All-Ireland League Division One/ St Mary's 13 Shannon 42: In searching for an analogy to best illustrate the disparity between the teams, one borrowed from boxing parlance best fits the bill. This AIB All-Ireland League Division One match resembled a showdown between a middleweight and a heavyweight, the former lively and courageous but lacking the power to inflict serious damage.
Last season St Mary's won Division Two while Saturday's visitors claimed the premier title in emphatic style.
It promised to be an interesting tussle until the teams were announced: Shannon had eight players with varying provincial contracts, their Dublin hosts able to call upon James Norton and Jonathan Sexton.
The IRFU is going to have to address this imbalance, a fact reflected in a directive to a union working party set up to investigate limiting the number of provincially contracted players that can line out in any one match to three per side. It may be adopted for next season.
It'd be wrong to castigate Shannon for using some of the considerable resources available to them as they did nothing wrong. It's just for the 600 or so who turned up to the sun- drenched Templeville Road it guaranteed a rather lob-sided encounter.
Still it was a pleasure to watch Shannon, now under the coaching baton of Mick Galwey and Ian Sherwin, produce some excellent rugby, acknowledged by even the most partisan of the home supporters.
Clever lines of running, intelligent use of possession, varying the point of attack and the application of obvious talent offered an irresistible blueprint for success.
The Limerick side excel in the basics of the sport and this facilitates them when they look to introduce flair and imagination. They are also blessed with outstanding individuals none more so than former UCC student Donnacha Ryan.
He was quite simply superb in virtually every facet of the game, although any nit-picking team-mates might ask him to work a little on the art of taking the tackle and giving the pass in one motion.
Ryan though will escape any censure. He won ball out of touch, claimed kick-offs, carried and supported with boundless energy while hitting rucks and making thumping tackles.
The rest of the pack ably supported him with hooker Jerry Flannery also exuding a quiet excellence. Despite being opposed by a feisty St Mary's eight in which Cillian O'Byrne, Adrian Copeland and replacement Mark Donnellan had their moments, Shannon were able to offer front-foot possession.
Frankie McNamara was a lively presence at scrumhalf, Andrew Thompson kicked beautifully while Brian Tuohy made light of any responsibilities, popping up to claim a brace of tries. St Mary's were doughty but that was never going to suffice against genuine quality.
The game was an entertaining contest until just before the interval with the visitors grabbing a couple of tries, hallmarked by patience and precision, with Thompson punishing St Mary's periodic bouts of indiscipline to nudge his side into a 23-3 interval lead.
Shannon had the bonus point by the 53rd minute when Tuohy crossed for the first of his tries with St Mary's, game to the finish, being rewarded through similar scores from Norton and Donnellan. This contest may have lacked the bite of previous encounters between these rivals but the rugby could not have been faulted.
The champions looked exactly that, an ominous sign for those who would dethrone them, while for St Mary's improvement may be measured in small increments.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 5 mins: F McNamara try, Thompson conversion, 0-7; 23: Thompson penalty, 0-10; 28: Thompson penalty, 0-13; 30: Sexton penalty, 3-13; 32: Thompson penalty, 3-16; 38: O'Connor try, Thompson conversion, 3-23. Half-time: 3-23. 43: Dowling try, 3-28; 53: Tuohy try, Thompson conversion, 3-35; 57: Norton try, 8-35; 77: Tuohy try, Thompson conversion, 8-42; 81: Donnellan try, 13-42.
ST MARY'S: D Hughes; J Norton, J McWeeney (capt), P Brophy, R Smyth; J Sexton, J Kilbride; C O'Byrne, P Smyth, B Moran; E Keane, G Logan; P Nash, J Ellis, A Copeland. Replacements: M Duggan for Nash 37-40(+2) mins; D Fanning for McWeeney 49 mins; M Donnellan for Keane 54 mins; M Duggan for Moran 54 mins; K O'Brien for Ellis 62 mins; Ellis for Nash 66 mins; O McCormack for Smyth 72 mins.
SHANNON: M Lawler; I Dowling, B Tuohy, E Cahill, F McLoughlin; A Thompson, F McNamara; F Roche, J Flannery, T Buckley; D Ryan, P O'Brien; C McMahon (capt), S Keogh, J O'Connor. Replacements: L Hogan for McMahon 12 mins; D Keane for O'Connor 52 mins; D Donovan for Cahill 59 mins; G McNamara for Flannery 62 mins; C O'Loughlin for McNamara 72 mins.
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).
