CONOR HAYES in his eighth try of the Energia All-Ireland League season as Young Munster won their derby clash with Garryowen, triumphing 20-16 in front of their home support at Tom Clifford Park.
The Cookies led 17-6 heading into the closing stages, but two quick-fire tries from Dylan Murphy and Colm Quilligan had the Light Blues back in the contest.
However, Evan Cusack’s second penalty of the night ensured that Munsters held on for a deserved win – their first in three rounds.
Gearoid Prendergast’s side dominated the game for large periods, especially at scrum time, but it was Garryowen who opened the scoring with Jamie Heuston’s 13th-minute penalty.
The response was swift from the hosts when Evan Maher’s box-kick after the restart was ran back by Conor O’Shaughnessy. Hooker Dan Walsh came on a perfect line and showed superb speed to run in from 25 metres out, with Cusack converting.
The scoreboard was not troubled again until the 31st minute when Heuston landed his second penalty. A number of scrum penalties came their way but the Cookies were unable to take advantage, as they took a 7-6 lead into the break.
Young Munster made it a four-point game when Cusack punished a late hit on him by sin-binned lock Roy Whelan. In Whelan’s absence, Garryowen dug deep to stop Alan Kennedy, John Foley and Harry Fleming in quick succession, just a few metres out.
All over 20 -16 win for us well done to all involved on grinding out the win
— Young Munster RFC (@YoungMunsterRFC) December 4, 2021
Nonetheless, when the ball was moved out to the backs, Hayes carried well and piled over in the left corner, using the two men outside him as a decoy.
Garryowen fought hard to get back into contention thanks to late tries from Murphy and the in-form Quilligan – with his fifth of the campaign – but Cusack’s penalty sealed the bragging rights for Young Munster.
Meanwhile, defending Division 1A champions Cork Constitution powered past local rivals UCC, on a 45-0 scoreline, to make it five wins on the trot.
With their powerful lineout and scrum the ideal launchpads, Cork Con tallied up seven tries at the Mardyke as half-backs Tomas Quinlan and Duncan Williams got the best out of their dominant pack.
UCC trailed 26-0 at half-time, Billy Crowley threatening before tighthead Paddy Casey claimed the first of his two tries from close range in the 11th minute.
Despite the best efforts of captain Rob Hedderman and number 8 Jack O’Sullivan, the hosts leaked three tries approaching the interval, with flanker Aidan Brien seeing yellow for the concession of a penalty try.
Hooker Luke McAuliffe and lock Cathal O’Flaherty added a late brace, Con’s phase-building wearing down the UCC defence and the title holders showing admirable control in the slippery conditions.
A penalty stuck into the corner paved the way for McAuliffe to complete his brace, early on the restart. O’Flaherty got over in the corner again for his second – picked out by an excellent Crowley pass – and Casey also doubled his tally late on.
Vice-captain Cormac Daly delivered a hat-trick of tries as Clontarf convincingly dispatched Dublin University 27-7 to stay two points clear at the summit.
The 6ft 6in lock, who had a short-term stint with Connacht last year, touched down twice during the first half at Castle Avenue. He added a third after ‘Tarf replacement Ben Griffin had been sin-binned.
Trinity had high hopes of testing the table toppers having claimed the scalps of Lansdowne and Young Munster, but the north Dubliners proved too strong, particularly up front.
Leinster talent David Hawkshaw was back at out-half for ‘Tarf and his first half penalty helped to establish a 13-0 lead at the break.
The students responded well to Aran Egan’s sin-binning, and their Ulster Academy lock, Harry Sheridan, barged over for a try with 10 minutes remaining.
However, Daly slipped through from a ruck to register the bonus point score and seal ‘Tarf’s seventh win in eight games.
Provincial players Peter Dooley, Cormac Foley and Peter Sullivan all crossed the whitewash in Lansdowne’s impressive 48-15 dismissal of UCD.
Leinster prop Dooley drove over for the bonus point try in the 32nd minute, as Mark McHugh’s men quickly went about their business on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch.
Their maul and scrum were in dominant form, setting up tries for hookers Luke Thompson and Jamie Kavanagh (2) as well as earning a first-half penalty try.
Leinster Academy flanker Sean O’Brien emptied the tank for UCD, registering a try and racking up the tackles. Replacement Richard Fahy closed the gap to 36-15, but that was as close as the students came.
Bottom side Ballynahinch were handed a 39-0 beating by Terenure College who have climbed back into the top half of the division.
Two massive wins in Lakelands today. The 1’s carry on their good form over the last three games with a 39-0 win over Hinch as the 2’s take the spoils in the D6 Derby, 47-11. Any bad news?
— Terenure College RFC (@terenurerugby) December 4, 2021
‘Nure produced a commanding first half display at Lakelands Park, Peter Sylvester’s 11th-minute intercept try coming on the back of a 30-metre penalty from Jake Swaine.
Luke Clohessy went over in the corner following an Adam La Grue break, Jordan Coghlan finished off good work from the forwards, and Conor McCormack grabbed the bonus point score after combining with fellow prop Campbell Classon.
Ballynahinch turned around with the wind at their backs, but their comeback hopes ended with ‘Nure winger Craig Adams’ fifth try of the season. Number 8 Coghlan added his fourth in two matches.
WEEKEND RESULTS:
DIVISION 1A:
CLONTARF 27 DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 7, Castle Avenue
Scorers: Clontarf: Tries: Cormac Daly 3, Penalty try; Cons: David Hawkshaw, Pen try con; Pen: David Hawkshaw
Dublin University: Try: Harry Sheridan; Con: Aran Egan
HT: Clontarf 13 Dublin University 0
CLONTARF: Tadhg Bird; Conor Kearns, Michael Brown, Matt D’Arcy (capt), Cian O’Donoghue; David Hawkshaw, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan, Jonny Phelan, Cormac Daly, Ed Kelly, Adrian D’Arcy, Paul Deeny, Max Kearney.
Replacements: Cathal O’Flynn, Darragh Bolger, Ben Griffin, Zach Ryan, Jack Power, Fionn Gilbert.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Rob Russell; Hugh Twomey, Marcus Kiely, Gavin Jones, Ronan Quinn; Aran Egan, Louis O’Reilly (capt); Giuseppe Coyne, Lee Barron, Thomas Connolly, Joe McCarthy, Harry Sheridan, Anthony Ryan, Alan Francis, Diarmuid McCormack.
Replacements: Mark Nicholson, Bart Vermeulen, Ronan Murphy, Aaron Coleman, Cormac King, Mick O’Kennedy.
LANSDOWNE 48 UCD 15, Aviva Stadium back pitch
Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: Peter Dooley, Luke Thompson, Joey Szpara, Penalty try, Cormac Foley, Peter Sullivan, Jamie Kavanagh 2; Cons: Peter Hastie 2, Charlie Tector, Pen try con
UCD: Tries: Sean O’Brien, Richard Fahy; Con: Chris Cosgrave; Pen: Chris Cosgrave
HT: Lansdowne 24 UCD 8
LANSDOWNE: Conall Doherty; Sean Galvin, Andy Marks, Charlie Tector, Peter Sullivan; Peter Hastie, Cormac Foley; Peter Dooley, Luke Thompson, Greg McGrath, Joey Szpara, Jack Dwan, Clive Ross (capt), Michael O’Brien, Mark Boyle.
Replacements: Jamie Kavanagh, Ben Popplewell, Daniel Murphy, James Kenny. Ruairi Clarke.
UCD: Chris Cosgrave; Luke Maloney, Jack Ringrose (capt), Ben Brownlee, Dylan O’Grady; Tim Corkery, Rob Gilsenan; Robert Byrne, Bobby Sheehan, Evin Coyle, Jonathan Fish, Gerard Hill, Tom Coghlan, Sean O’Brien, Ronan Foley.
Replacements: Charlie O’Carroll, Rory McGuire, Rory Mulvihill, Donal McMahon, Richard Fahy, James Tarrant.
TERENURE COLLEGE 39 BALLYNAHINCH 0, Lakelands Park
Scorers: Terenure College: Tries: Conor McCormack, Luke Clohessy, Peter Sylvester, Jordan Coghlan [2], Craig Adams; Cons: Jake Swaine 3; Pen: Jake Swaine
Ballynahinch: –
HT: Terenure College 29 Ballynahinch 0
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, Sam Coghlan Murray.
BALLYNAHINCH: Yasser Omar; Shane Ball, Tagen Strydom, Rory Butler, Aaron Cairns; Jack Milligan, Conor McAuley; Ben Cullen, Josh Hanlon, Kyle McCall, Thomas Donnan, John Donnan, Diego Vidal Souza, Reuben Crothers, Callum Irvine.
Replacements: Nacho Cladera Crespo, Kelvin Hamilton, Tom Martin, Ryan Wilson, Greg Hutley, Ruairi Meharg.
UCC 0 CORK CONSTITUTION 45, the Mardyke
Scorers: UCC: –
Cork Constitution: Tries: Luke McAuliffe 2, Paddy Casey 2, Cathal O’Flaherty 2, Penalty try; Cons: Tomas Quinlan 4, Pen try con
HT: UCC 0 Cork Constitution 26
UCC: Rob Hedderman (capt); Louis Bruce, Sam Tarleton, Daniel Squires, George Coomber; Billy Kingston, Louis Kahn; Alessandro Heaney, Daniel O’Connor, Corey Hanlon, Sam O’Sullivan, Mark Bissessar, Aidan Brien, Jack Kelleher, Jack O’Sullivan.
Replacements: Billy Kingston, Tom Ormond, Patrick McBarron, John Willis, Luke Kerr, Timothy Duggan.
CORK CONSTITUTION: Johnny Murphy; Billy Crowley, Greg Higgins, Niall Kenneally, Rob Jermyn; Tomas Quinlan, Duncan Williams; Brendan Quinlan, Luke McAuliffe, Paddy Casey, Eoin Quilter, Cathal O’Flaherty, Luke Cahill, Michael Casey, David Hyland.
Replacements: Gordon Good, Dylan Murphy, James Murphy, John Beamish, John Poland, Bruce Matthews.
YOUNG MUNSTER 20 GARRYOWEN 16, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers: Young Munster: Tries: Dan Walsh, Conor Hayes; Cons: Evan Cusack 2; Pens: Evan Cusack 2
Garryowen: Tries: Dylan Murphy, Colm Quilligan; Pens: Jamie Heuston 2
HT: Young Munster 7 Garryowen 6
YOUNG MUNSTER: Cian Casey; Conor Hayes, Jack Harrington, Harry Fleming, Conor O’Shaughnessy; Evan Cusack, Jack Lyons; David Begley, Dan Walsh, Conor Bartley, Tom Goggin, Sean Rigney, Alan Kennedy (capt), Fintan Coleman, John Foley.
Replacements: Aaron Hennessy, Paul Allen, Aidan Quinlivan, Liam Neilan, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Luke Fitzgerald.
GARRYOWEN: Jamie Shanahan; Colm Quilligan, Bryan Fitzgerald, Jack Delaney, Tommy O’Hora; Jamie Heuston, Evan Maher; Niall Horan, Dylan Murphy, Darragh McCarthy, Rory Whelan, Kevin Seymour (capt), Alan Fitzgerald, Tim Ferguson, Sean Rennison.
Replacements: Larry Kelly, Michael Veale, Jonny Keane, Ed Barry, Alex Wood, Daniel Feasey.
DIVISION 1B:
HIGHFIELD 21 CITY OF ARMAGH 10, Woodleigh Park
Scorers: Highfield: Tries: Travis Coomey, Chris Banon, Sam Burns; Cons: James Taylor 3
City of Armagh: Try: Kyle Faloon; Con: Kyle Faloon; Pen: Kyle Faloon
HT: Highfield 14 City of Armagh 0
HIGHFIELD: Shane O’Riordan; Luke Kingston, Ben Murphy, Mark Dorgan, Paul Stack; James Taylor, Chris Banon (capt); James Rochford, Travis Coomey, Ian McCarthy, Dave O’Connell, Fintan O’Sullivan, Ryan Murphy, Ronan O’Sullivan, Miah Cronin.
Replacements: Robert Murphy, Daragh Fitzgerald, Sean Garrett, Cathal Gallagher, David O’Sullivan, Sam Burns.
CITY OF ARMAGH: Kyle Faloon; Andrew Willis, Shea O’Brien, Evin Crummie, Tim McNiece (capt); Harry Boyd, Gerard Treanor; Peter Lamb, Jack Treanor, Paul Mullen, Josh McKinley, Josh Glasgow, Nigel Simpson, Ryan Morton, Neil Faloon.
Replacements: Jonny Morton, Philip Fletcher, James Crummie, James Hanna, Alex Johnston, Ross Taylor.
MALONE 12 SHANNON 15, Gibson Park
Scorers: Malone: Tries: Stewart McKendrick, Aaron Sexton; Con: Callum Smith
Shannon: Tries: Jordan Prenderville, Penalty try; Con: Pen try con; Pen: John O’Sullivan
HT: Malone 12 Shannon 3
MALONE: Aaron Sexton; Jonny Betts, Nathan Brown, Callum Smith, Gareth Millar; Conor Spence, Shane Kelly; Tommy O’Hagan, Claytan Milligan, Aidan McSwiggan, James McAlister, Stewart McKendrick, Dan Kerr, Dave Cave (capt), Harry Andrews.
Replacements: Daryl Maxwell, Ben Halliday, Zach Devine, Lewis Finlay, Ricky Greenwood.
SHANNON: John O’Sullivan; Ikem Ugwueru, Killian Dineen, Alan Flannery, Darren Gavin; Richie Mullane, Ian Leonard; Conor Glynn, Jordan Prenderville, Luke Rigney, Lee Nicholas (capt), Sean McCarthy, Kelvin Brown, Charlie Carmody, Colm Heffernan.
Replacements: Alex Long, Darragh McSweeney, Kieran Ryan, David Smith, Josh Costello, David Maher.
OLD BELVEDERE 32 NAVAN 12, Ollie Campbell Park
Scorers: Old Belvedere: Tries: John Horan 2, David Butler, Jack Keating; Cons: Justin Leonard 2, Tommy Whittle; Pens: Justin Leonard 2
Navan: Tries: Ben Daly, Paddy Fox; Con: Ben Daly
HT: Old Belvedere 12 Navan 3
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), Fionn McWey, Paddy Dowling, Ethan Baxter, Tom Ryan.
Replacements: Shane O’Hehir, Hugh Flood, Jack Culligan, Colin Mallon, Tommy Whittle, Jack Gilheany.
NAVAN: Paddy Fox; Rory Gordon, Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon, Willie McAleese; Ben Daly, Keith Kavanagh; Niall Farrelly, Jack Nelson, Eoin King, Colm Carpenter, Conor Hand, Conor Ryan, Conor Farrell (capt), Hardus van Eeden.
Replacements: David Clarke, Liam Carroll, Andrew Doyle, Ronan Meegan, Colm O’Reilly, Harry Hester.
OLD WESLEY 24 BANBRIDGE 14, Energia Park
Scorers: Old Wesley: Tries: Ben Burns, Iain McGann, Paddy McKenzie, David Poff; Cons: Ian Cassidy, Paddy McKenzie
Banbridge: Try: Jonny Murphy; Pens: Adam Doherty 3
HT: Old Wesley 12 Banbridge 9
OLD WESLEY: Conor Gaston; Tommy O’Callaghan, James Sharpe, Eoin Deegan, David Poff; Ian Cassidy, Ben Murphy; Cronan Gleeson, Ben Burns, Rob O’Donovan, JJ O’Dea, Iain McGann (capt), Will Fay, Josh Pim, Reuben Pim.
Replacements: David Young, Sam Kenny, Alastair Hoban, Alex Molloy, Paddy McKenzie, Charlie O’Regan.
BANBRIDGE: Adam Doherty; Conor Field, Josh Finnegan, Josh Cromie, Ross Cartmill; Andrew Morrison, Neil Kilpatrick; Callum Reid, Jonny Murphy, Michael Cromie (capt), Matthew Laird, Brendan McSorley, Max Lyttle, Peter Cromie, Robin Sinton.
Replacements: Josh Chambers, Stuart Cromie, Alex Weir, Martin Vorster, Aaron Kennedy, Jonny Little.
NAAS 35 ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 19, Forenaughts (played on Friday)
Scorers: Naas: Tries: Gary Kavanagh, Donal Conroy, John Sutton, Tim Murphy; Cons: Peter Osborne 3; Pens: Peter Osborne 3
St. Mary’s College: Tries: Liam Corcoran, Mick McCormack, Ronan Watters; Cons: Mick O’Gara 2
HT: Naas 20 St. Mary’s College 7
NAAS: Peter Osborne (capt); Donal Crotty, Gary Kavanagh, Matt Stapleton, Sam Cahill; Bryan Croke, Connor Halfpenny; Jack Barry, John Sutton, Adam Coyle, Patrick O’Flaherty, David Benn, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Paulie Tolofua.
Replacements: Connor Johnson, Stephen Lackey, Paul Monahan, Ryan Casey, Tim Murphy, Craig Ronaldson.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: Ruairi Shields; Matt Timmons, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Ryan O’Loughlin; Conor Dean, Dave Fanagan; Daniel Lyons, Steven O’Brien, Mick McCormack, Ian Wickham, Liam Corcoran, Nick McCarthy, Niall Hurley, Ronan Watters (capt).
Replacements: Jamie Coolican, Tom O’Reilly, Liam Curran, Daniel Leane, Aaron O’Neill, Joe Nolan.
DIVISION 2A:
Buccaneers 13 MU Barnhall 15, Dubarry Park
Cashel 24 Dolphin 7, Spafield
Nenagh Ormond 15 Old Crescent 30, New Ormond Park
Rainey Old Boys 0 Queen’s University 54, Hatrick Park
UL Bohemians 29 Ballymena 26, UL Arena
DIVISION 2B:
Galwegians 3 Galway Corinthians 23, Crowley Park (played on Friday)
Ballina 30 Malahide 8, Heffernan Park
Belfast Harlequins 30 Wanderers 26, Deramore Park
Blackrock College 29 Dungannon 26, Stradbrook
Greystones 48 Sligo 17, Dr Hickey Park
DIVISION 2C:
Enniscorthy 35 Bruff 22, Alcast Park
Omagh Academicals 18 Midleton 8, Thomas Mellon Playing Fields
Skerries 41 City of Derry 0, Holmpatrick
Sunday‘s Well 14 Bangor 16, Musgrave Park
Tullamore v Clonmel, Spollanstown (Covid-19-affected match cancelled – 0-0. Both teams are awarded two points)