DUBLIN UNIVERSITY 10 CORK CONSTITUTION 30, College Park
Scorers: Dublin University: Try: Colm Hogan; Con: James Fennelly; Pen: James Fennelly
Cork Constitution: Tries: Liam O’Connor, Conor Kindregan, Niall Kenneally; Cons: Tomas Quinlan 3; Pens: Tomas Quinlan 3
HT: Dublin University 7 Cork Constitution 9
It proved to be another memorable visit to the capital for Cork Constitution as they ran out comprehensive 30-10 winners over a disappointing Dublin University side at College Park.
There was little to separate the teams during the first half, but a scoring blitz over the closing 40 minutes, which was capped off by an excellent individual try from captain Niall Kenneally, has moved Constitution up to third in the Division 1A table.
Con’s ever-dependable out-half Tomas Quinlan split the posts with a routine 30-metre penalty in the fourth minute, while the visitors held firm after Trinity twice opted for touch rather than kick at goal.
Strong carries from Rob Jermyn and Conor Kindregan forced the students onto the back foot, and just past the 20-minute mark, Quinlan doubled the lead from a tricky right hand angle.
The students’ decision to kick for touch from a third offensive penalty finally paid off in the 26th minute when pacy winger Colm Hogan squeezed through for a try in the left corner under severe pressure.
James Fennelly’s superb touchline conversion edged Trinity in front, but even though it looked like they might hold out until half-time, a late Quinlan three-pointer gave the Leesiders a 9-7 interval cushion.
With four consecutive wins under their belts heading into this contest, Constitution were confident of pushing on when play resumed. Quinlan kicked to the corner from a 46th minute penalty, and a strong maul on the right flank was finished off by prop Liam O’Connor for a converted score.
With influential Cork Con lock Kindregan serving time in the sin-bin for a high-tackle, Trinity reduced their deficit with a Fennelly penalty. However, they could not make their numerical advantage count to any significant degree, and Kindregan capped his return by powering over the line from another enterprising attack with 14 minutes remaining.
Quinlan added to his tally from his second conversion attempt of the day, and when Kenneally broke free for a spectacular touchdown on the stroke of 70 minutes, he once again split the posts with relative ease.
This brought his personal tally up to 15 points, and although Brian Hickey’s men had to contend with a number of injuries throughout the course of a physical encounter, they found themselves in a commanding position as the final whistle approached.
With Sam Pim and skipper Jack Burke leading by example, Trinity almost claimed a consolation try in the dying moments, but the watertight Cork Con rearguard secured turnover possession before closing out the game.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Jack Kelly; Bryan Mollen, Michael Courtney, Kyle Dixon, Colm Hogan; James Fennelly, Daniel Joyce; Eric O’Sullivan, Paddy Finlay, Andrew Keating, Jack Burke (capt), Pierce Dargan, Sam Pim, Dermot O’Flynn, Tom Ryan.
Replacements: Liam Cronin, Fintan Murphy, Cian O’Dwyer, Tommy Whittle, Evan Dixon.
CORK CONSTITUTION: Liam O’Connell; JJ O’Neill, Niall Kenneally (capt), Ned Hodson, Rob Jermyn; Tomas Quinlan, John Poland; Liam O’Connor, Max Abbott, Rory Burke, Brian Hayes, Conor Kindregan, Graeme Lawler, James Murphy, Evan Mintern.
Replacements: Ger Sweeney, Gavin Duffy, Cian Barry, Ross O’Neill, Jason Higgins, Shane Daly, Michael Clune.