ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE ROUND-UP: WHETHER IT'S a coincidence or not, the IRFU's decision to revamp next year's AIB All-Ireland League into a more streamlined, two-tiered top flight has met with an unpredictable early-season pattern.
Though the first division is admittedly still in its formative stages, for the third week running it has new leaders. To add to its unusual appearance, four Leinster teams occupy the play-off spots.
With their blend of youth and experience Blackrock College had irreverently cut a swathe through their first four matches, kicking of their campaign with a notable Limerick double over Shannon and Garryowen, yet they travelled to their 14th-placed neighbours UCD on Saturday and lost 10-6.
The students' points came from their Leinster duo of number eight Kevin McLoughlin and Fergus McFadden, the former scoring the decisive try and McFadden adding a conversion to his earlier penalty.
Blackrock's late rally yielded only two Darragh Fitzpatrick penalties and a bonus point.
Old Belvedere, second on Saturday morning, had seemingly overcome the setback of an early try by Dave Nolan away to Galwegians from a lineout maul to earn a 12-7 lead through tries by Dave Mongan and Leo Auva'a, but were undone by referee Colin Stanley awarding a penalty try off a five-metre scrum by the home side.
Galwegians now sit fifth.
This left the way open for Clontarf to assume pole position as the division's only unbeaten side, courtesy of a gutsy, sleeves-rolled-up 7-0 win away to Young Munster in rain and gales.
Prop Niall Treston was on the scoring end of a first-half maul by their pack which, helped by a huge defensive effort into the teeth of the elements in the second half, decided the outcome.
Munsters thus sit 15th with one win - bizarrely, over Cork Con - but the champions don't look their normal selves, as evidenced by a 16-9 defeat at St Mary's, who sit third after tries by Conor McPhillips and Hugh Hogan and a brace of penalties by Shaun McCarthy helped give them a 16-0 buffer facing into the second-half elements. Three Richie Lane penalties earned Con a bonus point.
Shannon are, however, gathering momentum, their talisman Tadhg Bennett steering them to the first division's only bonus-point win with a personal haul of 25 points.
