AIL Roundup: Wins for Young Munster, Cork Con, Clontarf and leaders Mary's

Lansdowne and UCD players after their game. Pic ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Young Munster recorded just their second win of the Energia All-Ireland League season, as Munster winger Shay McCarthy touched down twice in their 29-19 victory away to Terenure College.

Having fallen into Division 1A's bottom two after UCD won at Lansdowne on Friday night, Young Munster lifted themselves up to seventh in the table with the perfect response to last week's gut-wrenching defeat to Cork Constitution.

With a strong wind behind them, Young Munster built a 22-0 half-time lead at Lakelands Park thanks to a snappy McCarthy brace and further scores from Australian centre Luke McCready and Hubert Gilvarry.

The Cookies' attack really clicked towards the end of the first half, McCready bumping off a tackle and then finishing smartly from a McCarthy pass at the end of a pacy break.

Just before the interval, and with Stephen McLoughlin in the sin bin for a late tackle on Caspar Gabriel, Fionn Gibbons released Gilvarry to run in his ninth try of the campaign.

Ger Slattery's side, who had lost their last two games, were outmuscling the hosts up front, aided by the presence of Munster's Evan O’Connell, Conor Bartley, and Luke Murphy. Prop Kieran Ryan came on for the closing stages.

Terenure had the Leinster trio of Gabriel, John McKee, and debutant Josh Kenny in their starting XV, but could not avoid their second successive loss, even being held scoreless during McLoughlin's sin-binning.

It was a shrewd performance from Young Munster, who sealed the deal with a penalty try, awarded for Chris Cosgrave's no-arms tackle on Shane O'Leary in the right corner.

Indeed, Terenure were down to 13 men for a short period with Marcus Hanan and Cosgrave both yellow carded, either side of the hour mark.

Carlos Spencer's charges rallied with three late tries, two from Aran Egan and one from Gabriel. Their sustained pressure also saw O'Connell sin-binned, but they fell short of taking something tangible out of the game.

St. Mary's College are 80 minutes away from being number one for Christmas, following a hard-fought 14-0 win at Ballynahinch. Stand-in captain Ronan Watters led by example with a brace of tries.

In wet and windy conditions, defences ruled the roost - Ballynahinch had an excellent defensive stand, at the end of which Bradley Luney forced a penalty - before St. Mary's made the breakthrough in the 28th minute.

From an initial maul set-up 30 metres out, the ball was fed infield to Watters who brilliantly built up a head of steam, breaking two tackles. Three more defenders could not bring him down as he crashed in under the posts.

Ballynahinch advanced downfield as the rain continued to hammer down at Ballymacarn Park. A lost lineout, and a James Humphreys cross-field kick that had too much on it for Aaron Sexton, meant they remained scoreless.

Seven points was still the difference after a Mick O'Gara penalty struck the right-hand post. Mary's maintained the field position, pressing from scrums before Watters grounded the ball after it had come off his foot.

'Hinch, who have fallen one place to sixth, continued to hammer away but their execution let them down. The Mary's scrum was able to force penalties and they looked the more likely scorers during a stop-start final quarter.

Clontarf warmed up for next week's Energia Bateman Cup final against 'Hinch with a 28-12 success away to Nenagh Ormond. Connacht's David Hawkshaw returned from injury for 'Tarf, joining Hugh Cooney in midfield.

Cooney's Leinster team-mate, Alex Usanov, was one of the defending champions' try scorers in Lisatunny. They came home with a bonus point to draw level with St. Mary's on 33 points, seven clear of Lansdowne in third place.

Nenagh are having some bright spells in matches but a full 80-minute performance continues to elude them. The division's bottom side held 'Tarf scoreless in the first half, but tries from Charlie O'Doherty and Patrick Scully could not make a dent.

Cork Constitution have closed to within three points of Terenure, in fourth, after beating Old Belvedere 21-15 at Temple Hill. Replacement David Good's 62nd-minute try proved to be the match winner.

Both sides were able to take advantage of sin-binnings for scores, Jack Keating's 101st All-Ireland League try keeping a battle-hardened Belvedere in the hunt at 14-8 down at half-time.

Jayden Beckett broke free, seven minutes after the restart, to edge the visitors ahead, however Dylan Hicks converted Good's close-range effort - adding to Danny Sheahan's first-half double - to make it back-to-back wins for Con.

On Friday, UCD upset the odds in fine style with a 43-38 bonus point win over Lansdowne, as Ben Brownlee's 77th-minute try split the teams at the end of a thrilling 11-try contest.

It was only UCD's third victory of the league season - other results mean they remain in the bottom two - and saw them return to the impressive intensity and execution they showed when beating Young Munster recently.

Points are at a premium in Division 1A heading towards Christmas, and Lansdowne's first defeat in five matches was a frustrating one, especially as they failed to capitalise on sin-binnings for Ruben Moloney and Tom O'Riordan.

Thomas Quinn's bonus point try, on the stroke of half-time, completed a terrific opening 40 minutes from UCD, the only blots on their copybook being Moloney's yellow card and an injury to Evan Moynihan.

Emmet MacMahon's young side led by 11 points on three separate occasions, with Max Doyle and Daniel Hurley (2) also touching down. Lansdowne replied through Bobby Sheehan and Jack Matthews to leave it 28-17 at the turnaround.

Despite a try from the returning Moynihan straight from the restart, the home crowd at the Aviva Stadium's back pitch sensed the comeback was on. Greg McGrath and Hardus van Eeden both crossed, either side of a Paddy Clancy penalty.

Clancy and James Tarrant, the former UCD captain now playing for Lansdowne, maintained a high standard of goal-kicking, finishing with 13 points each. Tarrant's final kick edged the hosts in front at 38-36, as he converted James Kenny's 71st-minute effort.

However, an opportunist score from Brownlee - punishing a stray pass from Cillian Redmond - saw College emerge triumphant, winning back the Sutherland Cup which is contested whenever the two clubs meet.