Two-Try Gunne Fires Terenure To Impressive Victory Over Cork Con

Fintan Gunne bagged a brilliant brace of first half tries, and his Leinster Academy team-mate Henry McErlean also scored, as Terenure College got the better of defending Division 1A champions Cork Constitution.

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE MEN’S DIVISION 1A:

Saturday, September 21 –

TERENURE COLLEGE 25 CORK CONSTITUTION 15, Lakelands Park
Scorers: Terenure College: Tries: Henry McErlean, Fintan Gunne 2; Cons: Aran Egan 2; Pens: Aran Egan 2
Cork Constitution: Tries: Scott Buckley, Alessandro Heaney; Con: James Taylor; Pen: James Taylor
HT: Terenure College 19 Cork Constitution 5

Sean Skehan’s men were backed by a strong wind and rushed into a 19-0 lead at Lakelands Park, thanks to McErlean’s opener, and then scrum half Gunne’s slickly-taken double after 18 and 22 minutes.

Munster hooker Scott Buckley profited from Conall Boomer’s yellow card to pull back five points before half-time. This repeat of last season’s final continued to be fiercely contested as Cork Constitution cut the gap to seven points.

Despite the double setback of conceding three points to Aran Egan and losing Matthew Bowen to the sin bin, Jonny Holland’s side notched a second maul try in the 57th minute when Alessandro Heaney crashed over.

Cork Con’s scrum got on top, allowing James Taylor to put just a converted score in it with 13 minutes remaining. Terenure had the final say though, running out deserved 25-15 winners thanks to a close-range penalty from Egan.

Both teams showed an eagerness to move the ball wide at pace, and Terenure were first to threaten. Adam La Grue led a pacy outside break, and released McErlean down the right touchline but the Con cover denied him.

Armed with that wind advantage, summer signing Chris Cosgrave struck the post with a monster early penalty attempt for ‘Nure. A few phases later, Con scrum half Adam Maher rushed up to force a knock-on from Max Russell.

Nonetheless, the hosts made the breakthrough soon after. An excellent first-phase move from a lineout saw the backs work a wraparound to release Craig Adams, and he put La Grue away from halfway before McErlean supplied the finishing touches.

The try went unconverted, but ‘Nure were soon knocking on the door again thanks to their reliable lineout platform. Peter Sylvester was stopped just short of the try-line by a combination of John Forde and Bowen, his former UCC and ‘Nure team-mate.

Boomer went even closer, but was held up by Bowen and Billy Crowley. That solid defensive work was undone by what followed it, as Gunne, fed by Adams off the goal-line dropout, produced a moment of magic to unlock the visitors’ defence.

The 21-year-old scrum half deftly chipped over the advancing Cork Con line, regathering the ball on the edge of the opposition 22 and catching full-back Bowen out with a cracking sidestep to dash in behind the posts. Egan converted.

Now a dozen points in arrears, Constitution needed a lift but instead Gunne completed a quick-fire brace. His superb pick-up of an Adam Melia offload saw him touch down again. His initial grubber kick had put McErlean in behind the defence.

Following Egan’s second successful conversion, Con finally got some time inside the Terenure 22. Their maul was brought to ground quickly, though, and when out-half Taylor cut back to the short side, Melia forced a turnover penalty.

In response, Buckley snatched possession back from an overthrown Terenure lineout. Holland’s charges got their maul going, following successive penalties, yet a close-in carry from Sean Duffy saw him held up on the half hour mark.

However, there were more encouraging signs for the Leesiders when captain David Hyland and Jack Kelleher linked up neatly in midfield. Duffy tried to float a pass out wide with an overlap developing, but Boomer’s deliberate knock-on landed him in the bin.

There was no stopping Buckley off the resulting lineout drive, as he broke loose to power over out wide. Taylor was unable to convert from the left, but it was a timely score for Con who were getting more ball into the hands of Killian Coghlan and the returning Sean French.

The playing numbers were briefly evened up just a couple of minutes into the second half. McErlean was caught by a late challenge from Bowen, who earned himself a yellow card. Egan sent the penalty through the posts for a 22-5 scoreline.

Con’s attack was back in full flight when Kelleher and Heaney’s offloading sprung Maher up into Terenure’s 22. They were ramping up the attacking phases, with centre Billy Crowley having some good touches.

Terenure leaked a series of penalties, allowing Con to build off their maul again in advanced positions. Their second one did not work out, but a third effort was executed to a tee when replacement prop Heaney was driven over for Taylor to convert.

The Con forwards had the bit between their teeth now, winning a scrum penalty. They continued to come around the corner, with Forde and Buckley carrying well in particular, until Harrison Brewer won a relieving penalty for ‘Nure at the breakdown.

Terenure’s replacements added good value at a key stage, and after Adams has fastened onto a kick through from Egan, Con were on the retreat. Coghlan got caught on the wrong side of a 72nd-minute ruck, and Egan mopped up with the three points.

Last season’s table toppers had to absorb some late pressure, with Cosgrave and replacement Alan Bennie both guilty of kicking out on the full. A partially-blocked Maher kick also resulted in a five-metre scrum for Cork Con.

Bennie redeemed himself by reacting quickest to win turnover ball, and although Con duly won a penalty at the resulting scrum, Terenure successfully defended the visitors’ last-minute maul to seal the result.

TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam La Grue; Henry McErlean, Chris Cosgrave, Peter Sylvester, Craig Adams; Aran Egan, Fintan Gunne; Ben Howard, Max Russell, Adam Tuite (capt), Harrison Brewer, Mikey O’Reilly, Adam Melia, Jim White, Conall Boomer.

Replacements: Levi Vaughan, Ben Cullen, David Maher, Tom Coghlan, Alan Bennie, Conor Phillips.

CORK CONSTITUTION: Matthew Bowen; Daniel Hurley, Billy Crowley, Killian Coghlan, Sean French; James Taylor, Adam Maher; Mark Donnelly, Scott Buckley, Luke Masters, Sean Duffy, John Forde, Jack Kelleher, Ronán O’Sullivan, David Hyland (capt).

Replacements: George Good, Alessandro Heaney, Eoin Quilter, Jacob Sheahan, Louis Kahn, Aidan Moynihan.