Brave Dolphin go down fighting

Dolphin 28 Ballynahinch 35 

Whatever glimmer of hope they had of fighting on was taken away when fellow strugglers St Mary’s College picked up a losing bonus point at Clifford Park. The Dublin club can’t now be caught when the two sides meet at Templeville Road in a fortnight.

It was a tough but entertaining game at Musgrave Park. The sides shared nine tries, unfortunately for the Cork club, Ballynahinch got five of them. That was enough to give them a deserved win and push them into the top four, with a two-point buffer from nearest rivals Young Munster going into their last game, at home to Clontarf.