Irish American Football League

Result from Sunday:

Cork Admirals 6
Carrickfergus Knights 24

Carrickfergus moved to third with this win. For only the third time in league history a touchdown conversion was returned by the defending team for a score.

With the scored tied at 6-6 David Wright returned Cork's 2 point attempt all the way to the opposite endzone and the Knights never looked back.

Carrickfergus still need maximum points to guarantee second place and a home semi final. For Cork this defeat drags them back down into the dogfight for the final playoff spot.

Fixtures for Sunday 11th of June:
Dublin Dragons @ Belfast Bulls
Belfast, 2pm.
Victory for the Dragons would see them leapfrog Cork into fourth while a Bulls win would draw them level with the Dragons with a game in hand.

DCU Saints @ North Dublin Marshals
Iveagh Grounds, Dublin, 2pm.
The Saints must win to retain a mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs. A win for the Marshals would put them back in contention for fourth.

Yesterday's results:

DCU Saints 44
North Dublin Marshals 32

After suffering 4 defeats in their opening 4 games the Dublin City University Saints came from behind to record their first ever victory in the IAFL.

The Saints started well driving inside the Marshals redzone before an interception ended the drive. The hosts scored on their first drive and on their next four to take a 32-16 in the fourth quarter.

Then the unthinkable happened. A Saints passing TD (well it was only our third all season). Buggle to Prendergast and a 2 point conversion made it 24-32.

The lead was cut to 2 with a McMahon TD before the Saints took the lead with Buggle's third rushing TD of the day. The 2 point conversion gave them a six point lead with 3 minutes left.

A fumble recovery on the Marshals next drive gave the Saints the ball back with 2 minutes to go. McMahon's second TD of the day, a 32 yard run, put the result beyond doubt.

The result means the Marshals become the first team to officially fall out of the playoff race. The Saints face an uphill task as they require 3 wins from their final 3 games to qualify.

Dublin Dragons 6
Belfast Bulls 32

Who said the Bulls were a spent force? Having got off to a slow start the Bulls beat one of their main rivals for the final playoff spot in convincing fashion.

The Dragons are known as a team with a good defence but the Bulls were rampant scoring 5 TDs.

Belfast are now level with the Dragons on 4 points but have a game in hand. They trail fourth place Cork by a solitary point but have a game in hand over them as well.


With the Admirals facing the unbeaten Rebels and Belfast facing local rivals Carrickfergus next week the battle for the playoffs is set to hot up very soon.

Sorry it's been a while since the last update...

The Rebels finished the regular season with a perfect record to take the league title and more importantly top seeding for the semi-finals.

Carrickfergus beat the Dragons 13-7 on the last day of the regular season to do just enough to take second spot and home advantage for their semi final.

That defeat for the Dragons coupled with Cork's victory over Belfast means the Admirals take the fourth and final playoff spot.

The final league table reads:

Team...............................W...L...T...Ps
Dublin Rebels......................8...0...0...16
Carrickfergus Knights...........6...2...0...12
UL Vikings..........................5...2...1...11
Cork Admirals......................4...3...1...9
Dublin Dragons....................2...4...2...6
Belfast Bulls.......................3...5...0...6
DCU Saints.........................1...7...0...2
North Dublin Marshals...........1...7...0...2

This means the semi finals are thus:

Cork Admirals @ Dublin Rebels
The Rebels, seeking their fourth consecutive Shamrock Bowl, won the earlier meeting between these sides 20-6.

UL Vikings @ Carrickfergus Knights
In their earlier meeting this season the Knights won 18-12.

The winners of these ties will contest the national championship game, the Shamrock Bowl.

Shamrock Bowl XX
Sportslink, Santry
Sunday, 20th of August, 2pm

Today saw the IAFL semi finals take place the results are

Cork Admirals 22
Dublin Rebels 58
at Sportslink, Santry
The defending champions won a high scoring encounter to give them a shot at a fourth straight Shamrock Bowl win.

UL Vikings 30
Carrickfergus Knights 25
at Woodburn Road, Carrickfergus
The Vikings overcame the odds to set up a Shamrock Bowl meeting with the Rebels. The Knights defeat means the national championship game will be ithout northern representation for the first time in over a decade.

That means that the fixture for the big one reads:

Shamrock Bowl XX
Dublin Rebels vs UL Vikings
at Sportslink, Santry
Sunday 20th of August
Kickoff at 2pm