In a dramatic twist, Aran Egan, the penalty specialist from Terenure College, became the dawn of hope for his team in retaining the crown of Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 1A. After being 19 points behind, Lansdowne made a stunning comeback at the sunny Lakelands Park, which saw Cathal Eddy, dynamic substitute James Kenny, and the active Ireland Under-20 star Hugo McLaughlin successfully scoring tries.
Terenure was ready for victory at the Aviva Stadium, post Harrison Brewer’s achievement of scoring beneath the posts at the start of the latter half, leaving their opponent team led by Declan Fassbender at 25-6. Before this, Craig Adams and Jordan Coghlan had their successful moments, with Adams’ score being particularly notable due to teamwork with Adam La Grue and Conor Phillips that all started from a routine lineout in their half. Nevertheless, when Terenure was down to tackle two yellow cards in their second half and drawing at 25 points with their opponents, the semi-final took the form of a kicking contest between Egan and Stephen Madigan.
The two fly-halves exchanged penalties late in the game, before Egan turned the tables by landing a kick from over 40 metres resulting in a nail-biting 31-28 victory for Terenure. The team led by Sean Skehan will now take on Cork Constitution in the final on the coming Sunday, marking a historic day for AIL Men’s and Women’s finals double header at the Irish Rugby HQ.
Scoring a home victory of 40-34 against last year’s second-place team Clontarf, Cork Constitution saw its key player James Taylor contribute 17 points, while speedster Matthew Bowen carved out his 14th try this year. Jonny Holland’s team had a strong start with a hat-trick of tries in the first half, leading by 27-17. The former captain, Niall Kenneally, contributed to this score alongside John Forde and Ronan O’Sullivan, and the rapid Bowen.
In the end, Clontarf managed to score five tries, with Leinster’s Ben Murphy making an impressive long-range score, greatly aided by Noah Sheridan. Regardless, fly-half Taylor for Con steadily added points with his accurate kicking, executing seven successful kicks. Con has thus advanced to their first Division 1A finals since their last win in 2019.