Triple Crown for Ireland A and Students
There were wins for the the Ireland A side, 60-3, over Scotland in Ravenhill, the Ireland Students by 17-12 in Donnybrook and for the Under 21s who won 25-18 in Thomond Park.
The victories in Belfast and Dublin meant that the A and Students won their respective Triple Crowns while the Under 21s produced a cracking second half performance to overturn a half time deficit and claim a deserved victory.
In Belfast, a crowd of 9000 turned up to see the Matt Williams coached Irish side claim the Triple Crown by virtue of an emphatic 57 point winning margin over Scotland. Ireland led 20-3 at half time, their first try not arriving until late in the first half half but they ran in six second half tries much to the delight of the large attendance.
Paul Burke kicked five first half penaties to give the Irish a 20 point lead before Victor Costello crashed over for the first of his two tries.
Along with Keith Gleeson (pictured) and Alan Quinlan, Costello exerted a major influence on this game while Mike Mullins served notice of his return to form when scoring a brilliant individual try in the 47th minute.
For the home support the game ended on a high with tries from local heroes Paddy Wallace and Andy Ward both of which were converted by Paul Burke.
Ireland A.Paddy Wallace (Ulster/Ballymena); Gordon Darcy (Leinster/Lansdowne), Mike Mullins (Munster/Young Munster), Jason Holland (Munster/Midleton), Tyrone Howe (Ulster/Dungannon); Paul Burke (Harlequins), Neil Doak (Ulster/Belfast Harlequins); Reggie Corrigan (Leinster/Lansdowne) Captain, Paul Shields (Ulster/Ballymena)
Simon Best (Ulster/Belfast Harlequins); Leo Cullen (Leinster/Blackrock College), Bob Casey (Leinster/Blackrock College); Alan Quinlan (Munster/Shannon), Keith Gleeson (Leinster/St. Mary’s College), Victor Costello (Leinster/St. Mary’s College).
Replacements: Gavin Hickie (Leinster/St. Mary’s College) for Shields 57 min . Marcus Horan (Munster/Shannon), for Best 49 min. Donnacha O’Callaghan (Munster/Cork Constitution) for Cullen 66 min. Andy Ward (Ulster/Ballynahinch) for Costello 49 min. Ben Willis (Leinster/Blackrock College) for Doak 65 min., Jeremy Staunton (Munster/Garryowen) for Howe 43 min. Sheldon Coulter (Ulster/Belfast Harlequins0.
Referee. S Leyshon (Eng).