Unbeaten going into the Christmas break, Buccaneers, Galwegians and Greystones have much to celebrate. On the other side of the coin, Bective, DLSP and City of Derry will see 1998 as the first step toward salvation.

Three matches and no points to show leave the two Dublin sides and the Ulster club propping up the bottom of the table.

Galwegians may have made the biggest splash with their record, eight-try 50-13 win over City of Derry, a grand enough margin to put them at the top of the division on points difference. But it was the outstanding kicking of Mark Wyse, clearly enjoying the fresher air of Wicklow this season, who again contributed handsomely to Greystones' 25-15 win over Instonians.

Wyse missed only one attempt from eight, scoring six penalties and a conversion. Not only does the 20-point haul keep his side in the chase, but keeps the Greystones captain at the top of the kicking table with 43 points in just three matches.

Galwegians, the highest scoring team in division two with 104 points, gained their biggest league margin against the hapless Derry. The visitors to Crowley Park met Galwegians head on for about the first 15 minutes before the inevitable breakdown. Eric Elwood, again not at his best from set-piece kicks, made a worthwhile contribution of 15 points, including a try. Seven more tries, with two from back row Junior Charlie, mounted to continue Derry's misery until at least early January.

Buccaneers made heavy weather of wearing down Sunday's Well, but ultimately demonstrated why they, along with their Connacht colleagues are top of the table. A lucrative period just after half-time, during which Donal Rigney and Tom StuartTrainor went over for tries, copperfastened the 21-6 victory after a error-strewn first half.

A welcome contribution of three penalties and a conversion from Eamon Molloy placed him 10 points behind Wyse in the kicking table.

The students will look on their second win of the season as a platform on which to build for their week-long competition at the Mardyke this week. UCC, who play host to the Irish pool of the inaugural European Universities Championship, got past Bective Rangers 14-9 and are a satisfying fifth place on the table.

Out-half Colin Healy, who came in at the expense of the injured Brian O'Mahony, kicked three penalties to add to the Rory Collins try. Bective managing only three penalties from the boot of fullback David Assenheim.

Monkstown finally got off the mark and also take good cheer into the festive break after a 22-15 win over Wanderers at Sydney Parade. Andrew McMaster at outhalf was pivotal to his team's effort, which yielded three tries.

Old Wesley, hanging in around upper mid table, had their backs to the wall at Donnybrook but hung in to ensure a 25-17 victory over Malone. Although Wesley had built up a considerable margin by the break, leading 19-3, the second half provided Malone with a number of opportunities, generally with back row moves. But they came to little.

At Holmpatrick, Skerries held on to their three-year unbeaten home record with an important win over DLSP - but only just. The 19-18 final scoreline would have been different if DLSP had landed two late penalties.