Lansdowne 34
Garryowen 22
17 February 2013
A brace of tries from Cian Aherne proved pivotal on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch yesterday, as Lansdowne extended their lead at the top of the table with a bonus point victory over their nearest pursuers.
The hosts had enjoyed a near-perfect start to the proceedings when Ross McCarron touched down in the right corner, but the Limerick men responded well with a terrific JP Cooney try.
Aherne grabbed his first five-pointer after 26 minutes to restore Lansdowne’s lead, added to by a try before the break from Cian O’Shea.
Craig Ronaldson managed to restore parity with a penalty, before a converted try from Mark Roche after the restart edged the Dubliners back into the ascendancy.
Lansdowne broke for excellent tries from Aherne and Matt Healy. Aaron McCloskey went over for Garryowen in stoppage time, but it was too little, too late.