Given that Old Crescent had to rely for all their points on the trusty boot of Billy Treacy and Buccaneers scored the game's only two tries, there can be little doubt about the justice of the result at Rosbrien.

It was Buccaneers first win of the season and while they are still rooted to the bottom of the table, they now have a base to work on for the future. Their customary big pack, with props Jimmy Screene and Martin Cahill always influential, proved too much for Crescent and it was good work on their parts that created the tryscoring opportunities for winger Matt Walker in the opening half and centre Greg Austin in the second.

Otherwise, the scoring was confined to be boots of Treacy and Buccaneer's Eamonn Molloy, who between them contributed 32 of the game's 42 points.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins: W Treacy pen, 0-3; 5 mins: E Molloy pen, 3-3; 22 mins: Molloy pen, 6-3; 24 mins: M Walker try, 11-3; 26 mins: Treacy pen, 11-6; 29 mins: Treacy pen, 11-9; 41 mins: Molloy pen, 14-9 half-time. 52 mins: Treacy pen, 14-12; 61 mins: G Austin try, Molloy con, 2112; 65 mins: Treacy pen, 21-15; 80 mins: Treacy pen, 21-18; 84 mins: Molloy pen, 24-18.

BUCCANEERS: R. Lee; M. Devine, E Molloy, G Austin, M Walker; C Glynn, C Keane; J Screene, J McVeigh, M Cahill, K Barrett, C Brownlie, I Dillon, E Brennan, C Rigney.

OLD CRESCENT: W Treacy; J Cusack, W Munn, M Brodie, M Hogan; S Tuohy, E Reddan; D Clohessy, L Brown, G Evans, P Ryan, M Bird, G Schoeman, P Glamuzina, A Herlihy. Replace- ments: D. Bowles for Herlihy 54 mins; J Cullinane for Evans 30 mins; M Hayes for Brown 30 mins.

Referee: T Redmond (Leinster).

Harlequins' distraught players, including Irish internationals Keith Wood and Paul Burke, were yesterday coming to terms with the decision that destroyed their English Cup dream at an emotioncharged Twickenham on Saturday.

Five years after he awarded Bath an injury time, cup-winning penalty try against Leicester, top English referee Steve Lander found himself engulfed by fresh controversy. Lander, on senior touch-judge duty, flagged for an 83rd-minute Newcastle line-out, even though Quins defenders Burke and Ryan O'Neill bundled their replacement prop Ian Peel out of play.

And from that last set-piece situation, Falcons full-back Dave Walder provided a fitting climax to an exceptional encounter by scoring the winning try.