Constitution deliver coup de grace to the champions

The King is dead, long live the king. It had to end, but when it did at Temple Hill on Saturday Shannon could console themselves with the knowledge that they bowed before an exceptional Cork Constitution performance. Champions for the past four years, the Limerick club had set the benchmark for the aspirants each season, and none could prise loose their grip until now.

Pride, character and ability allowed Shannon to conjure a second chance in a season in which several poor results threatened an early abdication. Temple Hill would be a cup final; it would also be their Waterloo.

The mind was willing but this time the flesh was weak. New Zealand centre Rhys Ellison was dangerously hampered by a persistent neck injury, and Mick Galwey, so often a colossus and an inspiration, was reduced to mere mortality by a hamstring injury. His departure early in the second half precipitated the inevitable.

A frustrated spectator coach Pat Murray could only watch as the revolution engulfed the aristocrats of Irish club rugby. There would be no complaints:

"The better team won on the day," he said. "It was unfortunate that we lost two key players but I wouldn't use it as an excuse. We made a lot of basic mistakes, silly things."

While acknowledging that the Shannon team was a shadow of former models, it would be churlish not to extol the virtue of Constitution's performance. In the second 40 minutes they ran the champions ragged, and it was only for some valiant, last ditch defence and a lack of composure and vision within touching distance of the posts which kept the winning margin to a minimum.

The Constitution pack outplayed their more illustrious and physically bigger opponents, particularly the back row trio of David Corkery, Ultan O'Callaghan and Jerry Murray. Corkery was at his abrasive best, ruthless in the tackle and powerful in possession. O'Callaghan was equally effective, but it was Murray who allowed the Cork club to play the expansive and less rigid game they craved.

He snaffled possession on the deck, supported the ball carrier intelligently and hunted down the Shannon backs with great purpose.

If the Con pack provided the platform, then it was out-half Ronan O'Gara who ensured a maximum return from the possession.

Well served by Brian O'Meara at scrum-half, O'Gara dictated proceedings with authority and intelligence, creating space for those outside him and also willing to test the tackle.

John Kelly, whether on the wing or in the centre, displayed his quality as Constitution thrived on the counter-attack.

One could not fault Shannon's application, especially that of Halvey, Marcus Horan, Galwey and Colm McMahon. But a plethora of errors rendered the end product some way short of what they are capable.

The chinks appeared as early as the first minute. Ellison tried to tackle Cian Mahony and ended up prone, clutching his shoulder, while the Con centre passed to influential full back Brian Walsh who glided through the gap and past the tackle of Brian Roche to race 45 metres for a try. O'Gara missed the conversion.

Constitution suffered a further blow when minutes later Cian Mahony limped off with a hamstring injury, though his replacement, Alan Byrne, enjoyed a fine match.

Shannon replied with a try from Galwey after Halvey had secured possession from a line out 15 metres out. Thompson kicked the conversion.

The home side offered the ideal riposte. O'Callaghan and O'Driscoll made the hard yards, allowing Walsh to put Kelly over for a try. O'Gara missed the conversion, but he subsequently kicked a penalty. Then Colm McMahon grabbed a fine individual try following good work by Anthony Foley and Halvey. Thompson converted, but an injury time penalty by O'Gara gave Constitution a 16-14 interval lead.

The second half belonged to the Cork side. O'Gara displayed some nifty footwork to jink over for a try, and he added the remainder of his team's points with a conversion and a penalty.

Jim Galvin's try in the third minute of injury time was nothing more than an addendum in one sense, although it did ensure that Constitution would meet Buccaneers and not St Mary's College in the semi-finals.

Scoring sequence: 1 min: Walsh try, 5-0; 6: Galwey try, Thompson conversion, 5-7; 9: Kelly try, 10-7; 26: O'Gara penalty, 13-7; 35: McMahon try, Thompson conversion, 13-14; 42: O'Gara penalty, 16-14. 61: O'Gara try, O'Gara conversion, 23-14; 67: O'Gara penalty, 26-14; 83: Galvin try, 26-19.

Cork Constitution: B Walsh; J Kelly, Conor Mahony, Cian Mahony, D O'Brien; R O'Gara, B O'Meara (capt); I Murray, F Sheahan, J O'Driscoll; D Sheehan, K Murphy; D Corkery, U O'Callaghan, J Murray. Replacements: A Byrne for Cian Mahony (5 mins); P Soden for O'Driscoll (half-time); A Horgan for Conor Mahony (45 mins); D O'Callaghan for Sheehan (77 mins); J Fogarty for Murphy (79 mins).

Shannon: Jason Hayes; A Thompson, C McMahon, R Ellison, B Roche; J Galvin, F McNamara; M Horan, M McDermott, N Healy; M Galwey, John Hayes; A Quinlan, A Foley (capt), E Halvey. Replacements: C Burke for Ellison (19 mins); D Kirby for Galwey (46 mins); D Quinlan for Healy (64 mins); A McGrath for Roche (77 mins); J Deegan for Halvey (82 mins).

Referee: M Whyte (Leinster).