Easy impresses as Con fall short against Lansdowne
AIL RUGBY
Daire Walsh
SCOTT DEASY came back to haunt his former club on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch yesterday afternoon, when Lansdowne got the better of defending champions Cork Constitution in Division 1A of the Ulster Bank League.
Deasy was a member of Con up until 2013, and he broke the deadlock with a fifth-minute penalty. He double the lead with another three-pointer before the visitors opened their account in spectacular style just past the first-quarter mark.
Skipper Niall Kenneally and full-back Shane Daly helped spread the ball out to left-winger Ned Hodson, who used his blistering pace to race over the whitewash for an unconverted try. This cut the gap to the bare minimum, but after Lansdowne’s Fergal Cleary picked up possession in the latter stages of the opening period, he drove over the line in clinical fashion.
There was enough time for Deasy to increase the south Dublin side’s lead to nine points (14-5) in time for the interval, but despite coming under pressure when the action resumed, Con worked their way back into contention just past the hour.
Kevin O’Byrne has spent time in the sin-bin with flanker Graeme Lawlor, and following Quinlan’s kick to touch from a close-range penalty, the Munster hooker brilliantly spun away from a line-out maul to crash over in the right-corner.
Following some hesitancy by the Con defence in the 68th-minute, Deasy added his fourth penalty of the tie from close-range. This opened up a seven-point gap between the teams, and a Deasy try in the 77th-minute ensured that Con ultimately fell to their second defeat of the current campaign.
Scorers for Lansdowne: S Deasy try, 4 pens, con, F Cleary try.
Scorers for Cork Constitution: N Hodson, K O’Byrne try each.
LANSDOWNE: E Mills; D McEvoy, I Fitzpatrick, F Cleary, F Horan; S Deasy, A Bennie; P Dooley, T Moran, I Prendiville; O Dowling, J O’Rourke; J Dwan, C Butterworth, W Earle.
Replacements: J O’Sullivan for Dowling (29), C Rock for Bennie (58), N Mpiko for Dooley (61), H Brennan for Fitzpatrick (62), Dooley for Prendiville (81).
CORK CONSTITUTION: S Daly; L O’Connell, A McHenry, N Kenneally, N Hodson; T Quinlan, J Higgins; B Quinlan, K O’Byrne, G Sweeney; B Hayes, C Kindregan; E Mintern, G Lawlor, L Cahill.
Replacements: G Duffy for Sweeney (38), R Jermyn for Hodson (half-time), V O’Brien for Mintern (44), S Duffy for O’Brien (51), Mintern for S Duffy (68), O’Brien for O’Byrne, A Moynihan for Higgins (both 78).
Referee: M Patton (IRFU).