Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 2A: Round 1 Review

Greystones were the only home team to record a win in the opening round of Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 2A. Promoted clubs Instonians and Galway Corinthians both impressed in their first outings.

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE MEN’S DIVISION 2A:

Saturday, September 21 –

BALLYMENA 10 GALWAY CORINTHIANS 27, Eaton Park
Scorers: Ballymena: Tries: Adam Lamont, Alexander Clarke
Galway Corinthians: Tries: Orin Burke, Tomás Farthing 2, Max Holmes; Cons: Jack Conway 2; Pen: Jack Conway
HT: Ballymena 0 Galway Corinthians 17

Galway Corinthians began life in Division 2A with an impressive bonus point win away to Ballymena. Three first half tries laid the groundwork for Michael Harding’s side.

Corinthians sniped over early on through Orin Burke, his try converted by Jack Conway converted for an ideal start. A Tomás Farthing brace quickly grew the lead to 17 points, with the Galway side on top at the break.

Ballymena grabbed the opening score of the second half when captain Adam Lamont powered over from close range, ensuring an end-product to a well-constructed set of attacking phases.

Corinthians replied with interest as Max Holmes touched down from a well-controlled lineout maul for their bonus point try, which Conway converted.

On his All-Ireland League debut for the Braidmen, Alexander Clarke broke from a maul to add their second unconverted try. Conway closed out the scoring with a penalty, as Ballymena lost replacement Connor Smyth to the sin bin for a high tackle.

BALLYMENA: Rodger McBurney; Ben Neely, Daniel Vercoe Rogers, Sam Millar, Michael McLean; Tristan Ferguson, Roshan Weeraratne; Simon McWhirter, Mark Lamont, Joseph Mawhinney, David Milford, Paddy Browne, Alexander Clarke, Adam Lamont (capt), Oisin Jordan.

Replacements: James Taggart, David Forsythe, Connor Smyth, Oliver Smith, Dean Millar.

GALWAY CORINTHIANS: Orin Burke; Sean Fox, John Devine, Tom Waters, Finn McNulty; Jack Conway, Joey Tierney; Billy Bohan, Max Holmes, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Conaill Muldoon, Rory Glynn, Bryan Walsh, John Claffey, Mark Boyle (capt).

Replacements: Patrick Fahy, Alex Burke, Jack Boyan, Tomás Farthing, James Nicholson.

BANBRIDGE 26 MU BARNHALL 31, Rifle Park
Scorers: Banbridge: Tries: Rob Lyttle, Adam Doherty, Justin Burns, Xander Lowham; Cons: Jack Hart 3
MU Barnhall: Tries: Keith Farrell, Nick Doggett, Dan Murphy, Matt Grogan 2; Cons: Adam Chester 2, James Gorham
HT: Banbridge 14 MU Barnhall 12

A brace of Matt Grogan tries saw MU Barnhall come from behind at the break to win a high-scoring first round clash with hosts Banbridge at Rifle Park.

Keith Farrell and Adam Chester combined for seven points inside the opening six minutes to give the visitors an early lead. Banbridge replied through former Ulster speedster Rob Lyttle, and scrum half Jack Hart levelled from the tee.

Coached by Rob Logan for his second full season in the role, Banbridge built a 14-12 half-time lead with Adam Doherty’s try, converted by Hart, cancelling out a 22-minute effort from Barnhall centre Nick Doggett.

Shortly after the restart Barnhall were in again, this time Dan Murphy found the space to touch down in the 43rd minute, Chester’s conversion gave the visitors a five-point buffer.

With 63 minutes on the clock, Bann regained their lead through centre Justin Burns’ well-finished try. Hart made no mistake again from the tee as the two-point cushion was restored.

However, the aforementioned Grogan emerged as Barnhall’s match winner, changing the dynamic of the match with two quickly-taken tries in the 69th and 73rd minutes.

Chester landed one of the conversions, and replacement James Gorham the other, splitting the sides by ten points in the blink of an eye. Winger Xander Lowham did gain some late consolation, getting over the line to earn two bonus points for Bann.

BANBRIDGE: Rob Lyttle; Xander Lowham, Justin Burns, Jonny Scott, Adam Doherty; Charlie Beattie, Jack Hart; Michael Cromie, Peter Cromie (capt), Stuart Cromie, Daniel Kilpatrick, Alex Weir, Dean Hayes, Matthew Heasley, Matthew Laird.

Replacements: Tim Savage, Ross Haughey, Robin Sinton, Alex Thompson, Aaron Kennedy.

MU BARNHALL: Conor Duggan; Sean Sexton, Matt Grogan, Nick Doggett, Conor Lacey; Adam Chester, Dylan Kelly; Keith Farrell, Cathal Duff (capt), Darragh Bellanova, Luke Callinan, Ciaran Purcell, Dan Murphy, Shane Stokes, Eoin Kelly.

Replacements: Sean Hopkins, Jack Castles, Stephen Callinan, Conor Neville, James Gorham.

BUCCANEERS 24 INSTONIANS 52, Dubarry Park
Scorers: Buccaneers: Tries: Tom Shine, Penalty try, Frankie Hopkins; Cons: Adam O’Carroll 2, Pen try con; Pen: Adam O’Carroll
Instonians: Tries: Neil Saulters 2, Penalty try, Bevan Prinsloo 3, Robert Whitten, Ali Burke; Cons: Josh Eagleson 5, Pen try con
HT: Buccaneers 10 Instonians 19

Instonians’ highly-anticipated return to Division 2A resulted in a powerful eight-try performance against Buccaneers, with five of those scores coming in a blistering second half display.

The Athlone club were celerating 30 years of Buccaneers on the day, but it was a tough afternoon for the Pirates who only had four starters, including captain Frankie Hopkins, from their most recent All-Ireland League outing involved.

Buccaneers did start the better of the two, and Adam O’Carroll, a first-time starter in the out-half position, was central to that. He landed an early penalty before his smart snipe set up Tom Shine to touch down. O’Carroll converted for a 10-0 lead.

Instonians used their imposing pack of forwards to strike back. Hooker Neil Saulters crossed following a series of mauls, and then Buccs lost second row Fergus Galvin to the sin bin, a few minutes later, for a lineout offence.

Another powerful Inst maul produced a penalty try in the 25th minute. The Belfast outfit moved into a 19-10 half-time lead after Buccs had lost a scrum against the head, and centre Bevan Prinsloo brilliantly swept past a number of defenders to score on the left.

Prinsloo, whose pace undid the Buccs defence, and Saulters added their second tries shorty after the restart. The bonus point was pocketed by the 46th minute.

Josh Eagleson converted Prinsloo’s latest effort and the lead was out 31-10. Buccaneers did show their battling qualities, and when they were able to move the ball quickly, they did cause problems for Instonians’ defence.

Ross Murphy-Sweeney gained ground down the left where Hopkins was caught with an early tackle be he received the ball. It was in a try-scoring position, so referee Paul O’Connor awarded a penalty try which reduced the arrears to 31-17.

Robert Whitten kept the scoreboard moving in the right direction for Instonians, finishing off another lineout drive, before separate infringements led to yellow cards for Buccs replacement Paddy Egan, and Schalk van der Merwe, who was sprung from the visitors’ bench.

Scrum half Hopkins’ quick feet left two defenders in his wake for a deserved try. O’Carroll tagged on the extras to leave 14 points in it (38-24). Inst turned on the power yet again to finish in strong fashion at the midlands venue.

Both of their closing tries stemmed from mauls, a serious area of strength for the Ulstermen. The outstanding Prinsloo completed his hat-trick before lock Ali Burke made it eight tries in all for the victors.

BUCCANEERS: Jenson Nagle; Ross Murphy-Sweeney, Tom Shine, Rob Teape, Harry Hughes; Adam O’Carroll, Frankie Hopkins (capt); James Kelly, Dylan Bolger, Reece Henderson, Fergus Galvin, Sam Fogarty, Oisin Dolan, Cathal Walsh, Ryan O’Meara.

Replacements: Cian Daly, Joaquin del Olmo, Paddy Egan, Harry Balsiger, Adam Flanagan.

INSTONIANS: Bradley McNamara; Mark Keane, Bevan Prinsloo, Ian Whitten, Hugo Ellerby; Josh Eagleson, Ruairi O’Farrell; Anton Lupari, Neil Saulters, Liam Kaprigiannis, Marty Vorster, Ali Burke, Mark Mairs, Max Preston, David Whitten (capt).

Replacements: Oli Clark, Schalk van der Merwe, Robert Whitten, Conor McGrath, Simon McMaster.

GREYSTONES 16 NAVAN 13, Dr Hickey Park
Scorers: Greystones: Tries: Rob Byrne, Craig Kenny; Pens: Gavin Rochford 2
Navan: Try: Penalty try; Con: Pen try con; Pens: Mark Farrell 2
HT: Greystones 8 Navan 6

Despite a dramatic conclusion to events at Dr Hickey Park, Greystones survived a late Navan surge – aided by a penalty try – to register a narrow first round win.

Former Greystones team-mates, Danny Kenny and Jason Harris-Wright, went head-to-head as coaches, and a close battle was expected with Navan winning their home match last season, 20-17, while Greystones were 27-26 winners of the corresponding fixture last February.

A largely possession-based opening saw both teams probing for an early breakthrough, with Greystones capitalising on Navan’s errors at the lineout and breakdown, forcing turnovers that halted the visitors’ progress.

Opposing half-backs Mark Farrell and Gavin Rochford swapped penalties after 16 and 19 minutes, and it remained a cagey encounter until the Wicklow men snapped up the opening try on the half hour mark. Their hooker Rob Byrne powered over from close range.

Navan replied six minutes before half-time, setting up scrum half Farrell to split the posts as they closed the gap to 8-6. However, just two minutes after the restart, Greystones winger Craig Kenny used his pace to get over out wide.

With debutant lock Reeve Satherley producing a player-of-the-match performances, ‘Stones were good value for their 13-6 advantage. It was extended to 10 points after Rochford was on target with a 52nd-minute penalty.

Navan fought right until the very end, showing their resilience to come through a sin-binning and some injuries. Their reward was a losing bonus point thanks to a late penalty try.

GREYSTONES: David Baker; Craig Kenny, Josh Pyper, Killian Marmion, Shane Marmion; Gavin Rochford, Ben Stephens; Shane Fikken, Rob Byrne, Conor Pearse, Eoin Marmion (capt), Reeve Satherley, Stephen Bourke, Conor McAleer, Michael Doyle.

Replacements: Freddie Happonen, Jamie Mulhern, Gerhard Zdunek, Neil Megannety, Andrew Lynch.

NAVAN: Shane Walshe; Harry Devlin, Rory Gordon, Kyle Dixon, Mark Coen; Evan Dixon (capt), Mark Farrell; James Wyse, Gary Faulkner, Jordan Finney, Thomas Ciot, Liam McAree, Harry Conlon, Ben McEntagart, Lazlo Pschorn.

Replacements: Jayden Henderson, Leigh Jackson, Andrew Beggy, Jack Dixon, Tom Gavigan, Cormac Horan, David Brady.

OLD CRESCENT 34 CASHEL 38, Takumi Park
Scorers: Old Crescent: Tries: Timmy Duggan, Werner Hoffman, Casey Tanyi, Yasin Browne; Cons: Ronan McKenna 4; Pens: Ronan McKenna 2
Cashel: Tries: Alan Flannery 2, Jamie Ryan, Marcel Strydom, Penalty try; Cons: Tim Townsend 2, Ben Twomey 2, Pen try con; Pen: Ben Twomey
HT: Old Crescent 13 Cashel 17

An electric Munster Derby in Takumi Park saw nine tries scored, as Cashel continued their recent winning spell at the Limerick venue to record an opening day bonus point win. Crescent made it a grand slam finish, just falling short in the end.

With 11 minutes elapsed the home side would strike the first blow as Tommy Duggan intercepted possession and darted under the post for the opening try, on his 100th cap Ronan McKenna converted the try. Cashel replied four minutes later Marcel Strydom off the back of a scrum and Tim Townsend levelled the tie from the tee.

McKenna landed a penalty in the 20th minute to regain the hosts lead, Cashel hit back in a end to end opening half with their second try, Jamie Ryan dotting down and no mistake by Townsend to make it 14-10. McKenna and Ben Twomey would exchange late penalties as the Tipperary men held a four point lead at the break 17-13.

After a lengthy half time break due to injury, Cashel would grab the opening score of the second stanza after eight minutes. Alan Flannery meandered through a gap to dive for the third try, Twomey kicking the conversion to put 11 points between the teams. Shy of the hour mark Werner Hoffman and Ronan McKenna reduced arrears to four points as the former crossed for their second try.

Twomey replied with a penalty three minutes later and from here Cashel kicked on. A penalty try followed by an intercept try in the 73rd minute from Flannery looked to have confirmed the win as Cashel powered ahead 38-20. Casey Tanyi and Yasin Browne thundered over for the hosts in the burning embers and with McKenna converting both, they would leave with two bonus points.

OLD CRESCENT: Glen Kelly; Timmy Duggan, Cathal Monaghan, Werner Hoffman, Daithi Byrnes; Ronan McKenna, Jamie Duggan; Joe Rickard, Darragh O’Brien, Evan Creaven, Paudie Monaghan, Yasin Browne, Karl Madden (capt), Jack O’Neill, Kevin Doyle.

Replacements: Eoghan Quinn, Casey Tanyi, Sean Monaghan, John Lyons, Larry Hanly.

CASHEL: Ryan O’Sullivan; Paudie Leamy, Alan Flannery, Jamie Ryan, Tom Tobin; Tim Townsend, Marcel Strydom; Cormac O’Donnell, David Upton, Brendan Ryan, Brendan Crosse, Diarmuid Rowe, Alex Harold Barry, Richard Moran, Mikey Wilson.

Replacements: Joe Callery, Sean O’Connell, Ed Kelly, Josh Pickering, Ben Twomey.