Corinthians, with a fourth win from their six league outings, face a difficult away assignment this weekend when they travel to Dublin to face league leaders Lansdowne.
Lansdowne are as yet unbeaten with some nine points separating them from the next three sides that are all on 29 points. And with Lansdowne having scored a whopping 196 points while conceding just 65, the task for Corinthians is formidable.
This game will certainly test Corinthians who will do well to come away with a point, particularly away from home. However, having secured a valuable All Ireland League victory over Trinity in poor conditions at Cloonacauneen on Saturday, they now sit in a comfortable mid-table position in their first season back in division two and are just two points off the group in second place.
Although Trinity have secured only one win from their six outings, Corinthians still found it difficult to break down the students’ defence. Despite enjoying the wind and rain advantage in the first half, they could only manage one penalty from Bayden Morley in the 30th minute ot go into the second half ahead by just 3 - 0.
However the Corinthian pack stuck to their task. Liam Carpenter, Shane Conneely, and man of the match Aurelian Cassanova, proved their mettle in stopping any maul initiated by the big second rows of Trinity.
Although on the back foot for long periods, Corinthians’ defence was superb, and when Cassanova turned over possession, it set up the winning try which debutant scrumhalf Mark Dolan scored in the corner. .Morley added the conversion, leaving the home side leading by 10 - 0.
Coming into the home stretch the visitors struck with an excellent try after replacement Kevin Buckley ran in to touch down. With the conversion added by outhalf David Joyce, it was tight up to the end. However Corinthians held out for the last few minutes to gain a well-deserved win.
Connemara, with just one win in this season’s division 3, face a difficult trip to face sixth-placed Sunday’s Well on Saturday.
The Blacks, however, grabbed a loser’s bonus point from last weekend’s joust with third-placed Wanderers. In a tight and low scoring encounter, Wanderers scraped through by a single penalty, finishing 3 - 0 winners, but the bonus point could be valuable as the season progresses.
