AIB All Ireland Cup Semi Finals

Cork Constitution will compete in the inaugural AIB All Ireland Cup after defeating Buccaneers, while Garryowen’s defeat to St. Mary’s College ensured the Dublin side thier place in the final.

Garryowen 14-23 St. Mary s College

Buccaneers 13-20 Cork Constitution

Coming into the AIB All Ireland Cup semi finals with two Munster clubs in opposite sides of the draw, there was a very real chance that the final would have been an all Munster affair. However, it was not to be, with Garryowen suffering a 14-23 defeat to St. Mary s College, and Cork Constitution to fly the flag for Munster in the final with their 20-13 away win.

Garryowen 14-23 St. Mary s College

The first semi final saw Garryowen host St. Mary s College at Dooradoyle, and despite leading 8-6 at half time thanks to a Paul Neville try and Conor Kilroy penalty in the first half, a revitalised St. Mary s College piled on the pressure in the second half. Two second half penalties from Garryowen s Conor Kilroy were not enough to counter a hungry St. Mary s, with two second half tries from prop Killian O Byrne and centre Keith Douglas, two penalties and two conversions from Mark McHugh, and a penalty from Jonathon Sexton securing the win and denying Garryowen a place in the final of the inaugural AIB All Ireland Senior Cup.

Garryowen: 15.Andrew Finn, 14. Frank Daly, 13. Kevin Hartigan, 12. Paul Devlin, 11. Cillian O Boyle, 10. Conor Kilroy 9. Gerry Hurley, 1. Rory Brosnan, 2. Damien Varley, 3. Rob Laffan, 4. Mark Melbourne, 5. Donal Sheehan, 6. Paul Neville, 7. Anthony Kavanagh, 8. Peter Malone (Captain)

Buccaneers 13-20 Cork Constitution

Having won the very first All Ireland League, Cork Constitution s campaign to secure the very first All Ireland Cup is well on track, with their victory over Buccaneers securing their place in the final against St. Mary s College. Playing with a strong wind in the first half, Cork Constitution put on a fantastic display, with two tries from full back Richard Lane, and the two conversions and a penalty added by Daragh Lyons, giving the visitors a 17-0 lead at half time. However, Buccaneers came right back into the game in the second half, with a try from second row Brian Buckley, a penalty and drop goal from full back Tom Cregan bringing the home side to within four points of Cork Constitution. A penalty from Lyons put Cork Constitution seven points ahead, and the Cork side finished strongly, dominating the last 20 minutes of the game and keeping play well inside the Buccaneers half. All eyes must now surely must be on the national prize, and with Cork Constitution already having halted the progress of Shannon and Belfast Harlequins in this competition, they will be confident of being strong contenders for the title.

Cork Constitution : 15. Richard Lane, 14. Diarmuid O Riordan, 13. Conor Quaid, 12. Conrad O Sullivan, 11. Cronan Healy, 10. Daragh Lyons, 9. Frank Murphy, 1. Jody Danagher, 2. Des Murray, 3. Mike Ross, 4. Shane Cottrell, 5. john Maloney, 6. Merle O Connell, 7. Brendan Cuttriss, 8. Frank Cogan (captain)
Subs: Tom Ryan for Danagher, Brendan O Connor for Maloney, Landy Hill for Mike Ross