Lansdowne came out strong, with the forwards setting the tone early on. Within seven minutes, their dominance paid off as hooker Charlie McSweeney powered over for a try from a well-executed maul. Out-half Conor Lenihan added the conversion, giving Lansdowne an early 7-0 lead.
Lansdowne maintained the pressure as the half progressed. After what supporters called "some silky back skills," winger Adam Galbraith finished a well-worked move by scoring in the corner. Lenihan showed his kicking class once again with another excellent conversion, stretching Lansdowne’s lead to 14-0.

However, Terenure were determined to keep the match competitive. They responded with a try of their own and followed it up with a penalty, quickly narrowing the gap to 14-10. Lansdowne’s momentum was briefly halted when one of our players received a yellow card, but outhalf Conor Lenihan settled the nerves of the supporters with a long-range penalty on 35 minutes, pushing Lansdowne’s lead to 17-10. Terenure struck back immediately, scoring again to narrow the margin to just three points at 17-14. Despite the pressure, Lansdowne showed their attacking intent was far from over. Centre Jack Browne capped off a slick team move by touching down near the posts, with Lenihan once again adding the extras, sending Lansdowne into the halftime break with a 24-14 advantage.

The second half began just as the first had ended, with Conor Lenihan keeping the pressure on the visitors by slotting over another penalty to stretch Lansdowne’s lead to 27-14. Yet again, Terenure remained resilient, striking back with a converted try just ten minutes into the half, narrowing the gap to 27-21.
As the game teetered, Lansdowne found their answer. In the words of pitch-side reporter, touch judge, and barista Rory Cunningham, the moment came when Finn O'Loughlin dazzled the crowd. "Lovely try from Finn O'Loughlin, running 50 meters and beating four men (really?)!" said Rory, but there was no doubting the quality of the finish. Lenihan converted again to push the score to 34-21.

Warming to his role as commentator, Rory added another gem moments later: "Another great try from the backs as Finn gets the ball in his own 22, beats three tackles (really?) and passes to scrum-half Stephen Morris, who puts Max Moore away in the corner for an epic try!" With another conversion Lansdowne had widened the gap to 41-21.

Terenure’s pack were clearly taking note, as Paul Kinney overheard their players in the huddle cautioning their backs, "Whatever you do, don't kick to their back three!" But the advice came too late, and Lansdowne continued their assault. Sensing an opportunity, scrum-half Steve Morris pounced on a loose pass, intercepting and running most of the pitch to score under the posts. Lenihan added the extras yet again to make it 48-21.

According to Roving Reporter Rory, the best try was saved for last. "An early candidate for try of the season," he said, “JJ Walsh, fresh from his heroics against UCD with the J3s the night before, produced one of his signature cross-field kicks. Max Moore gathered the ball, racing half the pitch before being felled by a tap tackle. Moore, however, managed an ‘Audacious Offload’ to the supporting Adam Galbraith, who touched down under the posts". Fittingly, JJ converted his own play, bringing the score to 55-21 with five minutes left.

Despite the overwhelming deficit, full credit went to Terenure, who never stopped fighting. They added two more tries in the final stages - one a penalty try and another in injury time (so people say they didn't really count) - to make the final scoreline more respectable at Lansdowne 55-33 Terenure.


Match Report - Drafted using Lansdowne Supporters' Comments and AI