Shannon sit on top of the AIB League Division One table tonight after they defeated Young Munster 30-11 while Co Carlow lost out 34-25 away to Blackrock. Shannon were never in danger of losing this tie from the time Tom Cregan put them ahead with four early penalties quickly followed by a try by David Quinlan. It was 24-06 in Shannon's favour by half-time after Owen Reddin dropped a Young Munster goal and Mike Lynch landed a penalty only for John Lacey to grab his side's second try which Cregan converted.
Although Shannon could have pressed forward for further tries to earn a bonus point, they never looked like materialising. They continued to use Cregan's boot to knock over the points but it was left to Young Munster to produce the best try of the afternoon. Mike Mullins, who had come into the game at half-time as a replacement, worked a delightful loop move with outhalf Eamonn Buckley and slick passing sent Ken Casey over in the corner.
In spite of missing out on the bonus point, this was another impressive display by a useful Shannon side but Young Munster are more firmly rooted to the bottom of the table after this latest defeat and are already fighting a desperate battle against relegation.
Today's AIB League Division One results:
UCD 22-21 Terenure
DLSP 19-34 Garryowen
Blackrock 34-25 Co Carlow
Shannon 30-11 Young Munster
St Mary's 19-21 Clontarf
Galwegians 20-16 Lansdowne
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
