Lane leads way in Cork Constitution try blitz

All-Ireland League round-up:Cork Constitution have earned the right to be considered the premier team in the AIB All-Ireland League Division One as they top the table heading into the New Year. The Temple Hill side produced a superb seven-try performance to blitz UCD 46-13 in Cork.

Centre Tom Gleeson started the rout with a try but it was right wing and former underage international Richard Lane who proved a thorn in the visiting students' side with a hat-trick of tries that allowed Con not only to lead 27-8 at the break but secure a bonus point to boot.

Second-half tries for Darragh Lyons, Munster and Ireland wing John Kelly and a second for Gleeson confirmed their superiority on the day. UCD's response came from wing Cian Aherne who crossed for two tries and kicked a penalty. Constitution's closest pursuers are Shannon who recovered from last week's surprise defeat to St Mary's by travelling to the RDS and thumping Lansdowne 45-19.

Promising young hooker Seán Cronin grabbed a brace, while captain David Quinlan, Colm McMahon and Stephen Kelly also crossed for tries.

The home side responded primarily through the boot of outhalf Luke Cozens who kicked 14 points, while former Irish Schools number eight Ron Boucher grabbed a consolation try for the hosts.

UL Bohemian were emphatic 34-7 winners against a Dolphin team that had been going well this season.

Samoan-born wing Lupini Fiale helped himself to a brace of tries, while Munster centre Barry Murphy also crossed the Dolphin line as the home side led 22-0 at the interval.

In fairness to the Cork visitors they weren't helped by losing a couple of players to injury early in the game and did rally briefly with a try from Christy Condon, converted by Barry Keeshan, but the Limerick students earned a bonus point with late tries from Chris de Looze and Tommy O'Donnell.

Clontarf continued to climb up the table with a 17-3 victory over Terenure College at Lakelands. The pick of their tries was a fine individual effort by Leinster academy scrumhalf Paul O'Donohue, with Simon Crawford grabbing a couple.

Blackrock were left to rue an early injury to centre and try scorer Brian Canavan, who was injured in the process.

A rejigged backline never operated with the same fluency as the home side went down 17-15 to Garryowen at Stradbrook. The Limerick side managed a try from Anthony Kavanagh and four penalties from Conor Kilroy; the fullback has previously worn the Blackrock jersey.

A last gasp penalty from former Irish schools outhalf Brian Collins helped Old Belvedere to a narrow 20-19 win over bottom-of-the-table Greystones at Anglesea Road, while in the division's other match, Dungannon and Galwegians shared the spoils following a 12-12 draw.

ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE

Division One Standings

P W D L F A TB LB Pts

Cork Con 7 6 1 0 149 66 1 0 27

Shannon 7 6 0 1 141 77 1 1 26

UL Bohemian 7 5 0 2 106 60 1 0 21

Clontarf 7 4 0 3 135 99 2 3 21

Garryowen 7 4 1 2 107 80 1 1 20

Ballymena 7 4 0 3 132 107 1 1 18

Dolphin 7 4 0 3 132 138 0 1 17

St Mary's 7 3 0 4 111 100 1 3 16

Galwegians 7 3 1 3 97 101 0 2 16

UCD 7 4 0 3 102 139 0 0 16

Blackrock 7 3 0 4 120 126 1 2 15

Terenure 7 2 0 5 110 138 1 4 13

Old Belvedere 7 2 0 5 118 136 0 4 12

Lansdowne 7 2 0 5 88 149 1 0 9

Dungannon 7 1 1 5 100 155 0 2 8

Greystones 7 1 0 6 84 161 0 1 5