Carlow’s tenure at the summit of the AIL will last until next weekend at least, but they have now been joined on 19 points by Shannon.
Garryowen had hoped to overhaul Co Carlow at the top of Division One but a disappointing defeat at the hands of Buccaneers this afternoon saw them waste the opportunity.
Instead, it was their Limerick neighbours, Shannon, who kept the pressure on the overnight leaders, a 24-3 victory over St Mary’s moving them into a share of top spot.
It was a low-key affair at Thomond with little festive cheer for the 500 or so spectators. David Quinlan’s try on 30 minutes handed Shannon both the initiative and a comfortable lead, one which Mary’s never troubled, and with Tom Cregan adding points from the boot Shannon secured a handsome 21 point win.
Elsewhere today, Cork Con maintained their winning ways, scraping through 16-10 against Galwegians, Young Munster advanced over DLSP while Lansdowne couldn’t make home advantage tell against UCD.
Meanwhile, a second-half David Cox try proved the difference between Co Carlow and Terenure at the Lakelands yesterday afternoon. With ten minutes on the clock, the Carlow back-row powered over from a line-out to earn his side the points by 18-11.
Also in action on Saturday were Clontarf, who entertained Ballymena at Castle Avenue. The Dublin side immediately took the game to their Ulster opponents, scoring a try (Daire Higgins) in the very first minute but were run close until the final quarter when two tries in quick succession (Higgins and Ollie Winchester) killed the game off. Clontarf went on to win 35-13
Sunday’s AIL Division One Results:
Lansdowne 23 UCD 34
Young Munster 22 DLSP 10 Shannon 24 St Mary's 3
Cork Constitution 16 Galwegians 10
Buccaneers 28 Garryowen 16