St Mary’s College were made to work hard for their opening victory, edging Lansdowne 19-18 on the Aviva Stadium Back Pitch. The champions responded immediately to an early Michael Moloney penalty when Ruairi Shields crossed in the eighth minute, with Mick O’Gara converting.
Mark McGlynn’s first try put Lansdowne ahead before the break, but Mary’s regained control through Richie Bergin shortly after the restart. Aaron O’Sullivan added their third try in the 64th minute to establish what proved a decisive advantage. Lansdowne refused to go quietly however, and McGlynn’s second try with two minutes remaining set up a tense finish before Mary’s held on.
Old Belvedere made the biggest statement of the opening Division 1A weekend, running in seven tries in a 47-14 victory over Young Munster at Tom Clifford Park. Robbie Russell opened the scoring before Luke McLaughlin, James Dillon, Hugh Reddan and Edward Byrne all crossed during a powerful first half performance. Jhy Legg and Peter O’Beirne completed the scoring after the interval. Benn Dalle Cort and Kelvin Langan with The Cookies tries.
UCD also hit the ground running with an impressive 39-24 victory away to Ballynahinch. The hosts produced a remarkable first half burst, with Joe Hopes, Bradley Luney and Claytan Milligan all crossing between the 17th and 21st minutes.
UCD weathered that spell and responded emphatically. James Sherwin had scored their opening try before Evan Moynihan crossed either side of half-time, and further scores from Joe Christie and Maxim Aschenbrenner put the result beyond Ballynahinch. Paddy Clancy contributed 14 points from the tee.
Clontarf collected maximum points with a 38-22 win over Old Wesley at Castle Avenue. Dylan Donnellan and Harry Goslin crossed before Alex Soroka struck twice, with Sam Owens and Peter Maher also getting on the scoresheet in a six-try performance. Kieran O’Shea, Ronan Kelly and David Maher crossed for Wesley.
Terenure College completed the quartet of bonus point winners with a 27-10 victory over Cork Constitution at Temple Hill. Con started brightly through an Adam Maher try after only three minutes, but Terenure responded through Griffin Culver and Joshua Kenny to take control. Peter Sylvester and Adam LaGrue added second-half tries to secure maximum points.
In Division 1B, Naas produced the most emphatic performance of the round, defeating UCC 32-12 at Forenaughts. Six different players crossed for the hosts, with Jamie Bohan, Daniel Ticklepenny, Liam Gilheany-Black, Donal Conroy, David Upton and Titas Cesonis all touching down.
Blackrock College began their campaign with a 21-10 win over MU Barnhall at Stradbrook. Barnhall led through Neil Byrne’s first half try, but Blackrock took command after the break as Daniel Squires, Thomas Quinn and captain James Burke crossed, with Tim Corkery converting all three.
Nenagh Ormond also opened with an away victory, beating Highfield 22-12 at Woodleigh Park. After a tight opening half, Nenagh pulled clear through tries from Robbie Tynan, Matthew Brice and Aaron Moloney.
Garryowen edged Instonians 25-20 at Dooradoyle, with Bryan Fitzgerald scoring twice in the second half. Instonians remained in contention through tries from Jack Truesdale and Mark Keane and the boot of Josh Eagleson, but Garryowen did enough to take the points.
City of Armagh and Dublin University shared the spoils in a 21-21 draw at the Palace Grounds. Armagh scored through Shea O’Brien, Niall Carville and Sam Cunningham, while Trinity had Artur Smykovskiy, James Browne and Jonathon Ginnety all cross the whitewash.
Division 2A produced a number of notable results, headed by Queen’s University’s 32-21 victory over Shannon on the Thomond Park Back Pitch. The sides were level 7-7 at the interval before Queen’s pulled away, with Clark Logan completing a hat trick and Conor Magee also crossing.
Cashel made an impressive start at Spafield, defeating UL Bohemian 32-17. Five different players crossed for the hosts, with Sam Howarth, Conor Moloney Ryan, Craig Hannon, Matias Masetti and Ben Twomey supplying the tries.
Corinthians and Wanderers produced one of the closest games of the afternoon at Dangan, where the Galway side prevailed 28-26. Dara Walsh scored twice for Corinthians before Harry Rogers' second try, converted by Billy Cross, proved crucial.
Ballymena were 26-14 winners over Greystones at Eaton Park, where James McMillan’s kicking complemented tries from James McClean and Josh Drain. Dungannon also started positively, beating Galwegians 17-5 at Stevenson Park as James Girvan crossed twice and Peter Nelson added another try.
One of the stories of the entire opening weekend came in Division 2B North, where Enniskillen made a winning start to life in the Energia All-Ireland League. Playing their first-ever AIL fixture, Enniskillen defeated Rainey 33-29 in a nine-try contest. They could hardly have wished for a better opening, with Niall Keenan scoring after three minutes and James Trotter following three minutes later.
Rainey responded through Daniel O’Neill and Calum Smyth, but Enniskillen continued to attack. Aukuso Vaelua Teo and Henry Keys crossed before half time, with Sam Balfour adding their fifth try in the 55th minute. Eddie Keys converted four of the five scores.
Rainey fought back late through Jim McCartney and Tom Hutchinson, the latter crossing right at the death, but Enniskillen secured a bonus point victory and a historic first Energia AIL success.
Clogher Valley also made an impressive start in Division 2B North, scoring six tries in a 38-15 victory over Malahide. Ryan Stewart crossed twice, while Taine Haire, David Stinson, Joel Busby and Kyle Cobane also touched down.
Skerries were another side to pass the 40 point mark, beating Navan 44-22 at Holmpatrick. Rob McKey and Hugo Lennox both scored twice in a seven-try performance. Ballyclare edged Sligo 32-26 in an entertaining encounter, while Malone and Banbridge produced a dramatic finish at Gibson Park. Banbridge scored five tries, but Malone recovered from a 17-7 half-time deficit before Chris Cosgrove landed a last-gasp drop goal to snatch a 29-27 victory.
There was no shortage of drama in Division 2B South either, where Old Crescent edged Bective Rangers 36-33 at Energia Park. Old Crescent scored six tries, with Timmy Duggan and Rafael Junior Okafor both grabbing braces, but they had to withstand a late Bective rally capped by James Gallagher’s second try deep into added time.
Clonmel began the season with a 33-28 victory away to Monkstown. Robert Wall crossed twice for Clonmel, with Jason Monua, Jack Walsh and Joey O’Connor also touching down as the visitors survived a four try response from Monkstown.
Dolphin enjoyed an opening afternoon at Virgin Media Park, defeating Enniscorthy 37-12. Ryan Foley crossed twice, with James Vaughan and Darragh Buckley adding late tries, while Conor Mulvihill contributed four conversions and three penalties.
Bruff were equally impressive on their travels, beating Buccaneers 33-5 at Dubarry Park. Jesse Smith scored twice, with Paul Collins, Cillian Rea and Kian Smith also crossing in a five-try victory.
Midleton completed the opening programme with a 23-12 success over Thomond at Liam Fitzgerald Park. Gabriele Baffigi and JB Du Toit supplied the tries, while Seamus Lyne contributed 13 points from the tee.