#EnergiaAIL Men’s Division 1A: Round 6 Review

Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Divisions: Round 6 Results Round-Up

Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A: Round 6 Highlights

Mick O’Gara fired over four penalties for St. Mary’s, but Connacht flanker McCormack’s 72nd-minute try was crucially converted by Chris Cosgrave as Terenure secured four valuable Energia All-Ireland League points.

Carlos Spencer’s men did have to survive a tense finish though, watching O’Gara, Division 1A’s top scorer with 78 points, push a last-gasp penalty effort wide from just inside the Mary’s half.

A hugely physical first half ended 7-6 in Terenure’s favour, a serious arm-wrestle developing as Leinster hooker McKee’s 27th-minute try was sandwiched by two O’Gara penalties.

Two more O’Gara kicks had Mark McHugh’s charges leading 12-6, only for an Andrew Sparrow yellow card, with a quarter of an hour remaining, to prove costly. McCormack and Cosgrave took advantage while the young prop was off.

The result means Mary’s lead at the top of the table has been cut to just a single point, with Terenure and Clontarf both just behind them.

All three teams have five wins and one defeat after the opening third of the regular season. The league resumes on Saturday, November 29 for three weeks of action before the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, Lansdowne had five Leinster-capped players in their starting line-up, including Ireland international Max Deegan, as they ran out 36-11 winners over Old Belvedere at Ollie Campbell Park.

Lansdowne’s third straight win, which leaves them just four points off the summit, saw captain Andy Marks and Bobby Sheehan score two tries each. Charlie Tector kicked 11 points.

Nursing a number of injuries, Old Belvedere can take some positives from their performance, including an encouraging first league start for Daragh O’Dwyer at out-half. He landed two long-range penalties.

O’Dwyer closed out the first-half’s scoring, keeping Quenton O’Neale’s charges in the hunt at 15-6 down. Marks (14 minutes) and Sheehan, with a 33rd-minute maul effort, had both crossed the whitewash for the visitors.

Andre Ryan’s rousing try, which began with a kick from replacement Hugh O’Sullivan, left Old Belvedere only 15-11 behind, but Lansdowne hit back with three converted scores.

Marks took his season’s haul to five tries, recent Leinster debutant Sheehan secured the bonus point, and replacement George Morris burrowed over right at the death.

At a rain-soaked Temple Hill, Clontarf’s towering lock Fionn Gilbert claimed two tries during their hard-fought 17-3 win over Cork Constitution.

Con winger Matthew Bowen was denied a try by a case of crossing, and the home side, with their maul also held up short, had nothing to show for their early dominance.

Connor Fahy’s powerful run put Clontarf in scoring range, before Gilbert clinically crashed over. Conor Kelly converted before Aidan Moynihan responded with a penalty.

As conditions worsened significantly, ‘Tarf’s 7-3 half-time lead was crucially extended to a 14-point margin by the 66th minute.

A bout of forward pressure led to Gilbert squeezing in beside the posts in the 50th minute. A late maul turnover ended Con’s hopes of salvaging something from the game as they fell to their fourth defeat.

UCD bumped themselves out of the bottom two with their best performance so far. They scored five tries to beat Young Munster 34-12 in Thornfield.

Munster’s Shay McCarthy touched down in both halves, but Emmet MacMahon’s youngsters made the most of their opportunities on the all-weather pitch.

Evan Moynihan charged over from 40 metres out, and added an intercept effort soon after, as the students built a 15-7 interval lead.

McCarthy cancelled out a Mikey O’Reilly score, but College had a late two-try flourish as they won for the first time in four rounds.

Captain Dan Barron, who moved to the second row this week, crossed following Conor Tonge’s break, and winger Daniel Hurley’s intercept run-in was the icing on the cake.

Ballynahinch rebounded from their heavy loss to Terenure with a 24-3 triumph at Nenagh Ormond. Tom McAllister set the tone with a fourth-minute try.

Conor Rankin’s run out to the right teed up former Ulster winger Aaron Sexton in the 20th minute, responding to Charlie O’Doherty’s penalty for Nenagh.

‘Hinch, who are just a point outside of the top four, sealed the result through Bradley Luney and Sam Warwick, the replacement sniping over for the bonus point from a 73rd-minute ruck.

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