Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A, Round 2: UCD 43 Lansdowne FC 26

Belfield Bowl, Saturday 3 October 2026

MATCH PHOTOS HERE

Lansdowne scored four tries and banked a bonus point at the Belfield Bowl on Saturday, but a fast start from UCD and a flawless afternoon off the tee from out-half Paddy Clancy left Bobby Sheehan's side chasing the game from the opening minutes.

After torrential rain on Friday, it is a testament to the Belfield Bowl pitch that you would never have guessed how much water it had taken. By Saturday the skies had cleared to bring glorious sunshine, as fine a day as you could hope for in early October, and both sides made the most of a perfect surface.

Clancy did not miss all day, landing four conversions and five penalties for 23 points, and on a windless afternoon that was the difference between two sides who each crossed the line four times.

UCD, buoyed by an away win in Ballynahinch the previous weekend, came flying out of the blocks. Inside two minutes winger Tom Murtagh broke the first line, scrum-half James Sherwin supported, and the ball was worked wide for Maxim Aschenbrenner to finish in the corner. Clancy converted from the touchline.

Lansdowne responded with sustained pressure in the UCD 22, with David Walsh, Hardus van Eeden and Stephen Madigan all carrying hard, but the students' line speed held firm through several phases. Michael Moloney had a chance to open Lansdowne's account from a penalty, but it drifted just wide.

UCD made the most of their next visit to the Lansdowne half. A driving maul from a lineout gained good ground, number eight Paul Gerard carried into the 22, and full-back Charlie Molony cut a sharp line to score under the posts on 16 minutes. Clancy's conversion made it 14-0, and a superb penalty from just inside his own 10-metre line, around 42 metres out, stretched the lead to 17-0 after 32 minutes.

Lansdowne's forwards finally got their reward on 35 minutes. From a five-metre lineout Sheehan found his jumper, the pack drove, and David Walsh came off the maul to score. Moloney added the conversion to make it 17-7. UCD struck straight back, Molony spotting space out of nothing and running a strong line through several tackles for his second try in the corner, which Clancy again converted.

But Lansdowne finished the half strongly. A scrum penalty earned territory, the lineout maul went to work again, and Hardus van Eeden forced his way over for a second try on the stroke of half-time. Moloney nailed a difficult conversion from the right to send the sides in at 24-14.

The visitors carried that momentum into the second half and struck within minutes of the restart. Pouncing on a UCD error, Harry O'Riordan came back on the inside to break the line, Lansdowne kept the ball alive through a series of carries, and Juan Beukes crashed over for their third try. Moloney completed a hat-trick of conversions to cut the gap to 24-21 and set up a tense second half.

The scrum battle was absorbing throughout, with front rows trading blows and several resets, and it was a solid UCD scrum on halfway that turned the game back their way on 54 minutes. Molony put boot to ball and Aschenbrenner, the former Blackrock College winger, won the chase for his second try of the afternoon and his third in two league games this season, securing UCD's bonus point. Clancy's conversion made it 31-21, and when flanker Arthur Ashmore broke through and Lansdowne were penalised for not releasing, Clancy added three more for 34-21.

Lansdowne refused to fold. Sheehan's lineout again set the platform in the UCD 22, the forwards drove hard, and the ball was moved wide for Daniel Hurley to finish against his old club on 65 minutes. That fourth try secured the bonus point, though the conversion was missed, leaving it 34-26.

That was as close as it got. UCD tightened their grip through their defence and their kicker, and Clancy struck three further penalties, including a long-range effort from the right and a final one from around 26 metres in front of the posts on 80 minutes, to take the scoreline beyond reach. Cormac Foley produced a crucial last-man tackle to deny Molony a hat-trick, and Louis McGauran made another try-saving tackle as Lansdowne threw everything at a late attack, but a cross-field kick went out on the full and UCD saw out the final minutes.

The result is a disappointing one after last week's one-point defeat to St Mary's, but there were positives to take. The lineout maul was a genuine weapon, producing two tries and the platform for a third, and four tries away from home against a side in UCD's form is no small thing. Jerry Cahir, who made eleven URC and three Champions Cup appearances for Leinster last season, made his first AIL start of the campaign and led the scrum effort against a strong UCD front row, while McGauran, Walsh and Beukes were tireless around the park. What will frustrate the coaching staff is a slow start and the penalty count: Lansdowne conceded 15 points from the tee.

Lansdowne: 15 Daniel Hurley; 14 Mark McGlynn, 13 Wilhelm de Klerk, 12 Harry O'Riordan, 11 Hubert Gilvarry; 10 Stephen Madigan, 9 Michael Moloney; 1 Jerry Cahir, 2 Bobby Sheehan (capt), 3 Greg McGrath, 4 John Forde, 5 Juan Beukes, 6 Louis McGauran, 7 David Walsh, 8 Hardus van Eeden. Replacements: 16 Tom Barry, 17 George Morris, 18 Matt Healy, 19 Donough Lawlor, 20 Cormac Foley, 21 Sean Galvin.

UCD: 15 Charlie Molony; 14 Tom Murtagh, 13 Evan Moynihan, 12 Ben Brownlee, 11 Maxim Aschenbrenner; 10 Paddy Clancy, 9 James Sherwin; 1 Max Doyle, 2 Lucas Maguire, 3 Sean Egan, 4 Dan Barron, 5 Oran Handley, 6 Michael Colreavy, 7 Arthur Ashmore, 8 Paul Gerard. Replacements: 16 Joe Christie, 17 Tom O'Riordan, 19 Oisin Spain, 20 James O'Dwyer, 21 Daragh Gilbourne, 23 Jonathan Cunningham-Ash.

Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: D Walsh (35'), H van Eeden (40'), J Beukes (43'), D Hurley (65'). Cons: M Moloney (36', 40', 43'). UCD: Tries: M Aschenbrenner (2', 54'), C Molony (16', 38'). Cons: P Clancy (2', 17', 38', 54'). Pens: P Clancy (32', 62', 70', 74', 80').

MATCH REPORT & PHOTOS: Michael O'Brien