Lansdowne 22
Cork Constitution 25
JOHNNY HOLLAND was the hero for Cork Con at the Aviva Stadium‘s back pitch, as his 40-metre penalty six minutes into stoppage-time helped the Munster side towards victory over early pace-setters Lansdowne in an enthralling encounter.
Lansdowne had looked to be on their way to a fourth straight victory when they led 22-8 heading into the final 10 minutes, but late tries from Darragh Lyons and Scott Deasy forced Con back into the contest, and the superb kicking ability of Holland ensured that Lansdowne’s 100 per cent record came to an end.
Cian Aherne’s try at the end of a fine move helped the Dubliners a 14-3 cushion at the interval. Lansdowne were starting to get into their groove, and when Aherne broke free for his second five-pointer just three minutes after the restart, things were starting to look very ominous for the Cork men. A try by Niall O’Driscoll on 51 minutes cut into the Lansdowne lead, but a fourth Craig Ronaldson penalty gave the hosts what looked like an insurmountable lead.
The Temple Hill outfit had other ideas, however, and after Ronaldson missed a penalty chance for Lansdowne on the stroke of 80 minutes, it was left to the outstanding Holland to have the final say.