All-Ireland League/ Co Carlow 34; UCD 19: If Co Carlow had produced this kind of form for the whole campaign they would be in the play-off shake-up instead of languishing in mid-table.
Nevertheless the impressive six-try demolition of UCD on Saturday shows the club is continuing to move in the right direction.
The half back pairing of player-coach Dan van Zyl and Benjamin Young dictated affairs but it was the power and pace of Michael Swetman in the centre that stole most of the plaudits. Time and again he broke through the defensive lines.
UCD led at half-time but their failure to capitalise more on the favourable wind proved crucial as the more rugged Carlow pack went through the gears after the break.
Niall McNamara provided the first spark with a clever "show-and-go" manoeuvre after just five minutes. The result was a try near the posts, which Phil Bredin converted.
Carlow's first foray into the student's territory saw flanker David Cox rumble over only for Young to screw the conversion wide.
Soon afterwards disaster struck for UCD when Bredin was forced off injured. The replacement kickers, McNamara and Conor Sharpe, missed three penalties in succession to leave UCD with a two-point lead.
They were duly punished when Young dived over in the 22nd minute before Swetman sent Thomas Bonnefoy over for their third try.
The performance of UCD open-side Tom Carter was impressive, the Connacht player crossing for two fine tries. The first came when he put Gareth Hayes in space before collecting the wingers return pass. The second, UCD's third, came after he picked a good support line before rounding under the posts. Sharpe added the extras to make it 19-15 at the end of the half.
With the wind now behind them, Carlow took the lead when Swetman gathered his own block-down before offloading in the tackle for Ian Dwyer who raced over in the corner. Carlow were cruising as Young landed the difficult conversion.
They wrapped up the points when Andy Melville made a charge up the short side before giving Maurice Logue a stroll to the line, albeit with a pass that looked a mile forward.
Carlow breached the defence one more time with Dwyer scrambling over for his second try.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 5 MINS: N McNamara try, 0-5; P Bredin conv, 0-7; 14: D Cox try, 5-7; 22: B Young try, 10-7; 30: T Carter try, 10-12; 34: T Bonnefoy try, 15-12; 36: Carter try, 15-17; C Sharpe conv, 15-19. Half-time. 48: I Dwyer try, 20-19; Young conv, 22-19; 58: M Logue try, 27-19; 76: Dwyer try, 32-19; Young conv, 34-19.
UCD: P Bredin; G Hayes, K Kennedy, P Hickey-Dwyer, D McKenna; N McNamara, J Moroney; B Hall, M Moynagh, J Montgomery; P Callanan, C Davis; L Burke, T Carter, K Croke. Replacements: C Sharpe for Bredin (10 mins); K Doyle for Montgomery (44 mins); J Healy for M Moynagh (61 mins); S Abbott for Callanan (69 mins).
CO CARLOW: T Bonnefoy; M Buckley, I Dwyer, M Swetman, M Logue; B Young, D Van Zyl; P Brennan, C Gee, K Corrigan; L O'Byrne, P Holden; D Cox, N Peavoy, S Brown. Replacements: A Melville for Brown (14-20 mins); Melville for Peavoy (44 mins); K Ashmore for Brennan (52 mins); K Corrigan for Gee (63 mins); D Mallon for Brown (64 mins).
Referee: M Kilgore (Ulster).
