Rugby: Dolphin out of their depth as Shannon in full flow

Shannon 51 Dolphin 7

This was a superb display by the victors who ran in seven tries in a devastating display of interaction between forwards and backs.

It was also a game to remember for Shannon full-back John Lacey who ran in a hat-trick of tries in the opening 20 minutes to bring his AIL tally to a record 53.

Lacey had an outstanding all-round game, combining his defensive duties with a willingness to counterattack at every opportunity even though he was a doubtful starter before the kick-off.

"I was down with the flu for the past few days and I left Munster's game at half time on Saturday I was feeling so poorly," Lacey admitted.

"Our coach Geoff Moylan asked me to give it a go for the first half and then see how I felt but after scoring three tries I decided to go on.

"There's great spirit in the squad and it's nice to be part of a young side with a lot of talent. For instance, Stephen Keogh was awesome when he came on and some of our tries were really out of the top drawer."

Lacey controlled the opening stages and landed his first try after two minutes when he was allowed to jink past some weak tackling to touch down behind the posts before Tom Cregan converted.

If that score owed a lot to slipshod defence, there was no denying the class of the second in the 16th minute as Colm McMahon made the initial breach and several players handled before Lacey weaved his way over the line and Cregan again converted.

Lacey's third came only two minutes later when, with the Dolphin defence in tatters, the full-back galloped over wide out on the left. Cregan, who had earlier landed a penalty, once more added the points for a 24-0 lead.

Dolphin pulled themselves together and deservedly narrowed the gap on 23 minutes when Andrew Finn broke into the Shannon 22 before kicking ahead and alert hooker Conor Twomey easily won the race for the touchdown. John O'Mahony converted but he also missed two kickable penalties.

Dolphin kept up the pressure with Shane O'Halloran in the centre and full-back Petman a constant threat.

Indeed, they might well have had a second try when Pettman was tackled inches short of the Shannon line and referee Alain Rolland awarded an attacking scrum which came to nothing. Shannon held onto a 24-7 lead at the interval and the second half was completely one way traffic.

Cregan landed an early penalty and they duly wrapped up the bonus point when the irrepressible Lacey initiated a scintillating attack out of his own 22 and although the eventual scoring pass went to ground, Shannon remained encamped in the Dolphin 22 until number eight Garrett Noonan got the touchdown.

Munster replacement Stephen Keogh was in the game for only a few seconds when he produced a powerful burst before skipper Tom Hayes went over between the posts for Shannon's fifth try with Cregan converting to make it 39-7.

Cregan then finished off yet another fine Shannon attack before once again adding the points. Centre Brian Tuohy raced away for try number seven which Cregan failed to convert.

SHANNON: J. Lacey; T. Cregan, T. Tuohy, E. Cahill, D. O'Donovan; A. Thompson, F. O'Loughlin; F. Roche, J. Flannery, G. McNamara, T. Hayes capt, T. Hogan, C. McMahon, J. O'Connor, G. Noonan. Replacement, S. Keogh for J. O'Connor 62 mins; J. Blanehy for Flannery 67; M. O'Connor for O'Loughlin; T. Downes for Roche; J. Hadnett for Hogan, 75 mins.

DOLPHIN: M. Pettman; D. Keeshan, A. Finn, S. O'Halloran, P. O'Sullivan; J. O'Mahony, K. Murphy; S. Walsh, C. Twomey, D. Pomeroy capt, R. McGrath, G. Finn, D. Murphy, S. Madigan. Replacement, B. Kelleher for G. Finn at half time; D. O'Farrell for McGrath 44 mins; E. Donovan for K. Murphy 52 mins; E. Knowles for O'Sullivan 63;

Referee: A. Rolland.