#EnergiaAIL Men’s Division 1A: Round 4 Review

Richie Bergin, Rob Gilsenan, and Ruairi Shields all touched down against their former club UCD as St. Mary’s College won 45-24 to move five points clear at the top of Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A.

Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Divisions: Round 4 Results Round-Up

Mark McHugh’s men, who were beaten semi-finalists last year, scored four tries by half-time at the Bowl, including a couple of scores from halfway, as they made it four victories in a row.

A forward pass from Aaron O’Neill denied Leandro Ramirez an early try, before St. Mary’s had another near miss when Ireland Sevens international Aaron O’Sullivan just ran out of pitch as he tried to score from his own chip kick.

There was no stopping O’Sullivan in the 12th minute, his breakaway score coming from nice hands from Conor Dean, Mick O’Gara, and Dan Goggin. O’Gara and Paddy Clancy swapped kicks, the latter’s penalty leaving it 7-3.

Another ex-UCD player, Greg Jones, took a great short line onto a Gilsenan pass, offloading sweetly for Bergin to cross in the 27th minute. Gilsenan was next over the try-line, profiting from a neat one-two with Goggin via a ground-gaining maul.

With captain Dan Barron leading by example, the students managed to hit back soon after. Their lively attacking play forced penalties, and a well-controlled lineout drive earned them a penalty try, and a yellow card for Mary’s prop Mick McCormack.

However, the visitors’ skipper Dean was just as influential as his UCD counterpart, especially with ball in hand. Some deft handling across the back-line put Mark Fogarty into space and he released Ramirez out wide for the bonus point effort.

That was the first half’s final action, putting the league leaders 26-10 clear. UCD replied just six minutes after the break, Duinn Maguire spinning off a maul, set up by Leinster Academy lock Conor O’Tighearnaigh, to pull seven points back.

Dean’s crisp distribution kept the UCD defence guessing, and he sent number 8 Goggin on a tackle-breaking run in the 49th minute. Replacement Adam McEvoy was up in support to finish off the move, with O’Gara converting for a 33-17 scoreline.

With the wind at the backs and more penalties coming their way, Emmet MacMahon’s young side had opportunities to draw back closer. Jones thwarted them at a close-in lineout, though, and Mary’s replacement Finn Burke also won a penalty at the breakdown.

Despite Josh Gimblett’s sin-binning, Mary’s crowded out Mark Canniffe in the corner. They soon broke downfield for a brilliant 78th-minute try, Goggin’s cross-field kick inviting O’Sullivan foward before the supporting Shields romped clear from 60 metres out.

There was still time for UCD replacement Lucas Maguire to get the maul try that he deserved. Yet, Mary’s had the final say with their seventh try, Ronan Watters thundering over from the left wing with a big fend.

Meanwhile, Clontarf captain Dylan Donnellan continued his try-per-game strike-rate since the new season began, as the defending champions powered their way to a 34-12 bonus point win at Old Belvedere.

Conor Kelly’s ever-reliable left boot opened the scoring in the seventh minute for Clontarf, who had pressed almost immediately from Peter Maher’s lightning quick break from deep.

Dylan O’Grady got across to deny Old Belvedere full-back Morgan Meredith in the right corner, but the hosts made the subsequent possession count. Ryan McMahon barged over for his third try of the campaign, converted by David Wilkinson.

The O’Grady brothers, Dylan and Alex, led a pacy ‘Tarf attack early in the second quarter. Their beefy pack took over, winning a scrum penalty before Donnellan drove over from the lineout for what was incredibly his 80th league try in four years.

Seven minutes before the interval, Luke McLaughlin, younger brother of Leinster debutant Hugo, matched Donnellan with a well-taken maul score for ‘Belvo to establish a 12-8 lead.

Disappointingly for their vocal supporters, the home side were held scoreless after that. The Bulls soon got back on the front foot, Paul Deeny rampaging his way up into the 22, and a double movement denied Tadhg Bird from close range.

Nonetheless, Justin Leonard’s yellow card for a high tackle on Kelly invited ‘Tarf forward again. Connor Fahy duly squeezed in a late converted try, the ball breaking for him to score under the posts following a well-weighted Kelly kick.

Leading by three at the turnaround, Andy Wood’s men added 19 unanswered second-half points to bring a maximum haul back across the Liffey. They had to absorb some early pressure, with McLaughlin just knocking on close to the whitewash.

A high hit landed Belvedere winger Joe White in the bin, and Bird capitalised to slip out of a tackle for try number three, 50 minutes in. Jordan Coghlan and Fionn Gilbert then combined in defence to win a relieving penalty at the other end.

‘Belvo ended the third quarter trailing 29-12, as ‘Tarf’s speedy back-three conjured up an excellent try from just outside their 22. Dylan O’Grady made the initial break, the supporting Maher cut inside and it was Alex O’Grady who darted clear to score beside the posts.

The north Dubliners lost Donnellan to the bin, paying the price for repeated penalties under the watchful eye of referee Sam Holt. They held ‘Belvo at bay before replacement Alex Tilly sent Maher over for a closing try late on.

Ballynahinch have moved up one place to second in the table after a fine 25-12 triumph at Cork Constitution. Aaron Sexton’s fourth-minute try set them on their way at Temple Hill, a venue where they lost 51-21 last year.

‘Hinch used an early Cork Con goal-line dropout to attack out to the right, and Conor Rankin’s incisive fourth-minute run, which saw him get past Rob Hedderman, led to him feeding Sexton to go over untouched from close to 30 metres out.

Rankin had a composed presence at full-back, and also kicked well on the day. He finished with 10 points, converting Sexton and Chris Gibson’s first-half scores and tagging on two penalties before the break.

Sean Condon had to react sharply to tackle Sexton and Declan Horrox in quick succession, as the visitors hunted down that second try. Danny Sheahan dug Cork Con out of trouble with a turnover penalty.

As ‘Hinch pressed again following a Sexton 50:22 kick, Rankin was unable to field a cross-field delivery from Mark Best. However, a sustained bout of pressure – with successive penalties tucked into the corner – resulted in scrum-half Gibson sniping over in the 25th minute.

A scrum penalty on halfway was brought forward 10 metres due to some pushing and shoving, and Rankin’s crisply-struck kick extended the County Down’s side’s lead to 17 points. The 24-year-old missed from further out just three minutes later.

That was Cork Con’s cue to eventually build their way into the game. Three penalties got them within striking distance, and a fourth for a maul infringement saw ‘Hinch flanker Peter Heasley sin-binned.

The Leesiders immediately took advantage, a well-executed lineout drive propelling Peter Hyland over to close the gap to 10 points. Yet, a terrific kick from Ranklin, near the right touchline, made it 20-7 for half-time.

The third quarter was tight and tense, and largely defence dominated. Hedderman got his hands on a well-won turnover inside the visitors’ 22, only to be pinged for holding on due to Ryan Connolly’s quick reactions after a tackle.

Constitution made inroads near the hour mark, carrying hard and forcing penalties. They turned down a straightforward three-pointer. Sheehan was stopped short from the maul, but Jack Kelleher successfully barged over in the next phase, leaving it 20-12.

Following up on Billy Scannell’s breakdown work, an impressive 50:22 from Sheehan had the home crowd raising the decibel level. ‘Hinch held firm though, Bradley Luney getting his hands to the lineout ball, which Tom McAllister managed to mop up.

Dylan Hicks was a clean pass away from breaking into space, but it was Adam Craig’s charges who settled the issue late on. Luney and Best spearheaded a blindside break, the territory was held onto and Con winger Joe O’Leary went to the bin for a deliberate knock-on.

There were 79 minutes on the clock when Hicks’ error with a dropout handed ‘Hinch a five-metre scrum to seal the deal. Out-half Paul Kerr folded around to the left, taking Gibson’s pass to exploit a slight gap and touch down near the corner.

Elsewhere, Lansdowne captain Andy Marks led the way with a brace of tries as they got back to winning ways in Greenfields. Always a tough place to win at, the visitors had to stave off a late Young Munster fightback to win 40-35 in the end.

Lansdowne looked in control, leading 21-7 at half-time, and five of their backs shared out their six tries, including the influential back-three of Tom Roche, Sean Galvin, and Leinster Academy youngster Todd Lawlor.

Flanker Matt Healy burst down the right wing to pave the way for Roche’s third-minute opener, the Ireland Sevens international evading a tackle and bouncing back to his feet to score. James Tarrant converted from the right, with the first of his five successful kicks.

Young Munster hit back from their first attacking opportunity, releasing Hubert Gilvarry to go over out wide. Luke McCready did well to get his hands free in the midfield traffic, linking with Shane O’Leary who supplied the final pass to the in-form winger.

Lansdowne regained the lead in the 12th minute, the elusive Galvin brilliantly beating four defenders before sending the supporting Harry O’Riordan in under the posts. They widened the margin to 14 points, entering the second quarter.

Healy continued to stand out, with a lineout steal and a powerful carry, and the increasingly-influential Lawlor gathered in a pass after juggling it, spun and drew in two defenders before offloading for Marks to raid over from just outside Munsters’ 22.

The Cookies, who remain winless after four rounds but with seven bonus points, tightened up their defence. O’Leary won an important turnover penalty, and late in the first half, Bailey Faloon and skipper Alan Kennedy forced a Lansdowne maul to ground.

Young Munster seized the momentum on the restart, aided by Lawlor’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Liam McMahon scored from a well-executed maul, but after Lawlor’s return, Jack Matthews used quick ball to kick out to the left where Galvin claimed Lansdowne’s bonus point.

Trailing 26-14, Ger Slattery’s side rallied impressively despite losing O’Leary to injury. Kelvin Langan’s clever chip kick played in Orin Burke for a 63rd-minute converted try. That made it a five-point game before Lansdowne went on a spurt again.

Showing how threatening they can be off set-piece ball, Marks sliced through midfield and set up Lawlor to neatly weave his way in close to the posts. Marks claimed try number six soon after, accelerating clear following Ruairi Clarke’s initial break.

Both scores were converted for a 40-21 scoreline, yet the Cookies came back strongly once more. Harry Langbridge and replacement James Horrigan combined to release winger Burke for his second try, a pacy run-in out on the left.

Langan converted crisply and also added the extras to Arron Roulston’s close-range effort, the replacement front rower evading the clutches of O’Riordan. Loosehead Christian Foley had put them back in scoring territory with a charging run.

Despite Jack Scahill and Faloon’s best efforts during a tense final six minutes, Munsters were kept at arm’s length and Lansdowne took home the spoils. They host Nenagh Ormond next Saturday, the Tipperary men aiming to rebound from a 40-12 defeat to Terenure College.

Redevelopment work at Lakelands Park meant this was a belated first home league game for Terenure under Carlos Spencer, and Nenagh proved tough to shake off. The home side led 14-12 at half-time, with the teams scoring two tries each.

Ben Blaney, ‘Nure’s two-try hero against Lansdowne, cleverly created an eighth-minute opening on the right wing, linking with Caolan Dooley who sent Dan Martin over from just outside the visitors’ 22.

With 19 minutes on the clock, a lovely offload from Will Hickey launched Martin from deep. Kiwi scrum half Griffin Culver trailed him and was abe to scamper clear for a 50-metre run-in. Aran Egan added his second conversion for a 14-point advantage.

Back came Nenagh, making sure they scored twice during Culver’s sin-binning for a high tackle. At the start of the second quarter, replacement Joe Coffey did well to break off a maul and get the ball down near the right corner.

Munster’s fit-again prop Roman Salanoa, making his first start for Nenagh, was becoming more prominent. He won a scrum penalty and then popped up with a well-timed offload, knitting an attack together that ended with Conor McMahon converting his own try.

Max Russell’s early second-half try from a dogged lineout drive got Terenure back on track. Culver was the provider for their 48th-minute bonus point score, stepping inside a defender and releasing teenager Arthur Ashmore for his first league score.

Now looking more comfortable with a 26-12 buffer, the 2023 champions kept Nenagh out from a tap penalty. Derek Corcoran’s men soon made their way back into nearly the same position, only for a crooked lineout throw to let them down.

Martin slammed the door shut with a slickly-created second try for the young winger, who was the beneficiary of some terrific offloading sparked by Egan and former captain Harrison Brewer.

Connacht back rower Oisin McCormack, on as a replacement, wrapped up the scoring in the 71st minute with the rain coming down. He showed good strength to charge his way to the line after an inviting skip pass from Will Reilly.

Keep up to date with all the latest news in our dedicated website hub at www.irishrugby.ie/energiaail, and follow #EnergiaAIL on social media channels.