Greystones gain some breathing space

After a poor start to the season, Greystones yesterday moved themselves to a more comfortable part of the table with a convincing…

After a poor start to the season, Greystones yesterday moved themselves to a more comfortable part of the table with a convincing 12-32 win over Old Wesley at Donnybrook.

With just a point separating the sides at half-time, Greystones, largely through Owen Costigan's 24-point haul, moved from 13-12 to the winning margin. The key try came after 52 minutes when Maurice Logue claimed a touchdown to take the score to 20-12. From then on, Old Wesley rarely gained a foothold in the game.

Old Crescent continued to set the pace in the division with a 324 win over Bective Rangers. The tryless match produced some fine kicking from Brian Begley, who claimed six penalties for the Limerick side, three in either half.

Warren Johnston scored Bective's only penalty but, with Leo Doyle and substitute John Nihill adding a drop goal each, Old Crescent continued in command, suggesting that they are serious promotion candidates.

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Anglesea Road was the venue for a bruising contest between Old Belvedere and DLSP, which, in the end, finished 9-9. Nothing much separated the two teams throughout with Dave O'Riordan kicking three penalties for DLSP. It took a last gasp kick from Donal Martin two minutes into injury time to draw Belvedere level. Martin's third successful kick from inside the DLSP 22 ensured the sides shared the points.

Dolphin continued to struggle, falling to their fourth defeat in five games, this time at home to Wanderers, 23-25. Disappointingly, Dolphin's first-half territorial advantage was squandered and the sides turned around level. The Dublin visitors then streaked to a significant lead forcing Dolphin to try and claw back lost ground. Tries from Bevin Cantrell and Martin Mahon, converted by Eric Olazabal, gave Wanderers a winning lead before Donal O'Sullivan ensured victory with his side's third try.

A number of postponements due to the combination of freezing weather and Ulster's European Cup semi-final, limited Division Two to four matches in total.

The European Shield semi-finals involving French sides Montferrand against Narbonne and Bourgoin versus Brive were postponed yesterday because both pitches were snowbound.

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times