CORK CONSTITUTION set themselves up nicely for their top-of-the-table clash with Shannon next weekend with a superb performance and an emphatic win over Blackrock at Temple Hill yesterday.

Playing superb rugby, the Cork side ran in seven tries with winger Cronan Healy exceptional in attack and the pick of the Con players.

The home side started the better and took the lead in the second minute when outhalf Darragh Lyons kicked a penalty.

They were ahead 8-0 by the 10th minute following a great passage of play that went left first and then right before winger Cronan Healy touched down in the corner.

Lyons missed the conversion but made amends in the 17th minute when he kicked his second penalty of the game to increase the lead to 11-0.

Things got worse for Blackrock in the 22nd minute when Mark Legg was sin-binned for an off-the-ball offence spotted by referee Marshall Kilgore.

And they were duly punished even further three minutes later when Brendan Cuttriss went over for Con's second try.

Lyons converted from the touchline and Con were out of sight, leading 18-0.

Cronan Healy scored a superb second try in the 31st minute when he intercepted a Fionn Carr pass deep inside his own 22 to run the 80 metres or so in record time to touch down for a try.

Lyons missed the conversion to leave it at the half 230 to the home side.

The nearest the visitors came to scoring in the opening 40 minutes was two missed Paddy O'Toole penalties.

Cork Con ensured a bonus point two minutes after the restart when Tom Gleeson went over in the corner.

Lyons converted to make it 50% for him from four conversion attempts as the lead stretched to 30 points (300).

Captain fantastic Frank Cogan ran in try number five in the 47th minute as Con continued to run riot.

Lyons again converted as the score became more and more embarrassing for the Dublin side (37-0).

Richard Lane added try number six in the 58th minute after a great run by full-back Conrad O'Sullivan created the chance for him.

Tom Ryan added another try for Con in the 68th minute to see his side run out easy winners.

CORK CONSTITUTION C O'Sullivan; R Lane, T Gleeson, A O'Brien, C Healy; D Lyons, F Murphy; T Ryan, D Murray, M Ross; S O'Connor, J Moloney ; M O'Connell, B Cuttriss, F Cogan Subs S Cotterill for O'Connor, 15 mins; E Leamy for Moloney, 52 mins; J Danagher for Ross, 56 mins; A Ryan for Murphy, 60 mins; L Hill for Cogan, 66 mins

BLACKROCK COLLEGE A Henry; F Carr, G Brown, P Graham, P Caulwell (K Gilligan 70); P O'Toole, P Beirne; C Murphy, A McSweeney, G Fitzgerald; M Legg, E Cullen; D Dillon, D Laf"n, E Manawaiti Subs D Gavin for McSweeney and S Madigan for Manawaiti, 48 mins; R Molloy for Beirne, 53 mi ns; S Byrne for Murphy, 68 mins; K Gilligan for Caulwell, 70 mins Referee M Kilgore (USR)