Last Saturday was, without doubt, the most momentous day of the season in club rugby. Time was when we in the media, especially the print media, would have been agog.
One shudders to think where the club game would be now if it weren't for the input of AIB and, by extension, RTÉ's Against The Head highlights package on Monday nights, even if, curiously, it is off air at a time when the league in all three divisions reaches its climax.
Lured by the flashier lights of the Heineken European Cup, and our obligations to a Celtic League which, in truth, is a far better package in terms of the actual rugby than it is dressed up to be, we in the print media have let the All-Ireland League down to a large degree - this column included.
About the least interesting aspect of Saturday's climax was how the Division One top-four play-offs panned out, and sure enough, routine wins for the current Big Four merely copper-fastened next Saturday's semi-finals.
Only newly-promoted UL Bohemian, to their credit, mounted any kind of challenge to the elite quartet, leaving a 17-point gap between fourth and sixth.
Yet, almost undetected, for many of those involved in the club game, last Saturday was as dramatic as anything in the league's 15-year history, with relegation in all three divisions and promotion from Division Two, Division Three and the junior ranks all going down to the wire.
Trinity, trailing Galwegians by two points in the battle to avoid the second relegation spot along with Carlow, were hammering away at the Cork Con line in Temple Hill at 21-26 in the late stages, and were twice over the line, when a turnover off a scrum led to a break and eventually a try for the prolific Leicester-bound scrumhalf Frank Murphy. So Con won what appears to have been comfortably the best game of the day in the top flight by 33-21.
As it transpired, had Trinity recorded a fourth try, the ensuing brace of bonus points would have been enough to move above Galwegians on points difference and thereby condemn the annual Houdini-like escapologists to Division Two.
Instead, as is the custom in these scenarios, they are left to rue incidents such as Blackrock's injury-time penalty to beat the students earlier in the season and having a try against Galwegians controversially disallowed in that narrow defeat.
Trinity, pretty much a purely "college" team in the true sense of the word with an average age of 21, were destined to lose players anyway next season. But they probably place a greater emphasis on the development of players, educationally as well, than any other - witness three All Ireland under-20 finals in the last four years. They have the base to bounce back.
They'll join an ultra-competitive Division Two featuring nine Leinster clubs. Here the last-day drama saw Dolphin accompany a free-scoring Terenure (including 14 tries for James Blaney off their rolling maul) on points difference ahead of Young Munster courtesy of their bonus point win over Bective while Munsters fell two tries short of an additional point in their win at Old Belvedere.
Munsters are livid that Declan Kidney required Mike Prendergast to start his first match of the season for his province the night before against the Borders. One can understand their frustration, not least with three other high-flying Limerick clubs in the top flight, two more in Division Two and now Bruff making waves in Division Three.
It would have been great to see them back, but as Prendergast is a full-time professional contracted to Munster, but has been virtually an ever-present for his club this season, they can't have too many complaints.
Mathematically, seven clubs were still embroiled in the struggle to avoid accompanying Waterpark into Division Three, but in the heel of the hunt the second relegation spot came down to a loser-loses-all match-up between Barnhall and Ballynahinch at Parsonstown. Now here was the day's most extraordinary drama.
With close on 1,000 in attendance, Ballynahinch recovered from a 13-3 deficit at one point to take a one-point lead in injury-time courtesy of a drop-goal by scrumhalf Paul Marshall via post and bar.
Reports vary as to what the referee advised the players then. Ballynahinch believed he signalled time was up the next time the ball went out of play, Barnhall maintain he said "90 seconds". Either way, Eoin Burke raced to halfway, his restart coming to a halt just short of touchline and try-line, where a visiting player - believing the game to be over - ran it into touch.
Instead, Barnhall were allowed take the lineout, off which the nerveless Burke landed a winning drop-goal. Burke was no doubt lauded all night, along with his brother Brendan who heads off (reputedly along with the talented Shannon centre Brian Tuohy) to Rotherham with 49 AIL tries for Barnhall to his name.
A cruel climax for Ballynahinch, though, whose coach Willie Anderson maintains they have a young team who will hopefully rediscover the winning habit in Division Three, where they will be renewing acquaintances with seven other Ulster teams. Here, four teams were seeking to avoid the drop into the junior ranks, although a 16-all draw between Connemara and Ards ensured they held onto AIL status, and Portadown survived by a point thanks to a third drop goal on the day from their saviour in chief, outhalf Colin Lawson, five minutes from time in their 15-13 home win over Queen's.
Relieved, they will now put into operation a plan devised by their consultant/adviser Alan Solomons, leaving Skerries, 22-17 winners at Banbridge, to contemplate life in the Leinster Junior League. As Monkstown have discovered, that can be quite a dogfight too, and Skerries will need to bounce back within three years or technically lose their "senior" status.
The Sydney Parade club went into their round-robin decider in Magherafelt level with Rainey Old Boys on 10 points, but three quick-fire tries early in the second half helped seal a 32-16 victory and with it promotion.
With that, too, Monkstown lost their three-year stay of execution as a "senior" club, and all that goes with it. Next season, the league will reintroduce a promotion/relegation play-off between the clubs finishing second last in Division Three and second in the junior round-robin. Too late for Monkstown though.
If it's tough at the top, and frankly on Saturday that was the most boring place to be, it's tougher still at the bottom.
gthornley@irish-times.ie
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