Ian Hanley touched down twice as UL Bohemians beat their Limerick rivals Shannon 15-6 in the last match at the old Thomond Park.
Hanley struck the crucial blows as Bohs beat the Division One champions for the second time this season. They also won the Limerick Charity Cup.
Bohs led 5-3 at the break as Hanley bagged his first try and Shannon veteran Andrew Thompson landed a penalty.
Shannon's pack failed to take control after the break and Ben Martin converted Hanley's second try before adding a penalty to see Bohs leapfrog their Thomond Park co-tenants in the table.
Bohs can take a lot of heart and encouragement from what was the club's first win over Shannon in three league meetings.
Having narrowly missed out on a play-off spot with a late burst last season, the Red Robins now looked ideally poised in third place to atone from that disappointment, with games against Dolphin, Galwegians and Blackrock College to follow.
Shannon's tackling simply let them down in what was a scrappy encounter with the likes of Hanley and playmaker Martin allowed too much room.
Mick Galwey's men, with three defeats in their last five league games, are lacking in consistency and unless they raise their game against Lansdowne and Blackrock in the coming weeks, their final day clash with Dolphin could be a dead rubber.
Hanley, the 21-year-old Munster Academy player, evaded the grasp of Andrew Finn to cross in the left corner and get Bohs up and running.
Martin failed with the conversion attempt, while at the other end, Thompson sent over a 30-metre penalty effort.
There was plenty of huff and puff from the Shannon forwards, Sean Cronin and Donnacha Ryan stood out, with Munster's Ian Dowling always a willing runner at number 12.
However, the champions were to have a frustrating day at the office as a number of their attacks were thwarted by Bohs' steely defence.
Lock Anthony Hartigan popped up all over the field for the underdogs, who boast an outstanding league record at home to clubs from Munster – they have won 16 of their 21 league clashes against teams from the province at Thomond Park.
With chances at a premium, it was not a surprise that Hanley's second try helped Bohs see out the win as the hosts kept Shannon's dangerous wide man Stephen Kelly in-check throughout.
Scorers:
UL Bohs: Tries: Ian Hanley 2; Con: Ben Martin; Pen: Martin
Shannon: Pens: Andrew Thompson 2
