Greystones win final day opener

Ards 11 Greystones 18

Second half tries from scrum half Stevie Scanlan and left wing Nabile McNaughton handed Greystones victory in this afternoon’s AIB League Division 3 final at a sunny Lansdowne Road.

The title hung in the balance for much of this contest, as two penalty tally out of three for young Greystones out-half Niall McCarthy helped the Wicklow side to a 6-5 half time lead.

Ards locked the opposition in their own '22 for much of the second half but crucially could not build on the foundations of a wonderful start, through full back Stewart Paul’s fifth minute try.

Paul, who scored 18 points in the Co Down side’s 33-19 win over promoted Highfield in the semi-final, went wide and through some poor front-up tackling from Greystones off a 15-metre scrum to touch down to the right of the posts off their first attack.

He missed the convert into the tailwind and McCarthy punished that with a 40-metre penalty reply in the tenth minute.

The 22-year-old narrowly missed with a 25-metre effort 12 minutes later, after Ards second row Gary Presho had infringed at a ruck but ensured a lead for ‘Stones on 38 minutes, with a 28-metre strike after ill-discipline saw Munster referee David Keane move the penalty forward ten metres.

Ards regained the lead through a 15-minute spell of dominance after the restart with a Paul penalty on target from 25 metres for an 8-6 lead nearing the hour.

The final however swung to Greystones as against the run of play the quick-witted Scanlan intercepted a Neill Hollinger-Nopera Stewart interchange to outpace the Ards cover to the line in the 65th minute.

McCarthy saw his conversion come back off the upright but he added the extras to McNaughton’s scintillating 75-metre run four minutes later to move Geoff Lynch’s young side 18-8 in front.

Paul clipped over a 77th minute penalty to put Ards back within a converted score but it was too late as Greystones won out, with flanker Graham Murphy also claiming the man-of-the-match award.

Scorers: Ards: Try: S Paul; Pens: S Paul 2

Greystones: Tries: S Scanlan, N McNaughton; Con: N McCarthy; Pens: N McCarthy 2

ARDS: S Paul; N Beggs, S Devoy, N Stewart, R McClements; S Bell, N Hollinger; P Eccles, R Fisher, J Edwards, D Tweed, G Presho, M Creighton (Capt), J McDowell, M O’Shaughnessy.

GREYSTONES: D McKechnie; S O’Connell, C McNaughton, MJ Smith, N McNaughton; N McCarthy, S Scanlan; N Fox, P Hipple, L Murphy, N Megannety (Capt), D McGettigan, P Dunne, G Murphy, C McEntee.

Referee: David Keane (MAR)