Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A, Round 3: Lansdowne FC 35 Old Belvedere 26
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 10 October 2026
Match Photos can be viewed HERE
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 10 October 2026
Match Photos can be viewed HERE
Lansdowne produced a stunning second-half comeback on the main pitch at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, scoring 35 unanswered points after trailing 19-0 to end Old Belvedere's unbeaten start and claim a first league win of the season with a bonus point.
Lansdowne's second half carried echoes of one of Irish rugby's most famous days. In the 2011 Heineken Cup final in Cardiff, Leinster went in 22-6 down to Northampton and came out to score 27 unanswered points, inspired by Johnny Sexton's boot and a half-time team talk that has passed into legend. On Saturday, Lansdowne went one better on the scoreboard, running in 28 unanswered second-half points, four tries all converted by Michael Moloney, to turn a 19-7 half-time deficit into a 35-19 lead.
Lansdowne can host up to three games a season on the Aviva Stadium's main pitch, and this one was played in glorious sunshine on a surface made for attacking rugby. The club's last visit, on 21 October 2023, brought a seven-try 45-19 win over Ballynahinch, with captain Rory Parata scoring a hat-trick and Andy Marks two more. This time Lansdowne had to do it the hard way.
Lansdowne went into the game needing a result after a one-point defeat to St Mary's and a heavy loss to UCD, and they were hit by changes before kick-off. Stephen Madigan was ruled out, so Moloney started at out-half, and Greg McGrath was a late withdrawal, with George Morris coming into the front row.
The home side started with intent, with Juan Beukes heavily involved. Cormac Foley dinked a clever kick in behind the Belvedere defence and, as scrum-half Chris O'Connor got back to cover it, captain Bobby Sheehan chased hard and was right on his heels. Sheehan tackled him in-goal and held him up, which won Lansdowne an attacking five-metre scrum. It was a superb piece of hustle from the hooker, and it set the tone for his afternoon. But Belvedere's defence was well organised and held firm, and the visitors gradually took control.
The game turned against Lansdowne on 19 minutes. Donough Lawlor had already gone off injured, replaced by Hardus van Eeden, when Belvedere's maul drove close to the line and Sheehan was shown a yellow card for stopping the ball coming back. Belvedere made the extra man count. Former Ireland prop Edward Byrne powered over from close range on 20 minutes, and Patrick Dowling finished out wide after a James Dillon break, with Sam Wisniewski converting. Moments later Byrne charged through the middle and offloaded for O'Connor to run in a third, and Wisniewski's conversion made it 19-0.
Sheehan returned, Belvedere's Órán O'Brien was sin-binned for head contact at a ruck, and Lansdowne finally hit back before the break. From a Sheehan lineout, Dylan O'Keeffe threw a lovely short pass and Todd Lawlor, the recent Leinster debutant, stormed onto it to score under the posts. Moloney converted, and a solid goal-line defence then kept Belvedere out to send the sides in at 19-7.
Whatever was said at half-time worked. Lansdowne came out with far more energy and kept the ball in the forwards, with Sheehan, Van Eeden and Beukes carrying hard from a series of penalties. Their patience paid off when Paul Wilson changed the angle and crashed over on 46 minutes. Moloney's conversion made it 19-14, and Belvedere's lead suddenly looked fragile.
Lansdowne had the edge up front and Belvedere's discipline began to crack, with penalties for high tackles and not rolling away. Lansdowne won a scrum penalty and, with a decision to make between the posts and the corner, Moloney chose the corner. From the lineout the backs went wide, Daniel Hurley was tackled by Robbie Russell, and O'Keeffe gathered and rolled over on the short side to level the scores on 66 minutes. Moloney then landed a superb conversion from the touchline to put Lansdowne ahead, 21-19, for the first time.
From there it was one-way traffic. Lawlor was the spark in everything. On 73 minutes his cross-field kick landed perfectly for O'Keeffe to claim his second try and the bonus point, and Moloney's conversion made it 28-19. Three minutes later Lawlor's offload sent Hubert Gilvarry away, Cormac Foley kept it alive, and Beukes crashed over for the fifth try. Moloney completed his perfect afternoon with the conversion for 35-19.
Belvedere showed character to take something from the game. Replacement Fionn McWey forced his way over from a tapped penalty in the final minute to earn them a try bonus point, and Wisniewski converted, but it was too late to change the result.
It was an outstanding response from Lansdowne after a difficult opening fortnight. Lawlor was the standout, scoring one try and creating two more, and O'Keeffe was excellent at centre. Moloney, filling in at out-half, kicked five from five. Up front Sheehan, Beukes, Wilson, Louis McGauran and Van Eeden turned the game in the second half. The five-point haul takes Lansdowne to seven points going into the break, with a trip to Ballynahinch next on the fixture list.
Lansdowne: 15 Todd Lawlor; 14 Mark McGlynn, 13 Wilhelm de Klerk, 12 Dylan O'Keeffe, 11 Daniel Hurley; 10 Michael Moloney, 9 Cormac Foley; 1 Sean Dunne, 2 Bobby Sheehan (capt), 3 George Morris, 4 John Forde, 5 Juan Beukes, 6 Louis McGauran, 7 Paul Wilson, 8 Donough Lawlor. Replacements: 16 Tom Barry, 17 Evann Shelley, 18 Matt Healy, 19 Hardus van Eeden, 20 Oisin Devitt, 21 Hubert Gilvarry.
Old Belvedere: 15 Robbie Russell; 14 James Dillon, 13 Jayden Beckett (capt), 12 Justin Leonard, 11 Hugh Reddan; 10 Sam Wisniewski, 9 Chris O'Connor; 1 Edward Byrne, 2 Luke McLaughlin, 3 Alex Mullan, 4 Jhy Legg, 5 Gerard Hill, 6 Patrick Dowling, 7 Órán O'Brien, 8 Will McDonald. Replacements: 16 Calum Dowling, 17 George Hadden, 18 Ryan McMahon, 19 Fionn McWey, 20 Daragh O'Dwyer, 21 Peter O'Beirne.
Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: T Lawlor (37'), P Wilson (46'), D O'Keeffe (66', 73'), J Beukes (76'). Cons: M Moloney (37', 46', 66', 73', 76'). Old Belvedere: Tries: E Byrne (20'), P Dowling (28'), C O'Connor (28'), F McWey (80'). Cons: S Wisniewski (28', 29', 80'). Yellow cards: B Sheehan (Lansdowne, 19'), Ó O'Brien (Old Belvedere, 33').
Match Report and Photos by Michael O'Brien
Match Report and Photos by Michael O'Brien
