Lansdowne encountered more resistance than they could reasonably have expected from spiky Wanderers before winning 16-14 in their Leinster Senior Cup first-round meeting on the back pitch at headquarters on Saturday.

Struggling Wanderers turned a 10-9 half-time deficit around when winger Dermot Finnegan sprinted fully 60 metres for a magnificent try. They played with an all-round intensity that seemed to catch Lansdowne by surprise.

Two Rory Kearns penalties in the 50th and 56th minutes were enough to guarantee progress.

Skerries recovered from the concession of a fifth-minute try by Greystones full-back Wayne Robertson at Holmpatrick to exact sweet revenge, 19-10, for last week's defeat to the same opposition in the All-Ireland League.

Number eight Brian Higgins applied the finish to Dermot O'Sullivan's elusive run and Jimmy Dempsey kicked the conversion to give Skerries a 7-5 halftime lead. O'Sullivan's 60th minute interception try provided a real fillip for Skerries before a Tony Giles try, converted by Alan O'Sullivan, confirmed their superiority.

University College, Cork, advanced to the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Cup with a second-half rally against Highfield which yielded a 17-14 win at Musgrave Park on Saturday.

Highfield led 9-5 at the interval with three penalties from Terry Dillon to a try by Aidan O'Shea.

But the students turned it all around in the second period when Lennie Twomey scored a try and O'Shea had his second, which was converted by Colin Healy. Noel Power's try for Highfield was not enough.

A try by Pat O'Neill secured Connemara's success over UCG (27-21) in the Connacht Senior Cup quarter-final at Dangan yesterday and a semi-final place against holders Galwegians.

The students lead early in the second half, but three tries from Connemara, in the 55th minute by Pat O'Toole, in the 60th by Tommy Burke and 66th by O'Neill, wrapped up the match