"WE played well. The pack worked hard and the backs did the rest," said Gerry Murphy after his Terenure College players dealt Instonians a crippling blow in their ailing quest for Division One safety at Lakelands Park.

Maybe Instonians need a "rest" from life at the top, for they were dominated in every facet of this game, particularly behind the scrum. Shockingly, for the visitors, the Terenure backs finished with a startling 10 tries.

Former schools star Cillian De Gascun was responsible for drawing much of the sting from the Instonians' defence early on. By the 23rd minute he had crossed for a hat-trick of tries. The first two came in the third and 15th minutes, while David Coleman, playing on the left wing, had also punctured the Instonians defence.

Outside-half Shane Cullen was having an off day with his place-kicking, but that didn't matter much. Right wing Girvan Dempsey took over the kicking duties and ended the game with 18 points, including a try, a penalty and five, conversions.

His try came when he pounced on a loose ball 40 metres out and sprinted outside Instonians flanker John Gardiner in the 68th minute. This made it 56-6.

Before that Coleman had started the second half where he had left off the first.

Tries from him and Hogan in the 25th and 37th minutes respectively had given Terenure a 37-0 lead by the break.

One minute into the new period Coleman crossed wide out on the left. Two penalties from Simon Bond and a well-deserved try from hard working Kenton Hillman were academic, as Ciaran Clarke and Dempsey grabbed touchdowns, leaving Coleman to upstage De Gascun with his fourth try at the death.