With Victor Costello ruled out and skipper Trevor Brennan playing his first match since Ireland's World Cup campaign, the chances of the St Mary's College pack taming the mighty midland forwards did not seem very bright before this AIL Division One encounter at Templeville Road. As matters turned out, Buccaneers were made to struggle up front as St Mary's dominated territorially and enjoyed a surfeit of quality possession.

There were no passengers in this St Mary's pack. Malcolm O'Kelly contested Buccaneers' lineout throws effectively, man of the match Ross Doyle, Brennan and Frank Fitzgerald formed a mobile back row, while prop Peter Coyle - who was sin-binned late in the game - was as destructive going forward as Buccaneers' Jimmy Screene and Martin Cahill, and that's saying something.

It didn't take long for St Mary's superiority to pay off. A sustained offensive had Buccaneers pack struggling desperately on their own line, the ball was slipped to Mark McHugh, who did well to dive over and then convert his own try.

Simon Allnutt's 30-metre penalty cut the lead to only four points for some 20 minutes. But then St Mary's piled on 10 points in the last five minutes of the first half, courtesy of a penalty goal from McHugh and a fine try scored by Peter McKenna, and Buccaneers were in serious trouble.

Still, with the wind and the bright sun at their backs, a second-half revival was possible, especially after Allnutt landed a second penalty goal 14 minutes after the re-start. By now Buccaneers were starting to try to up the pace, but with some 20 minutes to go, they opted - for once - to try to spread the ball wide, with disastrous results.

If Allnutt's long floated midfield pass had reached its intended target, a try which might have turned the match looked on. But the pass was fractionally off the mark, John McWeeney intercepted and scorched half the length of the field to score between the posts, McHugh knocking over the simple conversion.

Buccaneers hit back with a good try from the impressive Martyn Steffert, before Fergal Campion restored St Mary's equilibrium with a drop goal. Buccaneers' second try, scored by replacement prop John Maher, was too late to matter, though it gave Allnutt the chance to salvage a bonus point by landing the conversion which would have resulted in a defeat by seven points or less.

Unhappily, he missed. Undoubtedly, Buccaneers will be back; but a less limited game plan will be simply vital.

Scoring sequence: 14 mins: McHugh try, con, 7-0; 16 mins: Allnutt pen, 7-3, 35 mins: McHugh pen, 10-3, 38 mins: McKenna try, McHugh con, 173; 54 mins: Allnutt pen, 17-6, 65 mins: McWeeney try, McHugh con, 24-6, 74 mins: Steffert try, Allnutt con, 24-13, 76 mins: Campion dropped goal, 27-13, 79 mins: Maher try, 27-18.

St Mary's College: P McKenna; D Hickie, M McHugh, G Gannon, J McWeeney; F Campion, P Lynch; P Coyle, P Smyth, D Clare, I Bloomer, M O'Kelly, T Brennan (capt), R Doyle, F Fitzgerald. Replacements: P Higgins for Brennan (51), R McIlreavy for Gannon (75), N Fox for Higgins, Coyle (sin-binned).

Buccaneers: C Kilroy; M Devine, M Deane, E Molloy, R Lee; S Allnutt, S McIvor; J Screene, J McVeigh, M Cahill, G Webster, C Rigney, Des Rigney, E Brennan, M Steffert (capt). Replacements: J Maher for Cahill 23-27 temp, Maher for Cahill (45), David Rigney for Des Rigney (45), N Rusk for McVeigh (62).

Referee: R McDowell (Munster).