Sport

UCD sail on to comfortable win

All-Ireland League Colours Match UCD 25 Dublin University 13 It took only 80 minutes for UCD to show Dublin University that …

Sat Nov 12 2005 - 00:00

All-Ireland League Colours Match UCD 25 Dublin University 13It took only 80 minutes for UCD to show Dublin University that last year's titanic draw was more of a freak wave than a changing of the tides as they sailed to their ninth win in the last 10 years of the 54th annual Colours Match, which also doubled as an AIB League tie, at Donnybrook last night.

UCD held the considerable talents of Leinster's Robert Kearney and Ronan McCormack in reserve on the bench, and it was easy to surmise that Trinity required a devastating start to have any chance of a shock.

Eoghan Hickey's penalty and pinpoint, crossfield kick for Stephen Grissing to collect and plant across the line was not in their script.

Then, centre Ken Kennedy's flip pass was eaten up by Hickey who had a free run to the line for a try he converted himself.

READ MORE

Trinity outhalf Donal Crotty nailed a long-range penalty after Kevin Croke's late challenge on the same player to leave it at 15-3 at the interval. Crotty was on the mark again to give Trinity a glimmer of hope, but Kearney and McCormack were involved by the 50th minute.

Hickey's accurate kicking and Philip Howard's decision to go in high on Kearney resulted in a third UCD try in the 75th minute.

It was left to blindside Philip Rowe to deliver the try that Trinity had needed two minutes from the start, not the finish, and it served as a mere consolation.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN: R McCarron; S Grissing, K Kennedy, N Kearns, D McKenna; E Hickey, B O'Riordan; J A Lee, C Geoghegan, K Doyle, B Hall, R Mandeno, S Crawford, K Croke (capt), K McLaughlin.

Replacements: R Kearney for McCarron (half-time); R McCormack for Lee (50 mins); L Burke for Mandeno (58 mins).

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: P Howard; S Hanratty, G Byron, C Donohue, F Keane; D Crotty, M D'Arcy; N Conlon, M Crockett (capt), P Doran-Jones, M Garvey, M Warburton, P Rowe, H Hogan, G Herrera.

Replacements: K O'Neill for Doran-Jones (65 mins); J Watt for Keane (68 mins); C McShane for D'Arcy, R Morrow, for Herrera, M Cooney for Crockett (all 78 mins).

Referee: D Keane (ARLB).