ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE/Cork Con...18 Clontarf...8: The big boys, some of them at least, were rolled out and that might well have been the crucial factor in Clontarf's demise at Temple Hill on Saturday.
Not that Clontarf are on the small side themselves. Constitution captain Ultan O'Callaghan reckoned they faced their biggest physical challenge of the season.
But the return of Jim Williams and Mick O'Driscoll was important as Constitution finally got a grip of this game in the second half.
The home side struggled in the early stages and Clontarf captain Donal Sheehan made a triumphant return to Temple Hill when he scored a seventh minute try. Another former Con player, Dave O'Brien, threatened to rub salt into the wound by kicking a penalty.
But Constitution re-grouped and stormed back with a Ronan O'Donovan try that Conor Mahony converted. A late penalty gave Constitution a narrow half-time lead. In the first minute of the second half, Derek Dillon raced away for a try and, as Constitution got to grips with the rugged challenge from Clontarf, Mahony kicked another penalty. The upshot of it all was that Clontarf moved down two places and Constitution up two.
CORK CONSTITUTION: B Walsh; D Dillon, Cian Mahony, R O'Donovan, A Sherrard; Conor Mahony, A O'Sullivan; I Murray, J Fogarty, J O'Driscoll, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, J Williams, U O'Callaghan, J Murray. Replacements: R McGrath for J O'Driscoll (75), F O'Meara for Cian Mahony (78).
CLONTARF: D O'Brien; D Hioggins, A Reddan, J Downey, O Winchester; P Ryan, M Walls; W O'Kelly, T Foucher, A Clarke, A Wood, D Sheehan, A Dignam, D Quinn B Gissing. Replacements: D Moore for Dignam, M Kennedy for Foucher (both 50), T Kearns for Moore (71), K Nowlan for Walls (75).
Referee. D Courtney (Leinster).
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