Skerries win hearts, Lansdowne the title

To Lansdowne the spoils, but to Skerries the plaudits for the flair and imagination which they brought to the JP Fanagan League final. Driven by a sizeable and vocal support, the north Dublin side threatened to defy a bigger and stronger Lansdowne with a more fluid and daring approach.

That they ultimately failed may be attributed to the excellent work of the Lansdowne eight and the aggressive tackling of centre Richard Rennicks. There was also the small matter of Karl Becker's contribution. The Lansdowne scrum-half scored one of his side's two tries - he also kicked a conversion and a penalty - and offered the most potent threat with the ball on the occasions when he wasn't kicking aimlessly.

It was a common flaw in the Lansdowne game plan, the only way they kept Skerries guessing was whether Karl Becker or Michael Quinn would kick the ball.

Fortunately the work of their excellent pack, in which Colm McMahon, Roger Geraghty, Lance Smith and Brian Dineen were outstanding, ensured a plentiful supply of possession. But the ball rarely passed Quinn's boot as Lansdowne seemed content to hug the touchlines.

Skerries, in contrast, possessed a live-wire half-back partnership in Chris Keane and David Hewitt, the latter always seeking the gap and looking to bring those outside him into the game. Full back Jonathan Scanlan and centre John Brady ran hard, but too often a lack of composure undermined several promising opportunities.

The losers' tendency to run diagonally and release the ball a fraction too soon cost them two try-scoring chances, although they could not be faulted for their honesty or enthusiasm. Their pack, in the face of a physically superior Lansdowne eight, never bowed, and in Derek Keane they had the game's hardest-working forward.

Karl Becker gave Lansdowne an early lead with a penalty on nine minutes, somewhat offsetting the loss of full back Robert Dolan through injury. Skerries were dominant for the next 20 minutes but despite a number of forays into the Lansdowne 22, often turned over possession because the ball carrier became isolated.

Hewitt missed two difficult penalty opportunities before Lansdowne increased the lead just before the break. Geraghty won a line-out, the pack trundled forward 15 metres before Karl Becker cleverly exploited the blindside for a well-worked try which he could not improve upon.

Lansdowne began the second half convincingly and it required a great tackle on David Becker by Peter Tanner to prevent a try. Skerries withstood the initial pressure and then struck back. However Hewitt's loop and burst through a gap came to nothing when he tossed the ball behind left wing Michael Quirke 20 metres from the line, when Quirke had a free run in.

Lansdowne's defence withstood a five-metre line-out catch and drive and then after 64 minutes Hewitt narrowly missed a 22-metre penalty following prolonged pressure on the winners' line. But it was Lansdowne who finished the stronger and referee Tony Duncan awarded them a penalty try following three scrums on the Skerries line. Becker converted, confirming victory.

Duncan, who had played nine minutes of injury time in the first half, played a further 12 at the end of the second, and in the 91st minute Skerries grabbed a deserved score through flanker Derek Keane, Hewitt converting before the final whistle.

Scoring sequence: 9 mins: K Becker penalty, 3-0; 42: K Becker try, 8-0. 79: penalty try, K Becker conversion, 15-0; 91: D Keane try, Hewitt conversion, 15-7.

Lansdowne: R Dolan; A O'Connell, D Becker, R Rennicks, C Blanchfield; M Quinn, K Becker; C McMahon, R Fallon, N Brogan, R Geraghty (capt), S O'Neill, H Goddard, B Dineen, L Smith. Replacements: S Gore for Brogan (82 mins), S Collier for Smith (83 mins).

Skerries: J Scanlan (capt); M Quirke, P Tanner, J Brady, D Davis; D Hewitt, C Keane; P McCormack, G Halligan, K Rooney, T Plant, K Dowling, D Keane, R Kelleher, D O'Neill. Replacements: O Dunne for Davis (half-time); B Dunne for Plant (half-time); J Boland for Quirke (88 mins).

Referee: T Duncan (Leinster).