A trio of first-half tries proved crucial in Castle Avenue last night, as Clontarf maintained their 100pc record in Division 1A.

Lansdowne out-half Craig Ronaldson put winger Matt Healy through for the first try on seven mintues but Clontarf responded with a Richie Lane penalty and a converted try from Jamie Chipman.

Their lead soon increased to 10 thanks a try from Noel Reid on 27 minutes. A Ronaldson penalty did help to reduce the gap, but a third Clontarf try from bustling prop Ben Barclay handed ‘Tarf a comfortable 22-8 mid-way advantage.

Healy got in for his second try four minutes after half-time but Lansdowne failed to capitalise on their second-half dominance.

Clontarf — N Reid; R Lane, K Lett, C O’Shea, T McCoy; E Ryan (C Keegan 34-42 & 76), S Cronin (D O’Meara 48); B Barclay (D Merrey 60), A Dundon (J Harris Wright 50), N Treston (B Barclay 80); B Reilly (A D’Arcy 51), J Chipman; S Crawford, B O’Mahony, F Cogan.

Lansdowne — R McCarron; C Aherne, S Carey (G Stafford 45), W Walsh, M Healy; C Ronaldson, P O’Driscoll; J O’Connell (D O’Reilly 16-27), D Toomey (S Collins 45), M Moore (DO’Reilly 45 (M Moore 64)); N Keogh, M Feeley (W Earl 64); K Essex, J Murphy, R Boucher.

Ref — Leo Colgan (IRFU)