AIL wrap: Belvo and Nure share spoils, Con drop to bottom

 

The Energia All-Ireland League heads into a two-week break following a dramatic sixth round, with Old Belvedere and Terenure College sharing the spoils in their top of the table Division 1A clash, while Lansdowne claimed an impressive victory over Clontarf.

James Dillon and Peter O'Beirne crossed inside the opening ten minutes to give Belvedere a flying start, but Aran Egan's penalty and an Oliver Coffey try brought Terenure back into contention.

A second-half penalty try put Terenure ahead before Egan extended their advantage, but penalties from Sam Wisniewski and Justin Leonard ensured the points were shared.

Lansdowne produced an impressive second-half comeback to defeat Clontarf 37-21 at the Aviva Stadium's back pitch.

Clontarf led 14-9 at half-time through tries from Harry Goslin and Dylan Donnellan, before Connor Fahy added another shortly after the restart.

However, Lansdowne took control through a Ciaran Mangan double and tries from John Forde and Hubert Gilvarry, with Charlie Tector contributing 17 points.

St Mary's College moved into third place with a 35-22 bonus-point victory over Young Munster at Templeville Road.

Jack Nelson Murray crossed twice, while Leandro Ramirez, Braemar Murray and Mick O'Gara also scored. Benjamin Whatley replied with a double for Young Munster.

UCD climbed to fourth after edging Old Wesley 33-31 in a thrilling Dublin derby. James Culhane, Andrew Osborne, Bernard White, Maxim Aschenbrenner and Tom Murtagh crossed for the students, who led 19-5 at half-time.

Wesley fought back through tries from Charlie Hempenstall, Rian Handley, Kieran O'Shea twice and Billy Corrigan, but UCD held on.

Ballynahinch moved off the bottom of the table with a 31-14 victory over Cork Constitution, sending the visitors into tenth place.

Aaron Sexton and captain Claytan Milligan both scored twice, while Conor Rankin added 11 points with the boot.

In Division 1B, Naas moved top with an emphatic 45-21 victory away to Dublin University.

Donal Conroy scored twice, while Muiris Cleary, Oisin Halpin, Daniel Ticklepenny, Paddy Taylor and Rory Taylor also crossed in a seven-try display.

Highfield climbed into second place after defeating previous leaders Blackrock College 40-31 at Stradbrook. Conor Galvin completed a hat-trick, with Mark Dorgan, Nicky Greene and Ben Murphy also crossing for the visitors.

Nenagh Ormond moved into third with a 40-20 victory over UCC at New Ormond Park, scoring six tries through Ignacio Failla, Sam Cusack, Matthew Brice, Patrick Scully, Matthew Burke and Oliver Ayling.

MU Barnhall secured a 30-20 victory over Instonians, with Shane Mallon crossing twice alongside tries from Dylan Bruton and Nick Doggett.

City of Armagh defeated Garryowen 20-7 at the Palace Grounds, with James McCormick and Fred Harris scoring first-half tries. 

Blackrock College produced the standout result of the fourth round of the Energia All-Ireland League Women's Division 1A, as they soared to the summit following a commanding victory over Old Belvedere, while UL Bohemian continued their impressive form by overcoming Galwegians and Railway Union returned to winning ways against Wicklow.