Vital bonus point win for Corinthians

The visitors missed an early penalty but when they were awarded a second, they caught the home side napping with a tap-and-go and winger Ewan Strang skated in to score an unconverted try in the corner.

Corinthians responded and flanker Marc Kelly secured possession before releasing scrum half Mickey Murphy, who put Conor Murphy in the clear and he touched down near the posts. The try scorer also added the extras.

Corinthians continued to up their game and captain Joey Merrigan then took advantage of an inside pass from the winger to get in for a well executed try. Murphy again converted to extend their lead. After 30 minutes, Corinthians breached the Harlequins lines again.

Veteran Darrin Claasen fielded a high ball from his opposite number David McMaster before the Corinthians full back showed his class by jinking in for a terrific try. Murphy again added the extras, leaving the home leading by 21 points to five at the break.

The Belfast outfit came more into the game on the resumption as their captain number eight Danny Annett urged his charges on, with flankers Frank Taggart and Caleb Montgomery doing much of the donkey work. Corinthians may have been thinking of going for a fourth try and a bonus point, but Quins had other ideas.

Taggart eventually broke through for the visitors’ second try. Mark Best added the extras, and with 10 minutes still on the clock, Harlequins went for the jugular. The referee eventually penalised the Cloonacauneen outfit for foul play, but the visitors opted to go for the posts to get a bonus out of the contest. The penalty was good.

There was still several minutes remaining as Corinthians worked their way down field into the Quins danger zone.  From a line out, Joey Merrigan found his number eight Eoghan Masterson who broke through the cover to secure the bonus point. Panter tacked on the conversion.

Overall, it was an excellent result for the home side as they head to Dublin to take on Dublin University next Saturday.