Copeland the star for St Mary's

St Mary's College 24 Clontarf 7

Second row Robin Copeland was the star of the show for St. Mary's College, with his two first-half tries providing the platform for an impressive 24-7 dismissal of Dublin rivals Clontarf at Templeville Road.

The bonus point win for Peter Smyth's side sees them sitting proudly at the top of AIB League Division 1A after the first weekend's action.

Blustery conditions made life difficult for Clontarf in the first half and Mary's took full advantage of this by scoring four tries by the 27-minute mark.

The hosts came close to scoring in the fifth minute, however winger Ronan Doherty knocked the ball on five metres from the try-line.

Copeland reacted quickly after Gavin Dunne's penalty struck the post in the 10th minute and he managed to collect the ball and score the first try under the posts.

'Tarf's lacklustre passing allowed Darragh Fanning collect a loose ball and after a superb run which saw him beat two Clontarf players, he dived over the line for try number 2.

The Mary's backs, marshalled superbly again by Australian out-half Shaun McCarthy, then managed to get the ball out to winger Ronan Doherty who dotted down in the corner after a well-worked move.

The hard-working Copeland claimed the bonus point-clinching try when he broke through a tackle and with a clear run to the line, he powered over. New full-back Dunne converted to make the score 24-0 and it stayed this way until half-time.

Clontarf mounted a comeback of sorts in the second half. In the 55th minute, Michael Keating broke through the Mary's cover and offloaded to Sean Carey for an easy run-in.

Martin Dufficy converted the try and while 'Tarf threatened their opponents' line on numerous occasions in the second half, they could not make an impact on the scoreboard and Mary's held firm for a deserved win.

SCORERS:

St. Mary’s College: Tries: Robin Copeland 2, Darragh Fanning, Ronan Doherty; Cons: Gavin Dunne 2

Clontarf: Try: Sean Carey; Con: Martin Dufficy