This contest was a must win for Corinthians and Harlequins as both sides were loitering at the bottom of Division 1B after only two wins apiece after six outings. The visitors attacked from the off putting pressure on the Corinthian side but the home side back row stayed strong. The Cloonacauneen outfit were unable to break out of their own half as the Quins pack drove forward at every opportunity setting up seven or eight phases into the home side twenty two. IRFU referee Ollie Hodges eventually lost his patience and penalized the Tuam road outfit. Quins missed out on the kick for goal. But some minutes later they were awarded another opportunity and they decided to take a quick one and caught the home side napping. Harlequins scrum half Josh Fullerton took a quick tap and released to right winger Ewan Strang and he skated in for a touch down in the corner. Outhalf Mark Best missed out on the extras. This was a wake up call for the blue black and whites so some minutes later first center Dave Panter found an mighty touch into Quins twenty two after great work by his pack. From the resulting play Corinthians flanker Marc Kelly took an excellent line out ball and releases same to his scrum half Mickey Murphy. The scrum half then releases to his out side half Conor Murphy. He in turn side steps his opposite and touches down at the side of the posts. Murphy also added the extras. Corinthians continued to up their game as the home support urged them on. Midway through the half Corinthians broke up the field as their second center U 20’S Dwayne Corcoran made excellent ground linking up another U20 player right winger David McDermott. Captain Joey Merrigan accepted an inside pass from the winger to get in for well executed try. Murphy again converted to extend their lead. After thirty minutes of play the Tuam road outfit got in for their third touch down as veteran Darrin Claasen fielded a high ball from his opposite number fullback David McMaster. The Corinthian fullback showed his class jinking in for a mighty touch down. The outhalf again added the extras leaving Corinthians leading by twenty one points to Quins five at the break.
The Belfast outfit got more into the game after the break as their captain number eight Danny Annett urged his charges on. His flankers Frank Taggart and Caleb Montgomery doing the donkey work. Corinthians may have been thinking of going for a forth try and a bonus point but Quins had other ideas. They kept the pressure on the driving for the line. The home side defense eventually cracked as their number nine Mickey Murphy was yellow carded. It was Taggart who eventually broke through for the touch down. Mark Best added the extras. With ten minutes still on the clock the visitors went for the jugular as the home pack held their ground. The referee eventually penalized the Cloonacauneen outfit for foul play. But the visitors had used up all their energy against coach Pat Cunningham defense so they decided to go for the posts to get a bonus out of the contest. The penalty was good. Their was still some minutes remaining as Corinthians worked their way down field into the Quins twenty two. The referee pulled the visitors for fouling in the ensuing maul by the Tuam road outfit which allowed Panter to find touch on the opposition five meter line. From the resulting line out Joey Merrigan found his number eight and Masterson broke through the cover for a mighty touch down and bonus point. Panter added the extras as the referee blew for time leaving the home side winning by 26 points to 15 points. An excellent result for the home side as they head to Dublin next Saturday.
Corinthian Team;D Claasen.D McDermott.D Corcoran.D Panter.D Griffen.C Murphy.M Murphy.M Byrne.J Merrigan.(capt).C Hansbury.C Raftery.G Warde.M Kelly.R Stanley.O Masterson. Replacements;A Walsh.A Glynn.D Joyce.P Maher.C Ryan.
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