Dunne finds range for St Mary’s

Sunday January 15 2012

Eleven points from the boot of Gavin Dunne proved crucial at Templeville Road yesterday as St Mary’s held on to the top spot in Division 1A table with an impressive 21-8 victory over Cork Constitution.

Playing against a strong breeze, Con had the chance to take the lead when Jerry Hurley had a penalty from just outside the ’22’, but his kick dropped short. Dunne missed a similar attempt on 11 minutes, before opening the scoring two minutes later with a penalty.

A second Dunne penalty on 20 minutes increased Mary’s lead and they crossed for the first try after 27 minutes, when Hugh Hogan drove over to give them an 11-0 interval lead.

Constitution started the second period brightly and opened their account on 55 minutes when Niall O’Driscoll got a simple try, but a third Dunne penalty settled Mary’s.

Hurley kicked over with three minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to deny the home side victory, as Damien Hall added an injury-time try.