O'Brien's brace

James O'Brien's two tries and the sweet striking of Shane O'Connell pushed St Conleth's through to the quarter-finals at Belfield…

James O'Brien's two tries and the sweet striking of Shane O'Connell pushed St Conleth's through to the quarter-finals at Belfield yesterday. Number eight O'Brien used his considerable strength to burst over in the 30th and 49th minutes, while full back O'Connell kicked two penalties and converted two tries.

Sandford's Jack Patton powered over in the 56th minute.

SCORERS: St Conleth's - J O'Brien 2 tries; H Kirwan try; S O'Connell 2 pens, 2 cons. Sandford Park - J Patton try. ST CONLETH'S: S O'Connell; H Kirwan, R Bouchier-Hayes, W McQuillan, K Halloran; J Doherty, K Donnelly; S Kelly, R Cassidy, H Nolan, T Arnold, N Marron, D Kiely, E Kiely, J O'Brien. Replacement: M Cosgrave for Marron (20 mins, temp).

SANDFORD PARK: R Madden; B Grogan, S Cousins, T McFall, D Tynan; P O'Brien, M Evans; W Rogers, D Holahan, A Boyle, R Mahony, J Patton, P Allwright, C Gibson, K O'Dwyer. Replacements: B Connolly for Allwright (43 mins), N Maybin for Boyle (46 mins).

Referee: D Woods (Leinster Branch).

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • What’s making headlines in the rugby world? Listen to The Counter Ruck podcast with Nathan Johns

  • Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered to your phone