Nonchalant Clontarf do it hard way

There was relief among Clontarf supporters but very little else as their side very nearly conspired to throw away this game. Only a late surge, when the home side twice crossed the Crescent line, lifted the siege after the Limerick men had thrown caution to the wind.

Clontarf were in irresistible form early on, with Richie Murphy, keen to prove a point or two, making successive touchdowns early on.

And there were some good performances from some of Clontarf's younger members. Andrew Cullen was promising in the back row, while former Newbridge College full back Dara O'Shea gave them some relief with fine touch kicking.

But the drop in Clontarf's performance in the second half was alarming, and Crescent almost bridged a 19-point deficit with a spirited display up front.

The first half hour belonged to Clontarf when they registered four tries. Richie Murphy went over for the first score of the game when he cut inside to score beneath the posts with just five minutes gone.

Old Crescent countered, however, with front row Des Clohessy finally making his way over after sustained pressure. Treacy added a penalty just before the break, and two further kicks left Clontarf's lead looking increasing suspect.

Scoring sequence: 5 mins: R Murphy try, con 7-0; 7: B Treacy pen 7-3: 10: Murphy try 123; 13: J Downey try 17-3; 25: O Winchester try 22-3; 38: D Clohessy try, Treacy con 22-10; 40: Treacy pen 22-13. 56: Treacy pen 22-16; 58: Treacy pen 22-19; 75: A Cullen try, Murphy con 29-19; 80: Baggot try, Murphy con 36-19. Sin- binned: D Sheehan (Clontarf) 44-54.

Clontarf: D O'Shea; A Reddan, J Downey, D O'Brien, O Winchester; R Murphy, R O'Reilly; T Kearns, T Foucher, P McQuillan, D Sheehan, B Gissing, B Baggot, A Cullen, A Dignam. Replacement: A Clarke for McQuillan (58 mins). Old Crescent: B Treacy; S Madigan, W Munn, R Ellison, M Hogan; S Tuohy, C Forde; G Evans, M Hayes, D Clohessy, D O'Malley, M Bird, G Schoeman, P Glamuzina, D Bowles. Replacements: E Reddan for Forde (64 mins), L Brown for Hayes (75 mins).

Referee: G Doyle (URS).