Aherne on double as Lansdowne pull further ahead

DIVISION 1A

Lansdowne 37

Young Munster 17

Cian Aherne was the star of the show on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch yesterday, as his brace of tries helped a rampant Lansdowne to pull 14 points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the table.

Deadly accurate outhalf Craig Ronaldson got the ball rolling with a third-minute penalty for the hosts, and he was also on hand to convert Ron Boucher’s try five minutes later. Aherne crossed over for the first of his scores 12 minutes into the action, before a penalty from Shane O’Leary finally opened the Young Munster account towards the end of the opening quarter. It didn’t take Mike Ruddock’s charges long to settle back into their groove, though, as Aherne’s second try edged them into a 17-point cushion.

Young Munster, 22-3 behind at the interval, continued to battle right until the end, and thanks to tries from Darragh O’Neill and replacement Hugh McGrath, they were able to curb Lansdowne’s influence to some degree.

But Lansdowne had more than enough in the tank to push on for victory, and thanks to further five-pointers after the break courtesy of centre Mark Roche and Ronaldson, they were able to secure another precious bonus-point triumph.