Shannon again the standard

Shannon - 21 Cork Constitution - 17All-Ireland League Division One and Two finals: Shannon are the standardbearers of the Irish club game once more and all is right with the world in that parish again. Indeed, there's something fitting about Shannon having reinvented themselves in the new provincially dominated climate and reasserting their pre-eminence in the AIB League.

The best in the past, they are now also the way forward.

Ultimately they had wanted it more than a more experienced Constitution outfit, even though the latter had also lost the final last year.

Not only did Shannon make a more fearless barnstorming start than an edgy Con, the Shannon tyros were much the cooler outfit in the endgame.

On and off the pitch they brought more passion to the occasion. As There Is An Isle echoed around Lansdowne Road for the first time in five years, the thought recurred that whatever it is that passes from generation to generation inside that crest, if they ever bottled it and sold it, we'd all benefit from a few sips.

This homogenous home-produced triumph may even be sweeter than any of the four-in-a-row, for the nucleus of this side cut their teeth in Shannon's mine of rugby sides, and it was utterly fitting that David Quinlan lifted the trophy. This was for him, and other unsung heroes, like Brian Buckley and Tom Hayes, as much as anyone.

Though he was at pains to give the credit to his players, Saturday was also a tactical and spiritual triumph for their highly impressive coach Geoff Moylan and his backroom staff.

They had identified a whirlwind start as critical, and got it with 13 early points. Con, in fairness, responded well and played the more progressive rugby for chunks of the first period. John Kelly's snappy try off Conor Mahony's long pass was a case in point. And a couple of bounces produced a 14-point swing.

At one end, John Lacey quick-wittedly called for a box kick from Derek Hegarty and then the ace poacher gathered one-handed for his 33rd AIL try.

At the other end, Con recycled forcefully for Conor Mahony to chip through, but John Kelly just couldn't hold on to the ball under pressure from Lacey. And so Shannon had an 18-7 buffer to help them into the wind.

Con had made significant inroads up the middle, but for the second half Shannon cutely took the excellent Colm McMahon out of the lineouts to shore up midfield and slow down Con's ruck ball.

Con made few inroads in the second period compared to the first, but were presented with a try courtesy of Brian Walsh's charge down of a Melvin McNamara kick.

Even so, at 17-18 down entering the last quarter and the wind behind them, the game appeared Constitution's for the taking, particularly as Shannon had lapsed into defensive mode. But Con didn't keep their nerve; a Brian O'Meara pass eluded Conor Mahony, and the outhalf kicked out on the full before the scrumhalf miscued an overambitious drop goal attempt from halfway.

Shannon were let off the hook, but they still needed a big play to revive them. Enter Hegarty again. It had been his snipe which had led to the opening penalty, and his box kick for Lacey's try. Now again he darted between the O'Callaghans, Donnacha and Ultan, and veered outside O'Meara to take them into Con territory for the first time in the second period.

Mick Galwey put pressure on Mick O'Driscoll for the Con throw; Tom Hayes poured through a huge gap to gobble the ball up; Alan Quinlan, having another huge game, put Con further on the back foot and Niall McNamara steered over a vital drop goal.

Body language told a multitude. As Con regrouped solemnly on halfway for the restart, one or two were already shaking their heads.

Their lineout and their game buckled some more, they conceded 10 metres for dissent and a reversed penalty for elbowing. Shannon, by comparison, grew in confidence and stature, and won with some authority at the end.

Con will rue this one far more than last year. Then, bad and all as they were, Con ran into a vintage Dungannon outfit, but here they had a real chance. Lamenting the failure to put Shannon under more pressure when they got to within a point entering the final quarter, Brian Hickey admitted: "The key thing was the lineout, we just couldn't capitalise on it, and that was where the game was won and lost. It was tight, it went down to the last few minutes, and when you have a big swing in one aspect of primary possession, which the lineout is, that is going to affect you."

In truth, there was more to it.

For a deserving Shannon, though, it had been a long road.

"When we lost our first match to UCD I never expected us to be here," conceded Moylan. "We had a good talk and admitted we were weak in defence and weak in fitness. So we asked them in four nights a week. Everything is due to those guys in the dressing-room and the other 10 or 15 players back in Limerick who I won't forget today."

The club has been the most affected by the success of the provinces, and Moylan reflected: "The two or three years down weren't easy, but we knew we were building for today."

Good luck to them. The template again. Simply the best.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Cregan pen 3-0; 8: Cregan pen 6-0; 9: McMahon try, Cregan con 13-0; 25: Kelly try, O'Meara con 13-7; 33: Lacey try 18-7; (half-time); 55: O'Meara pen 10-18; 58: J Sheahan try, O'Meara con 17-18; 71: N McNamara drop goal 17-21.

CORK CONSTITUTION: B Walsh; D Dillon, J Kelly, Cian Mahony, A Horgan; Conor Mahony, Brian O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheahan, J O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, J Sheahan, U O'Callaghan, J Murray.

SHANNON: J Lacey; T Cregan, M Lawlor, A Thompson, M McNamara; N McNamara, D Hegarty; M Horan, J Blaney, J Hayes, B Buckley, T Hayes, A Quinlan, D Quinlan (capt), C McMahon. Replacements: M Galwey for Buckley (55 mins).

Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).