Five Limerick wins after thrilling day of action in the energia All-Ireland League

THERE were five Limerick wins on a dramatic day of energia All-Ireland League third round action on Saturday afternoon.

Garryowen, in Division 1B, Shannon in 2A, UL-Bohemian in 2B and both Limerick sides competing in Division 2C, table toppers Thomond and fifth-placed Bruff recorded wins. 

In Division 1A, Young Munster are still searching for their opening win of the campaign following a narrow 28-26 defeat to Clontarf in an exciting eight-try contest at Castle Avenue in Dublin.

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Munsters' were facing an uphill battle at half-time as the Limerick side trailed the Dubliners 0-21 at the break. The Clifford Park side then came roaring back in the second period scoring four tries, including five-pointers from Hubert Gilvarry and Shay McCarthy, who grabbed a brace. The Greenfields side claimed two bonus points from the game and sit in seventh place in the table, one of two sides yet to record a win in the top flight. 

In Division 1B, Garryowen scored a thumping 37-14 vonus point win over Instonians at Dooradoyle.

The Light Blues, who sit in second place in the table, scored scored six tries in their impressive success. The Dooradoyle side remain unbeaten after three series of AIL fixtures.

Garryowen, who led 19-15 at half-time, scored five tries, with Alex Woods helping himself to a hat-trick, while Fionn Rowsome and Des Fitzgerald also dotted down. Lachlan Stewart added seven points with the boot.

The two Limerick sides competing in Division 2A experienced contrasting afternoons. 

Old Crescent dropped to fourth spot in the table after suffering a narrow 32-27 defeat to Greystones at Takumi Park. Crescent outscored the visitors by five tries to four as Steven Kiely struck for a hat-trick, while Timmy Duggan also dotted down.

The Limerick side, who picked up two bonus points,  trailed at 0-17 and 13-21 at various stages of the game. 

Meanwhile, in the same division, Shannon moved up to seventh place in the table after securing a 37-31 bonus point victory over Banbridge on the back pitch at Thomond Park.

The Parish side, who led 27-10 at half-time, had first tries from Matt Te Pou and Alex Long and they were also awarded a penalty try. Jamie Gavin added 10 points withe the boot.

Into the second half and Josh Costello notched the bonus point try, while Jamie Gavin added the remaining points. 

In Division 2B, gritty third-placed UL-Bohemian claimed a narrow 14-10 away win over Buccaneers at Dubarry Park. 

After failling 0-7 in arrears, the Red, Red Robins hit back with tries from Jordan Mills and Darren Ferrar, while out-half Oisin Fagan added the extras. The sides were tied, 7-7, at half-time. 

The two Limerick sides competing in Division 2C recorded wins.

Thomond, who were promoted from junior ranks at the end of last season, are sitting pretty at the top of Division 2C after claiming a resounding 54-32 bonus point win over Dolphin at Liam Fitzgerald Park.

The Limerick side outscored their visitors by eight tries to five in a free-scoring fixture. 

Thomond, who led 26-20 at half-time, had first half tries from Andrew Lyons, Colin Slater, with two, and Luke Fitzgerald, while Evan Cusack added three conversions.

The home side added second half tries from Sam Birrane, Jamie McGarry and two from Evan Maher. Evan Cusack added the remaining points. Table toppers Thomond are five points clear of three sides in the table after three series of games. 

Also in Division 2C, Bruff recorded a precious 25-15 victory over Bective Rangers at Kilballyowen Park. 

The win has moved Bruff up to fifth place in the 2C table. Paul Collins kicked an early penalty for Bruff, but the South Limerick side trailed 3-15.

However, Bruff hit back with three tries, one of which was converted, to earn their 10-point victory.

DIVISION 1A:

CLONTARF 28 YOUNG MUNSTER 26, Castle Avenue

Scorers: Clontarf: Tries: Sam Owens, Dylan Donnellan, Jordan Coghlan, Conor Kelly; Cons: Conor Kelly 4
Young Munster: Tries: Hubert Gilvarry, Shay McCarthy 2, Shane O’Leary; Cons: Shane O’Leary 3

HT: Clontarf 21 Young Munster 0

CLONTARF: Dylan O’Grady; Alex O’Grady, Connor Fahy, Tadhg Bird, Peter Maher; Conor Kelly, Sam Owens; Alex Usanov, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Niall Smyth, Fionn Gilbert, Alan Spicer, Paul Deeny, Aaron Coleman, Jordan Coghlan. Replacements: Declan Adamson, Ivan Soroka, Jim Peters, Sean Finlay, Daniel Magner, Ben Griffin.

YOUNG MUNSTER: Shane O’Leary; Hubert Gilvarry, Fionn Gibbons, Luke McCready, Shay McCarthy; Kelvin Langan, Jake O’Riordan; David Begley, Liam McMahon, Kieran Ryan, Alan Kennedy (capt), Evan O’Connell, Leo Langbridge, Bailey Faloon, Luke Murphy. Replacements: Stephen McLoughlin, Christian Foley, Paul Allen, James Horrigan, Harry Langbridge, Orin Burke.

DIVISION 1B:

GARRYOWEN 37 INSTONIANS 14, Dooradoyle

Scorers: Garryowen: Tries: Fionn Rowsome, Alex Wood 3, Des Fitzgerald; Cons: Lachlan Stewart 2; Pen: Lachlan Stewart
Instonians: Tries: Ruairi O’Farrell, Bevan Prinsloo; Cons: Josh Eagleson 2

HT: Garryowen 19 Instonians 14

GARRYOWEN: Fionn Rowsome; Tom Ironside Wickham, Alex Wood, Jack Delaney, JJ O’Neill; Lachlan Stewart, Harry Chittick; George Hadden, Johnny Byrne, Ronan Foxe, Joe Finn, Finn McCall, Jack Costello, Will Hayes, Des Fitzgerald (capt). Replacements: Dara Phelan, Mark Fitzgerald, Ben Leahy, Oisin Cooke, Chulainn Williams, Tom Wood.

INSTONIANS: Bradley McNamara; Mark Keane, Bevan Prinsloo, Ian Whitten, Hugo Ellerby; Josh Eagleson, Ruairi O’Farrell; Anton Lupari, Oli Clark, Liam Kaprigiannis, Marty Vorster, Mark Mairs, Mark Lee, Paul Pritchard, David Whitten (capt). Replacements:Neil Saulters, Ali Burke, Matthew Neill, Simon McMaster, Schalk van der Merwe, Blake McClean.

DIVISION 2A:

OLD CRESCENT 32 GREYSTONES 37 at Takumi Park

Scorers: Old Crescent: Tries: Stephen Kiely 3, John Lyons, Timmy Duggan. Conversions: Aaron Cosgrove, Jamie Duggan.
Penalties: Aaron Cosgrove. Greystones: Tries: Dylan Henry, Andrew Lynch, Jamie Mulhern, Reeve Satherley.
Conversions: Gavin Rochford 4. Penalties: Gavin Rochford 3.

HT: Old Crescent 13 Greystones 31

OLD CRESCENT: Stephen Kiely, Daithi Byrnes, Brian Molloy, Werner Hoffman, Dan Hurley, Aaron Cosgrove, Gary Fitzgerald, Joe Rickard, Niall Hardiman (capt), Evan Creaven, John Toland, Oisin Toland, Ciaran Heagney, John Lyons, Cillian Toland. Replacements: Declan Aylward, Billy Ryan Stapleton, Dean O’Grady, Jamie Duggan, Timmy Duggan.

GrREYSTONES: Gavin Rochford, Dylan Henry, Jack O’Brien, Matt O’Brien, Andrew Lynch, Killian Marmion, David Baker, Jamie Mulhern, Freddy Happonen, Conor Pearse, Eoin Marmion (capt), Johan Van Der Flier, Adam Benson, Stephen Bourke, Reeve Satherley. Replacements: Flyn Pyper, Quermy Warmerdam, Cole Kelly, Jack Dooley, Paddy Byrne.

SHANNON RFC 37 BANBRIDGE 31, Thomond Park (Back Pitch)

Scorers: Shannon RFC: Tries: Matt Te Pou, Joshua Costello, Alex Long, Penalty Try. Conversions: Jamie Gavin 3, Penalty Try.
Penalties: Jamie Gavin 3. Banbridge: Tries: Neil Kilpatrick, Alexander Thompson, Robin Sinton, Axel Montgomery. Conversions: Charlie Beattie 4. Penalties: Charlie Beattie.

HT: Shannon RFC 27 Banbridge 10

SHANNON RFC: Matt Te Pou, Joshua Costello, Cian O’Halloran, Harry Long (capt), David Smith, Jamie Gavin, Neil Cronin, Emmet Calvey, Alex Long, Jamie Conway, Luke Moylan, Cian McCann, Alex Lautsou, Oisin Minogue, Neal Moylett. Replacements: Jordan Prenderville, Shane Carew, Callum Black, Ian Leonard, Robbie Deegan.

BANBRIDGE: Rob Lyttle, Xander Lowham, Jona Mataiciwa, Jamie Mullan, Joe Dickson, Charlie Beattie, Neil Kilpatrick, John Wilson, Peter Cromie, Rio McDonagh, Daniel Kilpatrick, Alexander Thompson, Dean Hayes, Matthew Heasley, Robin Sinton. Replacements: Finlay King, Ryan Rodgers, Fletcher Britz, Axel Montgomery, David Agnew.

DIVISION 2B:

BUCCANEERS 10 UL-BOHEMIAN 14, Dubarry Park

Scorers: Buccaneers: Tries: Corey Reid. Conversions: Dylan Duffy. Penalties: Dylan Duffy. UL-Bohemian: Tries: Jordan Mills Darren Ferrar. Conversions: Oisin Fagan, 2

HT: Buccaneers 7 UL Bohemian 7

BUCCANEERS: Dylan Duffy, Tom Shine, Thomas Cotton, Corey Reid (capt), Orrin Burgess, Abel Bouwens, Leo McFarlane, Adam Cooper, Oisin Dolan, Charlie Byrne, Conor Sheehan, Samuel Meecham, Niel Botes, Dan Donovan, Luke Balsiger. Replacements: Sean Glennon, James Kelly, Ryan O’Meara, Donncha Connolly, Harry Balsiger.

UL-BOHEMIAN: Greg Fitzgerald, Liam O’Shanahan, Killian Dineen (capt), Paul Clancy, Zac O’Loughlin, Oisin Fagan, Donnchadh O’Callaghan, Kean Sheehy, Darren Ferrar, Jack Ryan, Shane Buckley, Liam Neilan, Sean Quirke, John Coleman, Jordan Mills. Replacements: Sam Lynch, Jake Considine, Mihlali Mgolodela, Cillian McNamara, Cian Casey.

DIVISION 2C:

BRUFF 25 BECTIVE RANGERS 15, Kilballyowen Park

Scorers Bruff: Tries: Shane Duggan, Andrew O’Byrne, Patricio Neheun. Conversions: Paul Collins 2. Penalties: Paul Collins 2. Bective Rangers: 

HT: Bruff 10 Bective Rangers 15

BRUFF: Paul Collins, Shane Duggan, Jesse Bowring, Andrew O’Byrne, Patricio Neheun, John Bateman, Cathal Garvey, Darragh O’Brien, Wiktor Wilczuk, Fionn Flanagan, Pa Maher, Brendan Gleeson, Mark Kennedy, John Sheehan, Cillian Rea (capt). Replacements: Nehuen Rossetti, Mike Frawley, Kieran O’Dwyer, Tom O’Dwyer, Sean Killbridge, Clem McAuliffe.

BECTIVE RANGERS: Tim Carroll, Chris Rolland, Bobby Holland, Matthew Gilsenan (capt), Craig Cantwell, Oliver Foote, Connor Halpenny, Oscar Egan, Christopher Hennessy, Conor Kelly, Eddie Dunning, Mark O’Brien, Mattie Keane, Chris Poole, Tiarnan McCloskey. Replacements: Luke Mion, Scott Barron, Oisin McCloskey, Mikey O’Hare, David Moran.

THOMOND RFC 54 DOLPHIN 32, Liam Fitzgerald Park

Scorers Thomond RFC: Tries: Sam Birrane, Luke Fitzgerald, Andrew Lyons, Evan Maher 2, Colin Slater 2, Jamie McGarry.
Conversions: Evan Cusack 7. Dolphin: Tries: Sam Boyle, Cameron O’Shaughnessy, Ryan Foley, Max Abbott, Craig O’Connell. Conversions: Hunter Yarrell 2. Penalties: Hunter Yarrell.

HT: Thomond RFC 26 Dolphin 20

THOMOND RFC: Luke Costello, Sam Birrane, Jake Connolly, Luke Fitzgerald, Andrew Lyons, Evan Cusack, Evan Maher, Peter Meyer, Colin Slater, Kian McGrath, Tom Goggin, Riann O’Dwyer, Shane Kelly, Kealan McMahon (capt), Suliano Mainavolau.
Replacements: Aidan Quinlivan, Sean Rice, Joshua Tunney-Ware, Morgan Bateman, Jamie McGarry.

DOLPHIN: Hunter Yarrell, Liam Ormond, Sam Boyle, Cameron O’Shaughnessy, Darragh Buckley, Billy Kiernan, Ryan Foley, Finn Cowhig, Max Abbott, Jack Fox, Darragh O’Sullivan, Brian O’Mahony, Eoin Sheehan, Matt Barry, Richie Heaslip. Replacements: David Byrne, Tom Sheehan, Diarmuid Keogh, James Vaughan, Craig O’Connell.