CLONTARF ARE TOP the Christmas tree in Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A, having impressively seen off Garryowen 17-0 at Dooradoyle.
Andy Wood’s men did most of the damage in the first half with a try after just 90 seconds from Cormac Daly, which was followed up by a Tadhg Bird effort.
Busy flanker Max Kearney claimed the third try of the game to give Clontarf their second win of the season on Limerick soil.
Worryingly for Garryowen supporters, Mike Sherry’s side have now slipped to five successive defeats after starting the campaign with four victories from four.
Clontarf signalled their intent right from the off when captain Matt D’Arcy freed his arms in a tackle on halfway before offloading to JP Phelan.
The tighthead prop fed the ball left to in-form lock Daly, who showed magnificent pace and a fine step off his right foot to score a sensational try.
Much of the rest of the opening half was played between the 22s as both sides struggled with the wet conditions.
Eventually, Clontarf found their way into Garryowen territory after Colm Quilligan was whistled up for holding on.
Conor Kearns fired the penalty kick into the corner and after a good defensive maul from the hosts, Angus Lloyd moved the ball to the right to D’Arcy but he was held up just on the line.
Lloyd was quickly onto the ball at the base of the ruck and fired a flat pass that saw Bird go in under the posts. Kearns nailed the conversion to make it 12-0 at the break.
Garryowen offered plenty in attack in the second period, but were consistently let down by mistakes in Clontarf territory.
Wood’s charges found their way into the opposition 22 on 57 minutes once more, with D’Arcy’s delayed pass putting Cian O’Donoghue through the slightest of gaps.
The Light Blues managed to hold off that attack but were unable to stem the next wave with openside Kearney eventually dotting down.
O’Donoghue thought he had bagged the bonus point score late on, yet the try was chalked off by referee Kieran Barry and ‘Tarf had to settle for a well-earned four points.
There was controversy at Temple Hill where Cork Constitution missed out on a late penalty try in a 16-12 defeat to Terenure College.
With just three minutes remaining, Paddy Casey’s pass appeared to be deliberately knocked on by a stray Terenure hand after Cork Con number eight David Hyland had done really well to charge down a clearance kick.
Referee Daniel Carson opted to only awarded Con a penalty and Terenure avoided further sanction, digging deep in defence to seal a famous victory on Leeside.
Con, who had won their previous five matches, looked to be in a good position at half-time. The teams were level at three points each after the hosts had played into a very strong wind.
Returning captain Aidan Moynihan opened the scoring for Brian Hickey’s side with a 27th-minute penalty. Jake Swaine had hit the post with his first attempt for Terenure, but nailed his second penalty late on to tie things up.
‘Nure were causing problems for Con at set-piece time, but it was their breaking ability which saw them stun Con with the game’s only try, just after the restart.
Scrum half Alan Bennie carved open the defence with a fine break, and skipper Harrison Brewer kept the attack going with a strong carry before sending fellow flanker Luke Clohessy over.
Swaine’s conversion was quickly cancelled out by a Moynihan penalty, before centre Peter Sylvester brought Terenure back into kicking range and Swaine delivered three more points.
The goal-kicking winger rewarded another strong ‘Nure scrum with a well-struck penalty, his third of the afternoon to leave Con trailing 16-6.
Incredibly, Con began the final quarter without their two centres. Greg Higgins and Niall Kenneally were both sin-binned in a disastrous eight-minute spell for the defending champions.
Credit to the home side, they showed excellent resilience and managed to turn ‘Nure and put them on the back foot. Two penalties from Moynihan ensured Con had the momentum heading into the closing stages, but their fightback fell just short.
Despite a Dylan O’Grady try right on the final whistle, Young Munster prevailed 18-12 away to UCD as they climbed back up to third place in the table.
Tries from recent debutant Cian Casey and captain Alan Kennedy steered Munsters to their seventh win of the season, with winger O’Grady bagging a brace for the eighth-placed students.
The visitors got on top during a scoreless opening 25 minutes. Forwards Conor Bartley and Sean Rigney made some good carries and centre Jack Harrington looked dangerous anytime he got the ball.
An Evan Cusack penalty opened their account, and Young Munster piled on the pressure approaching half-time. Kennedy almost got over the line before the ball was swung wide for Casey, the former Limerick minor hurler, to score in the right corner.
UCD were much-improved on the restart, with full-back Chris Cosgrave starting to have an impact. He broke past a defender and put O’Grady away to convert a two-on-one.
Cosgrave’s conversion closed the gap to 8-7, before Cusack replied from the tee for the Limerick men. They ramped up the pressure again, UCD going down to 14 men due to the number of penalties conceded.
Replacement Donnacha O’Callaghan took a quick tap for Munsters, he was stopped just short of the line but the ball was quickly recycled and Kennedy was soon celebrating under the posts. Cusack converted.
Time was running out for UCD but they did battle back for a hard-earned losing bonus point. Richie Fahy’s chip kick to Ross Deegan made the initial incision, and their patience was eventually rewarded when O’Grady scored in the final seconds.
Meanwhile, an 82nd-minute intercept try from Michael Silvester wrapped up Lansdowne’s 24-10 triumph over Ballynahinch.
Full-back Greg Hutley did all the scoring for bottom side ‘Hinch, his 49th-minute converted score bringing them level at 10 points apiece.
However, Lansdowne produced a final flourish, working replacement hooker Jamie Kavanagh over for a maul try before Silvester had the final say.
Dublin University retained the Dudley Cup thanks to a runaway 48-8 success at home to UCC. Out-half and captain Mick O’Kennedy starred for Trinity with 21 points, including a show-and-go try during the final quarter.
UCC were without their Munster contingent at College Park, with three of them starting for the province against Wasps tomorrow. Their regular openside flanker, Jack Kelleher, is also a travelling reserve in Coventry.
Still, Neil Lucey’s young guns produced a strong first-half performance and were only 13-3 behind at the interval. Skipper Rob Hedderman landed a central penalty from the 22 to get them off the mark.
Trinity’s only first half try was finished by Hugh Twomey, following a brilliant 18th-minute break by Leinster’s Rob Russell. Quick-fire scores from Lee Barron and Marcus Kiely, at the start of the second half, had the hosts in total command.
UCC reduced the deficit to 27-8 following some nice interplay between Eoin Monahan, the scorer, and Timothy Duggan.
Much to the delight of the home crowd, Tony Smeeth’s side had more in the tank and reeled off three more converted tries – Alan Francis’ big carry earned him the bonus point, O’Kennedy sniped over and replacement Aaron Coleman made it a neat half-a-dozen.
WEEKEND RESULTS:
DIVISION 1A:
BALLYNAHINCH 10 LANSDOWNE 24, Ballymacarn Park
Scorers: Ballynahinch: Try: Greg Hutley; Con: Greg Hutley; Pen: Greg Hutley
Lansdowne: Tries: Clive Ross, Michael Silvester, Jamie Kavanagh; Cons: Stephen Madigan 3; Pen: Stephen Madigan
HT: Ballynahinch 3 Lansdowne 10
BALLYNAHINCH: Greg Hutley; Rhys Patterson, Tagen Strydom, Ryan Wilson, Aaron Cairns; Jack Milligan, Conor McAuley; Nacho Cladera Crespo, Josh Hanlon, Kyle McCall, Thomas Donan, John Donnan, Bradley Luney, Oli Loughead, Callum Irvine.
Replacements: Ben Cullen, Peter Cooper, Tom Martin, Diego Vidal Souza, Chris Gibson, Paddy Wright.
LANSDOWNE: Stephen Madigan; Sean Galvin, Andy Marks, Corey Reid, Michael Silvester; Peter Hastie, Cormac Foley; Frank Kavanagh, Luke Thompson, Greg McGrath, Joey Szpara, Jack Dwan, Clive Ross, Jack O’Sullivan (capt), Mark Boyle.
Replacements: Jamie Kavanagh, Ben Popplewell, Dan Murphy, Jack Matthews, Sam Prendergast, Ruairi Clarke.
CORK CONSTITUTION 12 TERENURE COLLEGE 16, Temple Hill
Scorers: Cork Constitution: Pens: Aidan Moynihan 4
Terenure College: Try: Luke Clohessy; Con: Jake Swaine; Pens: Jake Swaine 3
HT: Cork Constitution 3 Terenure College 3
CORK CONSTITUTION: Billy Crowley; JJ O’Neill, Greg Higgins, Niall Kenneally, Rob Jermyn; Aidan Moynihan (capt), Duncan Williams; Brendan Quinlan, Jack Dinneen, Dylan Murphy, Eoin Quilter, Cathal O’Flaherty, Luke Cahill, Michael Casey, David Hyland.
Replacements: Luke McAuliffe, Paddy Casey, James Murphy, John O’Callaghan, Gary Bradley, Tomas Quinlan.
TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam La Grue; Jake Swaine, Colm de Buitléar, Peter Sylvester, Craig Adams; Cathal Marsh, Alan Bennie; Campbell Classon, Levi Vaughan, Conor McCormack, Rob Lalor, Michael Melia, Harrison Brewer (capt), Luke Clohessy, Jordan Coghlan.
Replacements: Adam Tuite, Andy Keating, Matthew Caffrey, Conall Boomer, James Thornton, Stephen O’Neill.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 48 UCC 8, College Park
Scorers: Dublin University: Tries: Hugh Twomey, Lee Barron, Marcus Kiely, Alan Francis, Mick O’Kennedy, Aaron Coleman; Cons: Mick O’Kennedy 5, Aran Egan; Pens: Mick O’Kennedy 2
UCC: Try: Eoin Monahan; Pen: Rob Hedderman
HT: Dublin University 13 UCC 3
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Rob Russell; Hugh Twomey, Marcus Kiely, Gavin Jones, Ronan Quinn; Mick O’Kennedy (capt), Louis O’Reilly; Giuseppe Coyne, Lee Barron, Thomas Connolly, Ronan Murphy, Harry Sheridan, Anthony Ryan, Alan Francis, Diarmuid McCormack.
Replacements: Mark Nicholson, Donnacha Mescal, Darren Magee, Aaron Coleman, Cormac King, Aran Egan.
UCC: Rob Hedderman (capt); Louis Bruce, Sam Tarleton, Daniel Squires, Matthew Bowen; Eoin Monahan, Louis Kahn; Alessandro Heaney, Daniel O’Connor, Corey Hanlon, Sam O’Sullivan, Mark Bissessar, Aidan Brien, Jack O’Sullivan, John Willis.
Replacements: Billy Kingston, Alan McDonald, Patrick McBarron, Ronan Barry, Luke Kerr, Timothy Duggan.
GARRYOWEN 0 CLONTARF 17, Dooradoyle
Scorers: Garryowen: –
Clontarf: Tries: Cormac Daly, Tadhg Bird, Max Kearney; Con: Conor Kearns
HT: Garryowen 0 Clontarf 12
GARRYOWEN: Jamie Shanahan; Colm Quilligan, Bryan Fitzgerald, Jack Delaney, Tommy O’Hora; Jamie Heuston (capt), Evan Maher; Niall Horan, Dylan Murphy, Jack Mullany, Tim Ferguson, Roy Whelan, Johnny Keane, Nicky Greene, Sean Rennison.
Replacements: Larry Kelly, Darragh McCarthy, Scott Leahy, Alan Fitzgerald, Ed Barry, Daniel Feasey.
CLONTARF: Tadhg Bird; Michael Brown, Michael Courtney, Matt D’Arcy (capt), Cian O’Donoghue; Conor Kearns, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan, JP Phelan, Cormac Daly, Ed Kelly, Martin Moloney, Max Kearney, Tony Ryan.
Replacements: Cathal O’Flynn, Darragh Bolger, Adrian D’Arcy, Peter Hoy, Seni Reilly Ashiru, Fionn Gilbert.
UCD 12 YOUNG MUNSTER 18, UCD Bowl
Scorers: UCD: Tries: Dylan O’Grady 2; Con: Chris Cosgrave
Young Munster: Tries: Cian Casey, Alan Kennedy; Con: Evan Cusack; Pens: Evan Cusack 2
HT: UCD 0 Young Munster 8
UCD: Chris Cosgrave; Ross Deegan, Jack Ringrose (capt), James Tarrant, Dylan O’Grady; Tim Corkery, Richie Fahy; Rory Mulvihill, Bobby Sheehan Evin Coyle, Gerard Hill, Jonathan Fish, Jack Coolican, Alec Byrne, James Culhane.
Replacements: Charlie O’Carroll, Rory McGuire, Rob Byrne, Simon Burke, Rob Gilsenan, David Heavey.
YOUNG MUNSTER: Cian Casey; Conor Hayes, Jack Harrington, Harry Fleming, Conor O’Shaughnessy; Evan Cusack, Jack Lyons; David Begley, Aaron Hennessy, Conor Bartley, Tom Goggin, Sean Rigney, Alan Kennedy (capt), John Foley, Fintan Coleman.
Replacements: Mark O’Mara, Paul Allen, Aidan Quinlivan, Bailey Faloon, Luke Fitzgerald, Donnacha O’Callaghan.
DIVISION 1B:
NAVAN 17 NAAS 22, Balreask Old (played on Friday)
Scorers: Navan: Tries: Sean McEntagart, Paddy Fox; Cons: Ben Daly, Mark Farrell; Pen: Mark Farrell
Naas: Tries: Gary Kavanagh, Sam Cahill, Craig Ronaldson; Cons: Peter Osborne 2; Pen: Peter Osborne
HT: Navan 7 Naas 12
NAVAN: Paddy Fox; Rory Gordon, Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon, Ben McEntagart; Ben Daly, Keith Kavanagh; Liam Carroll, Jack Nelson, Eoin King, Colm Carpenter, Conor Hand, Shane Faulkner, Conor Farrell (capt), Hardus van Eeden.
Replacements: David Clarke, Alex McGoey, Ronan Meegan, Harry Hester, Colm O’Reilly, Mark Farrell.
NAAS: Peter Osborne (capt); Donal Conroy, Gary Kavanagh, Craig Ronaldson, Sam Cahill; Bryan Croke, Tim Murphy; Jack Barry, Connor Johnson, Adam Coyle, Patrick O’Flaherty, Paul Monahan, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey.
Replacements: John Sutton, Jack Coyle, David Benn, Paulie Tolofua, Connor Halpenny, Matt Stapleton.
BANBRIDGE 18 OLD BELVEDERE 13, Rifle Park
Scorers: Banbridge: Tries: Andrew Morrison, Conor Field; Con: Adam Doherty; Pens: Adam Doherty 2
Old Belvedere: Try: Jack Keating; Con: Justin Leonard; Pens: Justin Leonard 2
HT: Banbridge 8 Old Belvedere 10
BANBRIDGE: Adam Doherty; Conor Field, Joe Finnegan, Josh Cromie, Robert Lyttle; Andrew Morrison, Neil Kilpatrick; Callum Reid, Peter Cromie, Michael Cromie (capt), David O’Connor, Brendan McSorley, Max Lyttle, Matthew Laird, Robin Sinton.
Replacements: Tim Savage, Stuart Cromie, Alex Weir, Martin Vorster, Aaron Kennedy, Ross Cartmill.
OLD BELVEDERE: Colm Hogan; Jack Keating, David Butler, Robbie Deegan, Ariel Robles; Justin Leonard, Aaron Atkinson; Adam Howard, Joe Horan, Ryan McMahon, Connor Owende (capt), Dean Moore, Paddy Dowling, Fionn McWey, Colin Mallon.
Replacements: Shane O’Hehir, Hugh Flood, Jack Culligan, Will McDonald, Jamie McAleese, Conrad Daly.
CITY OF ARMAGH 16 OLD WESLEY 19, Palace Grounds
Scorers: City of Armagh: Try: Neil Faloon; Con: Kyle Faloon; Pens: Kyle Faloon 3
Old Wesley: Tries: David Poff, Tommy O’Callaghan; Pens: Ian Cassidy 3
HT: City of Armagh 6 Old Wesley 14
CITY OF ARMAGH: Kyle Faloon; Andrew Willis, Tim McNiece (capt), Evin Crummie, Shea O’Brien; Harry Boyd, Gerard Treanor, Peter Lamb, Jack Treanor, Paul Mullen, Josh McKinley, James Hanna, Nigel Simpson, Ryan Finlay, Neil Faloon.
Replacements: Jonny Morton, Philip Fletcher, James Morton, James Crummie, Romain Morrow, Ross Taylor.
OLD WESLEY: Conor Gaston; Tommy O’Callaghan, James O’Donovan, Eoin Deegan, David Poff; Ian Cassidy, Charlie O’Regan; Cronan Gleeson, Ben Burns, Sam Kenny, JJ O’Dea, Iain McGann (capt), Will Fay, Josh Pim, Reuben Pim.
Replacements: Howard Noonan, Jacob Barrett, Alastair Hoban, Paul Derham, Alex Molloy, Paddy McKenzie.
SHANNON 6 HIGHFIELD 0, Thomond Park back pitch
Scorers: Shannon: Pens: John O’Sullivan 2
Highfield: –
HT: Shannon 3 Highfield 0
SHANNON: Darren Gavin; Ikem Ugwueru, Killian Dineen, Alan Flannery, Josh Costello; John O’Sullivan, Ian Leonard; Conor Glynn, Jordan Prenderville, Luke Rigney, Ronan Coffey, David Maher, Sean McCarthy, Lee Nicholas (capt), Colm Heffernan.
Replacements: Alex Long, Jade Kriel, Kieran Ryan, Ben Sargent, Jamie Ryan, Kelvin Brown.
HIGHFIELD: Shane O’Riordan; Ben Murphy, Paddy O’Toole, David O’Sullivan, 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: Callum Mackintosh, Paddy Ryan, Eoin Keating, Ronan O’Sullivan, Luke Kingston, Sam Burns.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 42 MALONE 42, Templeville Road
Scorers: St. Mary’s College: Tries: Ronan Watters, Dave Fanagan, Mick O’Gara, Ruairi Shields, Myles Carey, Penalty try; Cons: Mick O’Gara 5, Pen try con
Malone: Tries: Nathan Brown, Andy Bryans, Gareth Millar, Aaron Sexton 2, Keith Murray; Cons: Callum Smith 6
HT: St. Mary’s College 28 Malone 7
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Ruairi Shields; Matt Timmons, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Dave Fanagan; Conor Dean, Adam McEvoy; Daniel Lyons, Steven O’Brien, Mick McCormack, Ian Wickham, Liam Corcoran, David Aspil, Niall Hurley, Ronan Watters (capt).
Replacements: Jamie Coolican, Niall McEniff, Peter Starrett, Daniel Leane, Tim MacMahon, Joe Nolan.
MALONE: Aaron Sexton; Gareth Millar, Callum Smith, Nathan Brown, Andy Bryans; Conor Spence, Lewis Finlay; Aidan McSwiggan, Claytan Milligan, Ricky Greenwood, Stewart McKendrick, Zach Devine, Dan Kerr, Dave Cave (capt), Harry Andrews.
Replacements: Daryl Maxwell, Ben Halliday, Neill Alcorn, Thomas Leitch, Shane Kelly, Gary Crawford.
DIVISION 2A:
OLD CRESCENT 17 UL BOHEMIANS 28, Takumi Park (played on Friday)
MU Barnhall 21 Cashel 29, Parsonstown
Ballymena 14 Rainey Old Boys 10, Eaton Park
Dolphin 42 Nenagh Ormond 12, Musgrave Park
Queen’s University 32 Buccaneers 15, Dub Lane
DIVISION 2B:
Malahide 34 Blackrock College 34, Estuary Road (played on Friday)
Dungannon 6 Belfast Harlequins 26, Stevenson Park
Galway Corinthians 42 Ballina 5, Corinthian Park
Sligo 29 Galwegians 8, Hamilton Park
Wanderers 30 Greystones 17, Merrion Road
DIVISION 2C:
Bangor 27 Skerries 15, Upritchard Park
Bruff 34 Sunday’s Well 14, Kilballyowen Park
City of Derry 20 Omagh Academicals 0, Judge’s Road
Clonmel 15 Enniscorthy 31, Ardgaoithe
Midleton 27 Tullamore 13, Towns Park
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Bernard Jackman, Niamh Briggs, and Murray Kinsella discuss a massive weekend of Champions Cup rugby for the four Irish provinces.