Winger Lane, who usually plays full-back, scored two tries and kicked a conversion and two penalties to keep Con top of the table after three wins from three.

Lane touched down after 10 and 25 minutes to set up a 15-7 interval lead for the hosts who leaked a fourth-minute try to Belvedere’s Barry Kinsella.

In a stop-start game, a Lane penalty was the only score of the second half as Con secured the points despite hitting top gear.

With Munster’s Jeremy Manning named at out-half, Con selected a full strength side for the meeting with last season’s beaten Division Two finalists.

Belvedere included two stars of recent Ireland underage sides in their line-up – the Under-20s’ Felix Jones at full-back and Under-19 World Cup player Eoin O’Malley in the centre – and as ever, they had the experienced Richie Murphy pulling the strings at out-half.

The Dubliners had been unfortunate not to gain more out of their recent games against Shannon and Dolphin than two losing bonus points and their luck looked like it might change when they skipped in for a fourth-minute try against Con.

A crisp passing move led to inside centre Kinsella charging through and over the whitewash, allowing Murphy to ping the conversion over from close range.

Con took the lead though in the tenth-minute when a simple overlap allowed Lane round in close to the posts for a try which he converted himself. A second try followed for the former Ireland Under-21 international after 25 minutes.

But in a tie that never really got going, two penalties from Lane either side of the break were enough for Con to hold on to their lead and maintain their 100% start to the season, ahead of next Saturday’s mouth-watering clash with defending champions Garryowen at Temple Hill.

Con did have the lion’s share of possession but they could not convert it into points and the closest they came to another score was when a Manning drop goal attempt just went wide of the uprights.

Scorers: Cork Constitution: Tries: Richie Lane 2; Con: Richie Lane; Pens: Richie Lane 2 Old Belvedere: Try: Barry Kinsella; Con: Richie Murphy