Old Belvedere and Terenure College remain locked at the top of Division 1A after a 20-20 draw at Ollie Campbell Park. Belvedere raced into a 14-0 lead through early tries from James Dillon and Peter O'Beirne, both converted by Sam Wisniewski. Terenure responded through an Aran Egan penalty and an Oliver Coffey try to trail by four at the interval.
A penalty try after the restart put Terenure ahead, and Egan added another penalty, but Wisniewski and replacement Justin Leonard struck from the tee to secure a share of the spoils. Belvedere retain top spot ahead of Terenure as both sides head into the break.
Defending champions St Mary's College climbed from fourth to third with a 35-22 victory over Young Munster at Templeville Road. Jack Nelson Murray scored twice, with Leandro Ramirez, Braemar Murray and Mick O'Gara also crossing. O'Gara converted all five tries as Mary's established a commanding 28-7 half-time lead. Young Munster responded through Oisin Minogue, Liam McMahon and a Benjamin Whatley double, but the hosts had already built a decisive advantage.
UCD moved from fifth to fourth following a thrilling 33-31 derby victory over Old Wesley at the UCD Bowl. James Culhane, Andrew Osborne and Bernard White helped the students establish a 19-5 interval lead before Maxim Aschenbrenner and Tom Murtagh added further tries. Wesley fought back through Charlie Hempenstall, Rian Handley, a Kieran O'Shea double and Billy Corrigan, but UCD held on despite a remarkable second-half comeback.
Lansdowne remain sixth, just a point outside the top four, after defeating Clontarf 37-21 and sending the visitors from third to fifth. Charlie Tector's three penalties kept Lansdowne in contention during the first half, although tries from Harry Goslin and Dylan Donnellan gave Clontarf a 14-9 interval advantage. Connor Fahy added a third try for the visitors shortly after the restart, but Lansdowne took control through a Ciaran Mangan double and tries from John Forde and Hubert Gilvarry. Tector converted all four second-half tries to complete an impressive individual performance.
Ballynahinch climbed off the bottom of Division 1A with a 31-14 victory over Cork Constitution at Ballymacarn Park, sending the Cork side into tenth place. Aaron Sexton and captain Claytan Milligan both crossed twice, while Conor Rankin landed four conversions and a penalty. Evan Clarke and George Good replied with second-half tries for Constitution, both converted by Charlie O'Shea, but the visitors could not overturn a 14-0 interval deficit.
In Division 1B, Naas moved from second to first following a commanding 45-21 victory over Dublin University at College Park. Donal Conroy scored twice, with Muiris Cleary, Oisin Halpin, Daniel Ticklepenny, Paddy Taylor and Rory Taylor also crossing. Ticklepenny added five conversions. Trinity responded through Stephen McMahon, Jonathon Ginnety and Mark Walsh, but Naas' seven-try display proved decisive.
Highfield climbed from fourth to second after defeating previous leaders Blackrock College 40-31 at Stradbrook, with Blackrock dropping to fourth. Conor Galvin completed a hat-trick for Highfield, while Mark Dorgan, Nicky Greene and Ben Murphy also crossed. Blackrock responded through a Jack Pollard double and tries from Derry Moloney, Jack Deegan and Tim Corkery, but the visitors finished strongly to claim a significant away victory.
Nenagh Ormond jumped from sixth to third after overcoming UCC 40-20 at New Ormond Park. Ignacio Failla, Sam Cusack, Matthew Brice, Patrick Scully, Matthew Burke and Oliver Ayling scored Nenagh's six tries, with Conor McMahon adding four conversions. UCC had led 15-14 at half-time through tries from Eddie Dooley and Daire O'Callaghan, while Christopher Barrett added a third late on, but Nenagh dominated the second half.
MU Barnhall defeated Instonians 30-20 at Parsonstown, with Shane Mallon scoring twice alongside tries from Dylan Bruton and Nick Doggett. Neil Byrne added two conversions and two penalties. Ian Whitten, Bradley McNamara, Bevan Prinsloo and Hugo Ellerby replied for Instonians, but Barnhall's early advantage proved decisive.
City of Armagh secured a 20-7 victory over Garryowen, with James McCormick and Fred Harris crossing in the opening half. Owen O'Kane added both conversions and two penalties, while Bryan Fitzgerald scored Garryowen's only try, converted by Alexander Wood.
In Division 2A, Corinthians moved to the top of the table with a 34-19 victory away to Queen's University. Colm de Buitlear and Mikey Yarr crossed inside the opening 11 minutes before Charlie Keane and Harry Rogers added second-half tries. Billy Cross contributed 14 points from the tee. Queen's responded through Charlie Hargy, Lewis Robinson and Tom Bell, but Corinthians secured an important bonus-point victory.
Wanderers climbed from fifth to second following a 29-20 win over Greystones at Merrion Road. Padraig Dundon, Jordan Conroy, Matthew Sherwin and Dylan Ryan crossed for the hosts, with Bill Johnston adding three conversions and a penalty. Paddy Kieran and Peter Ford scored for Greystones, while Killian Marmion contributed ten points with the boot.
Ballymena slipped from second to third despite defeating Dungannon 19-10 at Stevenson Park. James McClean scored their only try, converted by James McMillan, who also landed four penalties. Dungannon replied through a James McMahon try and five points from Peter Nelson, but Ballymena held firm.
Shannon produced one of the biggest upsets of the round, defeating previous leaders Cashel 41-35 at Thomond Park's back pitch and sending the visitors from first to fourth. Robbie O'Donnell scored twice for Shannon, with Cian McCann, Harry Long and Cian O'Halloran also crossing. Oisín Hade converted all five tries and added two penalties. Cashel responded through Cillian Butler, Timothy Townsend and a Matias Masetti hat-trick, with Ben Twomey converting all five tries, but Shannon held on in a thrilling contest.
UL Bohemian moved out of the relegation places with a 35-12 victory over Galwegians at Crowley Park, leaving the Galway side bottom. Galwegians led 12-6 at half-time through tries from Paul Sharkey and Jacob Johnson, but UL Bohs took control after the restart. Captain Darragh O'Gorman crossed twice, while Zac O'Loughlin and Rowan Slater also scored. Cian Casey added three conversions and three penalties.
In Division 2B North, Clogher Valley moved to the summit with a 26-7 victory over local rivals Enniskillen at The Cran. Ewan Haire and Philip Wilson established a 14-0 interval lead before Matthew Bothwell and Joshua Kyle added further tries. Enniskillen's only score came from a Peter Read try converted by Chris Balfour.
Malone suffered their first defeat of the season and dropped to second after losing 30-28 to Malahide at Estuary Road. Greg Barron, Payton Jackson and Billy Stanbridge crossed for Malahide, with David O'Halloran contributing three conversions and three penalties. Malone replied through Michael Crothers, Dave Cave, Sam Green and Chris Cosgrave, who also converted all four tries, but the hosts held on despite two late Malone scores.
Banbridge produced an eight-try display to defeat Sligo 55-27 at Rifle Park. Dean Hayes, Daniel Kilpatrick, Kyle Stirling, Zac Solomon, Jona Mataiciwa, Robin Sinton, Max Lyttle and Aaron McMurray all crossed. Sligo responded through Facundo Dellemea, Cillian O'Neill and Shane O'Hehir, with O'Neill also contributing three conversions and two penalties.
Ballyclare secured a 31-17 victory away to Skerries, with Peter Gillespie, Jacob Scarlett, Joel McBride, Ross Johnston and Mark Jackson crossing. Skerries responded through Cal Marrey, Harry Cole and Jack Litchfield, but the visitors' four first-half tries proved decisive.
Navan climbed off the bottom of the table with a 23-13 victory over Rainey at Balreask Old. Gary Faulkner, Koen Jansen and Greg Edogun scored Navan's tries, while Mark Farrell added a conversion and two penalties. Jim McCartney crossed for Rainey, with Scott McLean contributing eight points from the tee.
In Division 2B South, Clonmel maintained their unbeaten start with a dramatic 20-19 victory over Bruff at Kilballyowen Park. Keith Melbourne opened their try account before AJ Thomas crossed in the second half. Paul Collins scored Bruff's only try and added four penalties and a conversion to put the hosts in a strong position, but Dylan Cadogan landed a stoppage-time penalty before Michael Connellan crossed six minutes into added time to snatch victory for Clonmel, with Cadogan landing the conversion.
Bective Rangers remain second after a commanding 42-14 victory over Monkstown at Energia Park. James Gallagher and replacement Edward Kelly both scored twice, while Alex Walsh and captain Christopher Hennessy also crossed. David Fitzgibbon converted all six tries. Monkstown replied through Matt Stapleton and Rob Wynne, with Stapleton converting both.
Midleton continued their remarkable attacking form with a 57-5 victory over Enniscorthy at Towns Park. Jack Colbert scored twice, while Amhlaoibh Porter, Denis Broderick, Mark Corby, Tom Roche, Reuben Moloney and Alejandro Martinez Jimenez also crossed. Seamus Lyne added seven conversions and a penalty, while Marco Byrne scored Enniscorthy's consolation try.
Buccaneers defeated Dolphin 27-12 at Dubarry Park, with Ross Murphy Sweeney scoring twice alongside tries from Niall Tallon and Conor Dowling. Jack Quinn contributed two conversions and a penalty. Ryan Foley and Charlie O'Callaghan replied for Dolphin, with Conor Mulvihill adding a conversion.
Old Crescent secured a 21-14 victory over Thomond at Takumi Park, with John Moloney and Jed O'Dwyer crossing for the hosts. Ben Daly added a conversion and three penalties. Thomond responded through a late Sean Rice try and three penalties from Evan Cusack, but Crescent held on to secure the points.
Image By Ronan Ryan