Lansdowne 13 Garryowen 21A victory to define a season. Garryowen's deserved triumph at Lansdowne Road on Saturday pulled them away from the lower reaches of the All-Ireland League and at the same time condemned Lansdowne to their fifth defeat, from six, of the campaign.
The Limerick men climb up the table, while Lansdowne, remarkably, are just one place off the bottom.
Despite fielding several players who are tried and tested at this level, like former Leinster captain Liam Toland and prop Darren Molloy, Lansdowne were unable to cope with their opponents' tempo at all the vital stages. The importance of the match wasn't lost on them but they struggled to keep down the error count in the wind and rain.
Also, several Garryowen players performed above their station, in particular openside flanker Conor Hartigan - who crossed for two tries - and outhalf Alan Purcell, who landed the opening penalty after 13 minutes.
Vitally, when the home side pulled themselves back within striking distance, Purcell's injury-time drop-goal saw the visitors home.
Yet the man-of-the-match accolade must go to Hartigan, who was a constant nuisance in the loose. His first try came midway through the opening half when he initiated the move with a powerful break up the middle before regaining his feet to provide the required support out wide, where Diarmuid O'Riordan found him with a clever inside pass.
With the rain sheeting down thereafter, several Lansdowne handling errors denied them the chance to regain a foothold. Shane Whelan, playing for his adopted side against his native club, and Melvin McNamara both spilled ball with the line in sight.
Lansdowne's inability to take these five-point opportunities meant they turned around at the break looking at a 10-3 deficit and with a gale blowing into their faces.
Whelan did add his second penalty five minutes after the restart but Hartigan powered over for his second try soon after to stretch the lead to 15-6.
With Colin Varley in the sin-bin, Lansdowne did take advantage to make it a two-point game thanks to a try from Peter Moreham, converted by Whelan. However, when they really needed to up the ante they struggled to find a chink in the visitors' armour.
The main pitch at headquarters has seen better games, but Garryowen couldn't care less as they go into the Christmas break in decent shape. Lansdowne need divine inspiration, and fast.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 13 mins: Purcell pen 0-3; 18 mins: Hartigan try, Purcell con 0-10; 36 mins: Whelan pen 3-10; Half-time: 3-10. 46 mins: Whelan pen 6-10; 56 mins: Hartigan try 6-15; 63 mins: Moreham try, Whelan conv 13-15; 67 mins: Purcell pen 13-18; 80 mins: Purcell drop goal 13-21.
LANSDOWNE: S Cooney; F Baynes, J Smith, P Moreham, M McNamara; S Whelan, K Becker; D Molloy, R Fallon, E Bohan, A Maher, B Cusack, S Rooney, L Toland, S O'Connor. Replacements: K Cleere for Molloy (30 mins), N Ronan for Toland (47 mins), B Geraghty for Baynes (57 mins).
GARRYOWEN: D Crotty; D O'Riordan, C Casey, K Hartigan, D Heaton; A Purcell, B O'Brien; R Callaghan, G Walsh, R Laffan, S Leahy, D Sheehan, C Varley, C Hartigan, P Malone. Replacements: F Costelloe for Laffan (26-28 mins), Costelloe for Laffan (47 mins)
Referee: D McHugh (IRFU).
