Terenure College 22-33 Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution failed to let John Forde's 19th-minute red card derail their bid for Energia All-Ireland League glory, as they led from start to finish in an outstanding 33-22 final win over Terenure College at the Aviva Stadium.
Second row Forde was dismissed for a shoulder-led tackle on Terenure's Adam Melia, with Cork Con leading 10-0 at that stage.
A subsequent Billy Scannell maul try giving them a 17-10 half-time buffer.
Playing with huge intensity and physicality, particularly in defence, Jonny Holland's men were down to 13 and then 12 players, either side of the break, as Niall Kenneally and Sean Duffy both saw yellow.
Tries from Aran Egan and Adam La Grue had Terenure only trailing 23-22, but Matthew Bowen brilliantly held up Conor Phillips, with Con's player of the match James Taylor hugely influential from the kicking tee and as a game manager.
Taylor punished 'Nure's indiscipline with 18 points in all, including three second-half penalties, and Ireland Under-20 hooker Danny Sheahan came off the bench to claim the clinching try with seven minutes remaining.
The result saw Cork Con reverse the finishing positions in the table as they were crowned Division 1A champions for the first time since 2019, when they last appeared in the final.
It is their seventh All-Ireland League title, moving them within two of record holders Shannon.
Shannon remain the only club to have retained the All-Ireland League trophy as Terenure, who were contesting their third straight final on the back of a 13-match winning streak, missed out on becoming back-to-back champions.
They did end the campaign with a second successive Bateman Cup.
The first ever Energia All-Ireland League finals double header drew a crowd of 7,768 to the Aviva Stadium, and it was a Munster double as a Chisom Ugwueru-inspired UL Bohemian won the women's decider earlier on.
Terenure College: Adam La Grue; Conor Phillips, Sam Berman, Peter Sylvester, Craig Adams; Aran Egan, Alan Bennie; Campbell Classon, Levi Vaughan, Adam Tuite, Harrison Brewer (capt), Matthew Caffrey, Adam Melia, Luke Clohessy, Jordan Coghlan.Replacements: Max Russell, Ben Howard, Conan O'Donnell, Mikey O’Reilly, Jim White, Conor McKeon, Yago Fernandez Vilar, Barry Galvin.
Cork Constitution: Rob Hedderman; Daniel Hurley, Harry O’Riordan, Niall Kenneally, Matthew Bowen; James Taylor, Adam Maher; Alessandro Heaney, Billy Scannell, Luke Masters, Sean Duffy, John Forde, Jack Kelleher, Ronan O’Sullivan, David Hyland (capt).
Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Brendan Quinlan, Charlie Connolly, Eoin Quilter, Matisse Lamarque d’Arrouzat, Louis Kahn, Rob Jermyn, Billy Crowley.
Referee: Andrew Cole (IRFU)
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