On Saturday, Shannon made the trip up from Limerick to face Queens in an AIL1B fixture, at the Queens Arena. Talking to Queens supporters and officials before the game, confidence was not high, given performances to date.

In the opening minutes both teams sounded each other out. It was obvious that Shannon preferred a forward battle, whereas Queen were willing to use their backs from deep. On 14 minutes Queens turned the ball over and counter attacked from deep, moving the ball out right. A scrambling Shannon defence couldn’t prevent Ryan Street’s try. Jack Murphy’s conversion put Queens 7-0 up.

Shannon’s forwards piled on the pressure. Adam Moloney crossed from close range, after 18 minutes, to reduce the deficit to 5-7.

Neither team could dominate the next quarter. Queens were willing to run the ball from deep, Shannon’s pack rumbled forward. From a 5 . . .