Carlow, a junior club three seasons ago, continued their remarkable ascent up the AIB league ladder by maintaining one of only three unbeaten records in Division Two on Saturday courtesy of a highly credible 21-14 away win over City of Derry at Judge's Road.
A strong start had earned the visitors a 80 lead through a Matt Waterhourse penalty and a try by former Bective centre Ian Dwyer. Early promotion pacesetters in the division last season, City of Derry were undone by a second-half try by man-of-the-match Andrew Melville,
UCD, so unlucky to miss out via the play-offs last season, underlined their promotion credentials once more with a hard-earned 24-13 win over Ballynahinch. Ballynahinch had pegged the students back to an 11-10 lead early in the second-half before Paddy Wallace's boot and a Shane Moore try secured victory.
Old Belvedere joined UCD on nine points after picking up a bonus point in their six-try 46-13 defeat of Old Wesley. Andy Dunne's kicking radar was askew, missing his first four kicks, but he was instrumental in most of Belvedere's better rugby, winger John Burns running in three tries.
In what looks like being a reprise of last season's competitive second flight, ten of the Division's 16 teams have shared a win and a loss apiece. UL Bohemians recorded their first league victory as an amalgamated club when dampening Bective's early season omptimism when recovering initially from a 17-3 deficit to lead with tries by Andre Coetzee and Anthony Hargan, before Coetzee added a match-winning effort. Rangers' second bonus point keeps them level with their Limerick rivals on six points, and Sunday's Well, who responded to last week's defeat to UCC with a convincing 41-27 home win over Greystones.
Banbridge, leaders by virtue of a bonus point, Corinthians, Naas and Trinity remain the only unbeaten sides in Division Three. Barnhall, unsurprisingly, were the only club to record a bonus point for scoring four tries or more when beating Bangor 51-15.
