The hosts started brightly, soaking up early pressure before capitalizing on their own attacking opportunities. A yellow card for the Instonians hooker on 17 minutes gave Navan an advantage, which they exploited immediately—moving the ball wide for Tom Ciot to finish in the right corner. Tom Gavigan added the conversion to give Navan a 7-0 lead.

Instonians responded with relentless pressure, but Navan’s defense held firm. A potential try for the visitors on 27 minutes was ruled out for a double movement, and another attacking chance was thwarted when they knocked on just a metre from the line. However, their persistence paid off just before halftime, as their winger stepped inside to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, leaving Navan ahead 7-5 at the break.

The visitors took the lead on 50 minutes, using a well-executed maul to drive over the line for their second try, with the conversion making it 12-7. Ten minutes later, they struck again in similar fashion, another maul setting up their third try, converted to push their lead to 19-7.

Navan refused to back down and, with five minutes remaining, hit back through their forwards. Off a lineout drive from ten metres out, Ben McEntagart powered over to cut the deficit to 19-12. However, the conversion attempt drifted wide, leaving Navan needing another score in the final moments.

Despite a late push into Instonians territory, Navan’s discipline faltered, conceding a penalty that allowed the visitors to see out the game. While they fell short, a losing bonus point was some reward for their efforts against the league leaders.

Navan now break for a few weeks before they have a trip west to face Galway Corinthians in Round Sixteen on Saturday 21st March.

Players of the Match “Sponsored by The Central”:
Jordan Finney & Evan Dixon

Navan Men's 1st XV Squad "Sponsored by Hannon Travel":
Liam Carroll, Gary Faulkner, Jordan Finney, Liam McAree, Conor Hand, Mick Brady, Ben McEntagartqTom Ciot, Mark Farrell, Tom Gavigan, Shane Walshe, Kyle Dixon, Evan Dixon (Capt), Sean McEntagart, Harry Watters, 

Replacements:
David Clarke, Leigh Jackson, Conor Ryan, Shane O’Connor, Jack Dixon, Noah Kavanagh.