Cricket: Never mind that the Interprovincial Championship ended in a threeway tie, yesterday's match at Castle Avenue was a personal triumph for the Mooney brothers, Paul and John, whose undefeated stand of 101 for the sixth wicket steered Leinster to a five-wicket victory over North West after a heavy defeat seemed on the cards, reports Karl Johnston.

Rain interrupted play when Leinster, chasing North West's total of 203, were 71 for 2 off 19 overs. When play resumed, the overs were reduced to a total of 45, and the winning target was set at 183. In next to no time Leinster had collapsed to 82 for 5, as Dom Joyce, Gus Joyce and Angus Dunlop departed the scene in rapid succession.

The Mooneys' victorious stand was all the more notable in that John was playing only his second match for Leinster, having made his debut on Saturday against the Northern side. Yesterday, his unbeaten 57 was hit off 70 balls and included six fours, while Paul's 34 came off 55 deliveries, with two boundaries.

Earlier, Paul was the most successful bowler, taking 5 for 36, and was well backed up by John Davy, who had the excellent figures of 3 for 21 off his 10 overs, not to mention a couple of good catches. The weekend was also a notable one for the young wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien; he held five catches in his Leinster debut match on Saturday and took two more yesterday.

Mark Gillespie, who made 36 for the North West yesterday, is the only new cap in the Ireland team to play Scotland in the annual three-day match next weekend. Gordon Cooke (Brigade) and Owen Butler (Old Belvedere) were not considered, and Alan Rutherford (Bready) was not available, so Andy Patterson takes over as wicketkeeper.

Rugby: The management pair of Barney McGonigle and Keith Patton must be scratching their heads in disbelief. They have watched with growing pride as the Irish Schools have demolished team after team on their Tour of Australia, and head into their second last game next Saturday against the Queensland Schools with a pristine six win record.

Their latest victory came at the wet and overcast North Sydney Oval, where New South Wales Combined High Schools were given a seven-try spanking.

Outhalf Eoghan Hickey eased them out of the blocks with penalties in the first and third minutes, before the pack took over totally with second rows Matt McCullough and Michael Carroll barging through and Hickey himself intercepting for a giveaway try. The outhalf kicked all three conversions to give the Irish a 27-3 lead at the interval.

The deluge continued through the second half, with the forwards' power-play paving the way for tries from number eight Roger Wilson, replacement blindside Denis Leamy, wing Dermot O'Riordan and scampering scrumhalf Fiach O'Loughlin.