Caolan Dooley, Adam La Grue, Conall Boomer; Cons: Callum Smith 6
Cork Constitution: Tries: Billy Scannell, Greg Higgins; Con: Aidan Moynihan
HT: Terenure College 47 Cork Constitution 0
TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam La Grue; Caolan Dooley, Colm de Buitléar, Peter Sylvester, Craig Adams; Callum Smith, Alan Bennie; Marcus Hanan, Levi Vaughan, Adam Tuite, Harrison Brewer (capt), Michael Melia, Conall Boomer, Luke Clohessy, Jordan Coghlan.
Replacements: Sean McNulty, Liam Hyland, Michael Murphy, Adam Melia, James Thornton, Henry McErlean.
CORK CONSTITUTION: George Coomber; Daniel Hurley, Harry O’Riordan, Greg Higgins, Michael Hand; Aidan Moynihan (capt), Paddy Patterson; Brendan Quinlan, Billy Scannell, Luke Masters, Sean Duffy, Cathal O’Flaherty, Matisse Lamarque d’Arrouzat, John Beamish, Jack Kelleher.
Replacements: Tadgh McCarthy, Alessandro Heaney, James Murphy, Andrew Treacy, Louis Kahn, Bruce Matthews.
YOUNG MUNSTER 26 GARRYOWEN 23, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers: Young Munster: Tries: Jack Harrington, Penalty try; Cons: Evan Cusack, Pen try con; Pens: Evan Cusack 4
Garryowen: Tries: Tony Butler 2; Cons: Tony Butler 2; Pens: Tony Butler 3
HT: Young Munster 16 Garryowen 17
YOUNG MUNSTER: Stephen Lyons; Conor Hayes, Shay McCarthy, Evan O’Gorman, Jack Harrington; Evan Cusack, Donnchadh O’Callaghan; David Begley, George Jacobs, Conor Bartley (capt), Tom Goggin, Eoin O’Connor, James Horrigan, Ronan O’Sullivan, Bailey Faloon.
Replacements: Chris Moore, Paulo Leleisiuao, Sean Rigney, Alan Kennedy, Jack Lyons, Harry Fleming.
GARRYOWEN: Jamie Shanahan; JJ O’Neill, Matt Sheehan, Jack Delaney, Henry Buttimer; Tony Butler, Evan Maher; Michael Veale, Max Clein, Darragh McCarthy, Oisin Cooke, Cian Hurley, Sean Rennison (capt), Johnny Keane, Brian Gleeson.
Replacements: Shaughan Hanrahan, Ben O’Sullivan, Des Fitzgerald, Ed Barry, Tommy O’Hora, Mikey Sheahan.
DIVISION 1B:
BANBRIDGE 14 OLD BELVEDERE 13, Rifle Park
Scorers: Banbridge: Tries: Conor Field, Robin Sinton; Cons: James Humphreys 2
Old Belvedere: Tries: Kyle Thatcher, Joe White; Pen: David Wilkinson
HT: Banbridge 14 Old Belvedere 0
BANBRIDGE: Adam Doherty; Conor Field, Andrew Morrison, Josh Cromie, Cameron Millar; James Humphreys, Neil Kilpatrick; Michael Cromie, Arthur Allen, Ryan Emerson, Matthew Laird, Max Lyttle, Robin Sinton, Peter Cromie, Greg Jones.
Replacements: John Wilson, Ross Haughey, Quentin Verhagen, Robert Mathers, Aaron Kennedy, Harry Bird.
OLD BELVEDERE: David Wilkinson; Ariel Robles, Jayden Beckett, Justin Leonard, David Lynch; Mick O’Kennedy, Conall Bird; Jamie Mulhern, Calum Dowling, James Bollard (capt), Paddy Dowling, Connor Owende, Will McDonald, Tom Mulcair, Kale Thatcher.
Replacements: Cian Cunningham, Anthony O’Donnell, Fionn McWey, Darragh O’Callaghan, Briain Leonard, Joe White.
BUCCANEERS 35 OLD WESLEY 7, Dubarry Park
Scorers: Buccaneers: Tries: Oisin McCormack, Shane Jennings, Darren Brown, Will Reilly; Cons: Stephen Manion 3; Pens: Michael Hanley 3
Old Wesley: Try: Alex Molloy; Con: Ian Cassidy
HT: Buccaneers 16 Old Wesley 7
BUCCANEERS: Shane Jennings; Josh O’Connor, Shane Layden, Stephen Mannion, Saul O’Carroll; Michael Hanley, Frankie Hopkins; Matthew Burke, Steveni Lombard, Martin Staunton (capt), Ruairi Byrne, Fergus Galvin, Darragh Murray, Oisin McCormack, Darren Brown.
Replacements: Oisin Dolan, Sean O’Connell, James Kelly, Will Reilly, Ruaidhri Fallon, Orrin Burgess.
OLD WESLEY: Alex Molloy; Tommy O’Callaghan, James O’Donovan, Eoin Deegan, David Poff; Ian Cassidy, Keith Kavanagh; Harry Noonan, Howard Noonan, Sam Kenny, Will Fay, Iain McGann (capt), Sam Pim, Josh O’Hare, Reuben Pim.
Replacements: Finn Tierney, Michael Kearney, Brian Short, Dom Maclean, Josh Miller, Ben Daly.
NAAS 22 HIGHFIELD 24, Forenaughts
Scorers: Naas: Tries: Andrew Osborne, Oscar Cawley 2; Cons: Craig Ronaldson 2; Pen: Craig Ronaldson
Highfield: Tries: Richard Cassidy, Cian Bohane 2; Cons: James Taylor 3; Pen: James Taylor
HT: Naas 8 Highfield 14
NAAS: Mark McDermott; Andrew Osborne, Henry Smith, Craig Ronaldson, Donal Conroy; Bryan Croke, Connor Halpenny; Adam Coyle, Nato Kiripati, Peter King, Colm Gorry, Patrick O’Flaherty, Paul Monahan (capt), Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey.
Replacements: Paul Carroll, Jack Barry, Cillian Dempsey, Eoin Walsh, Oscar Cawley, Charlie Sheridan.
HIGHFIELD: Mark McLoughlin; Ben Murphy, Cian Bohane, David O’Sullivan, Gavin O’Leary; James Taylor, Richard Cassidy; Cillian Buckley, Travis Coomey, Ian McCarthy, John O’Callaghan, Aidan Keane, Dave O’Connell (capt), Amhlaoibh Porter, Miah Cronin.
Replacements: Robert Murphy, Daragh Fitzgerald, Eddie Earle, Mark Fitzgibbon, Chris Banon, Mark Dorgan.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 41 MALONE 27, Templeville Road
Scorers: St. Mary’s College: Tries: Steven Kilgallen, Conor Hickey, Mick O’Gara, Tim MacMahon, Hugo Conway; Cons: Mick O’Gara 2; Pens: Mick O’Gara 4
Malone: Tries: Dan Kerr, Ben Gibson, Dave Cave; Cons: Rory Campbell 3; Pens: Rory Campbell 2
HT: St. Mary’s College 20 Malone 10
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Mark Fogarty; Hugo Conway, Tim MacMahon, Mick O’Gara, Steven Kilgallen; Conor Hickey, Adam McEvoy; Adam Mulvihill, Steven O’Brien, Tom O’Reilly, Harry MacDonald, Daniel Leane, Ronan Watters, Ethan Baxter, Ronan Foley.
Replacements: Billy Hamilton, Padraig Dundon, Liam Corcoran, Niall Hurley, Peter Starrett, Hugh Lane, Andrew Walsh, Daniel Lyons.
MALONE: Andy Bryans; Rory Campbell, Ben Gibson, Yasser Omar, Peter Caves; Shane Kelly, Zach Shore; Ben Halliday, Dan Kerr, Ricky Greenwood, Neill Alcorn, Adam McNamee, Daryl Maxwell, Dave Cave (capt), Stuart Dodington.
Replacements: Michael Crothers, Gary Crawford, Lawson Porter, James McAlister, Ryan Lindsay, Mark McGlynn.
UCC 15 CITY OF ARMAGH 14, the Mardyke
Scorers: UCC: Tries: Sean Condon, Jacob Sheahan; Con: Daniel Squires; Pen: Daniel Squires
City of Armagh: Tries: Nigel Simpson, Neil Faloon; Cons: Kyle Faloon 2
HT: UCC 3 City of Armagh 14
UCC: Louis Bruce (capt); Sean Condon, Killian Coghlan, Daniel Squires, Joe O’Leary; Cian Whooley, Andrew O’Mahony; Corey Hanlon, Luke McAuliffe, Daniel McCarthy, Sam O’Sullivan, Aidan Brien, Peter Hyland, Jacob Sheahan, Jack O’Sullivan.
Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Rory Duggan, Patrick McBarron, Sean Edogbo, Rian O’Donoghue, Johnny Murphy.
CITY OF ARMAGH: Shea O’Brien; Kyle Faloon, Matthew Hooks, Tim McNiece (capt), Dylan Nelson; Evin Crummie, Jack Hughes; Jonny Morton, Jack Treanor, Eoin O’Hagan, Josh McKinley, John Glasgow, Nigel Simpson, Barry Finn, James Crummie.
Replacements: Sam Anderson, Marcel Nel, Ryan O’Neill, Neil Faloon, Ross Taylor, Andrew Willis.
DIVISION 2A:
Ballymena 20 Navan 14, Eaton Park
Cashel 32 UL Bohemians 9, Spafield
Dolphin 35 Blackrock College 8, Musgrave Park
Nenagh Ormond 25 MU Barnhall 24, New Ormond Park
Old Crescent 24 Queen’s University 36, Takumi Park
DIVISION 2B:
Galwegians 21 Galway Corinthians 58, Crowley Park
Greystones 25 Dungannon 15, Dr Hickey Park
Rainey Old Boys 21 Belfast Harlequins 25, Hatrick Park
Sligo 18 Malahide 11, Hamilton Park
Wanderers 38 Enniscorthy 22, Aviva Stadium main pitch
DIVISION 2C:
Bangor 32 Ballina 26, Upritchard Park
Midleton 33 Sunday’s Well 7, Towns Park
Omagh Academicals 24 Clonmel 13, Thomas Mellon Playing Fields
Skerries 7 Instonians 43, Holmpatrick
Tullamore 50 Bruff 26, Spollanstown