Lansdowne beat Con to stave off relegation

Lansdowne 11 Cork Con 0

Lansdowne saved their Division One status and ended the unbeaten away record of league leaders Cork Con as out-half Brian O’Mahony and substitute Stephen O’Connor scored the tries in an 18-0 victory.

The home side, 12th before the kick-off, needed their fourth win of the season to stay in the top flight and relied on their half backs who had an exclusive hold on their points to see them through.

Lansdowne scrum half Shane Whelan clipped over a right-sided penalty on the Con ’22 to take the lead in the fourth minute.

An O’Mahony snipe forward and kick to the corner saw league leaders Con pinned back, and a second penalty from Whelan came from 35 metres on 11 minutes.

In a scrappy opening, the visitors were failing to release their impressive backs into space, in particular the lively Cronin Healy.

Meanwhile Whelan’s third penalty attempt slipped under the posts on the quarter-hour, and with Cork prop Tom Ryan infringing with a loose hand in the ruck, a poor kick from Whelan saw him miss for a second time.

Phase after phase came Lansdowne’s way, and finally the Con line was breached on 31 minutes.

A close range drive by Leinster back row Aidan McCullen was flicked out right for O’Mahony to cut past Healy and centre Fergal O’Gara to ground the opening try.

Whelan missed with the conversion attempt as the half ended with Con failing to register a punch.

With Con’s unbeaten away record to defend, a better effort from the men in white was required after the restart.

Scrum half Pat McCarthy refused an easy penalty in favour of a right corner drive inside the first 10 minutes of the second half but the Lansdowne rearguard held out, including a well-timed tackle on David Dillon by Lansdowne wing Karl Becker in the 51st minute.

A Becker break with eight minutes remaining was rucked well by the home pack and Jim O’Donovan almost skated over, save for a knock-on in sight of the line.

The squally conditions ensured a fretful ending, and while an out-of-character stamp by McCarthy on his opposite number saw a 79th minute penalty reversed, Whelan failed to find his range.

Already assured of a home semi-final, Con lapsed and allowed pack veteran O’Connor in for a second try in stoppage time off a close range scrum, converted by Whelan.