Try feast as fates are sealed

With the sun on their backs, hard grounds underfoot, and the customary end-of-season pursuit of bonus points, 156 tries decorated the 23 matches on the last full day of the AIB League campaign, with 72 scored in the eight top-flight games, where Clontarf helped themselves to a dozen in a record 80-10 win at home to St Mary's.

Phil Werahiko's pacesetters thus ensured a home semi-final against Buccaneers, while second-placed Lansdowne host Ballymena in the other semi-final.

Clontarf have been threatening to do something like this all season. It's a telling commentary on the potency of their pack that they scored nine of their 12 tries, with the division's leading try-scorer, hooker Bernard Jackman, leading the way with a hat-trick, which takes his tally to 12.

"We've been looking for that type of performance all season, where forwards and backs combine and work together in pods across the pitch," admitted captain Warren O'Kelly. "We've touched on it for spells in one or two matches but this was the day it all came together."

Lansdowne will enter the play-offs as the form team, after accumulating 39 points out of a possible 40 from eight successive wins, although they trailed Galwegians 31-24 entering injury time at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, whereupon the prolific Matt Leek converted a Killian Kennedy try and added a last-ditch drop goal.

Like Galwegians, Shannon had nothing tangible to play for, but they travelled north and scuppered Belfast Harlequins' outside hopes of a play-off place with a 24-19 win, thus leaving them to reflect that their defeat to Buccs ultimately cost the outgoing champions a semi-final berth.

Carlow travelled to Thomond Park in a thrilling relegation eliminator with UL Bohemians and set the tone with a two-try, 19-point salvo in the opening quarter, but UL Bohs came storming back to trail just 27-26 by the end of the third quarter

"At that point we went back to what we had done at the beginning of the match and played more to our pack," said Carlow's player-coach, Dan van Zyl, who converted decisive tries by Liam O'Byrne and Bobby Baggott to clinch a third successive win.

UCD, ultimately needing only a bonus point to survive, achieved a full haul of five points against already relegated Terenure, albeit by dint of a nervous 26-25 win at Lakelands Park.

Travelling in the opposite direction to Terenure and UL Bohs are Dolphin, after they nailed down the one promotion spot from Division Two by virtue of a 38-6 win at home to Malone, which kept Old Crescent, 29-24 winners at home to Old Belvedere, at arm's length.

"There were no ifs or buts - we got a bonus point as well that we didn't need, which showed how relaxed the players were," said club PRO Derry O'Shaughnessy.

Dolphin, last promoted under Declan Kidney in 1996-97, are hopeful Kiwi coach Hamish Adams will stay for another two seasons.

"We've a good, lively, fast young side, without any contracted players but realistically you probably need another five or six players in the first division," admitted O'Shaughnessy. "We were lucky that we didn't get too many injuries this season."

DLSP nailed down their semi-final trip to Old Crescent with a 17-15 win over Sunday's Well as Thomond slipped out of the play-off frame with a 48-23 loss at already relegated Greystones. Portadown will join the latter after losing 41-10 at Barnhall.

Waterpark duly secured promotion from Division Three with a 49-10 win at home to Skerries, while Corinthians earned the final play-off spot with a handsome 60-17 win at home to Queen's.