Con win University challenge to go third
AIL RUGBY
Daire Walsh
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY………………………. 10
CORK CONSTITUTION…………………….. 30
Daire Walsh
CORK CON are up to third in the Ulster Bank League Division 1A table following their comprehensive victory over Dublin University (Trinity) at College Park on Saturday.
Brian Hickey’s outfit had secured wins against St Mary’s College and Old Belvedere on their previous visits to the capital and they broke the deadlock courtesy of a 30m Tomas Quinlan penalty four minutes into the action.
Indeed, strong carries by winger Rob Jermyn and Conor Kindregan forced Trinity on the back-foot at the start of the second-quarter, and Quinlan doubled his team’s lead from a tricky right-hand angle.
However, the visitors were left reeling in the 26th-minute, when Trinity’s Colm Hogan dotted down in the left-corner under severe pressure. Fennelly’s superb touchline conversion edged Trinity into the ascendancy, but thanks to another successful Quinlan three-pointer, the visitors brought a 9-7 cushion into the interval.
As a result, Con were confident of pushing on when the action resumed, and following Quinlan’s kick to the corner in the 46th-minute, a strong maul was finished off by Liam O’Connor for a converted score.
This created daylight in the play, but with the influential Kindregan serving time in the sin-bin, Con’s momentum was temporarily halted. Trinity reduced their deficit with a successful Fennelly penalty, before Kindregan capped his return by powering over from another clinical attacking move with 14 minutes left.
Quinlan added to his tally from his second bonus kick of the day, and after Kenneally broke free for a spectacular touchdown, he completed a satisfying day at the office for Cork Con by increasing his personal haul to 15 points.
Scorers for Dublin University: C Hogan try, J Fennelly pen, con.
Scorers for Cork Constitution: L O’Connor, C Kindregan, N Kenneally try each, T Quinlan 3 pens, 3 cons.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY: Jack Kelly; Brian Mollen, Michael Courtney, Kyle Dixon, Colm Hogan; Jack Fennelly, Dan Joyce; Eric O’Sullivan, Patrick Finlay, Andy Keating; Jack Burke, Pierce Dargan; Sam Pim, Dermot O’Flynn, Tom Ryan.
Replacements: Evan Dixon for Mollen (49), Mollen for Hogan (58), Liam Cronin for O’Flynn (63), Cian O’Dwyer for Ryan (67), Tommy Whittle for Fennelly (74), Fintan Murphy for Keating (76).
CORK CONSTITUTION: Liam O’Connell; JJ O’Neill, Ned Hodson, Niall Kenneally, Rob Jermyn; Tomas Quinlan, John Poland; Liam O’Connor, Max Abbott, Rory Burke; Brian Hayes, Conor Kindregan; Graeme Lawlor, James Murphy, Evan Mintern.
Replacements Ross O’Neill for (33-52 & 56), Ger Sweeney for Burke (52), Gavin Duffy O’Connor (63), Michael Clune for JJ O’Neill (67-74), Billy Pope for Termin (77), Jermyn for JJ O’Neill (78), O’Connor for Kenneally (81).
Referee: Paul Haycock (IRFU).