It’s unusual to be winning trophies in September, but Lansdowne FC wasted little time in setting out their intentions to retain the unprecedented four senior trophies the Dublin 4 club seized last season.

Having defeated Clontarf, Old Belvedere and Trinity on their way to the final, Lansdowne faced a strong Terenure outfit who had vanquished UCD, Naas and old rivals St. Mary’s on their path to the final.

A quick count revealed that from last May’s Leinster Senior Cup final, four starters were lining out for Terenure, while Lansdowne fielded five of the starters from that match.

Lansdowne opened the scoring early through a Scott Deasy penalty before Terenure launched a series of attacks. Their efforts came to no avail against sterling Lansdowne defence and their Achilles heel on the night – their scrum was overpowered by a determined Lansdowne side which won penalties in the set piece almost at will.

One such penalty saw Lansdowne’s first foray into the D6W side’s ’22, which resulted in a try for last season’s captain, Ian Prendiville, off a line out maul.

Deasy, belying a four-week absence on holidays, kicked an excellent conversion from the left-hand corner for a ten point lead. Scott, indeed, took up where he left off last season and, in addition to leading the line well, kicked seven out of eight on the night for a 17-point haul.

Terenure came back on the attack, but were unable to breach a determined and well organised Lansdowne defensive line. On only their third venture into the Terenure half, Deasy added a further penalty for 13-0 from a penalty for holding on in the tackle and Terenure’s frustration was palpable. Shortly before the break, however, they were rewarded for all their possession and territory with a well-worked try which remained unconverted.

Lansdowne upped the tempo after the break, with the front row of Denis Coulson, James Rael and Ian Prendiville continuing to dictate affairs up front, while back-rowers Aaron Conneely and Jack O’Sullivan seemed to be everywhere.

Scott Deasy was again accurate with a further penalty after 50 minutes, and this was followed by a two-try salvo in as many minutes from No. 8 O’Sullivan, one of which was converted by Deasy. Suddenly Lansdowne had opened up a 28-points to 5 lead and the game was dead in the water competitively.

The strength of Lansdowne’s bench was also displayed, as Tyrone Moran, Martin Mulhall and Greg McGrath continued the front row demolition work. Further tries followed from the lively Harry Brennan and a last-minute effort from a driving maul scored by Mulhall, with Deasy again adding the extras as Terenure ran out of steam.

In addition to retaining their League title, Lansdowne also earned the honour of again representing Leinster in the semi-final of the Bateman Cup, a trophy which the club won last season and which Head Coach Mike Ruddock is determined to retain this time around

Match Report: Michael Daly

Match Details 

Leinster Senior League Division 1 Final 2018-19 LANSDOWNE 42 TERENURE 5

Venue: Energia Park, Donnybrook

Referee: Sean Gallagher

Lansdowne FC:  15. Eamonn Mills (Capt.); 14. Peter Sullivan, 13. Harry Brennan, 12. Fergal Cleary, 11. Mark O’Keeffe; 10. Scott Deasy 9. Tim Murphy; 1. Denis Coulson. 2. James Rael, 3. Ian Prendiville; 4. David O’Connor, 5. Willie Earle, 6. Joe O’Brien, 7. Aaron Conneely, 8. Jack O’Sullivan.

Subs: 16. Tyrone Moran, 17. Martin Mulhall, 18. William Fay, 19. Gareth Molloy, 20. Daniel McEvoy, 21. Tom Roche, 22. Greg McGrath