Buccaneers 25
Trinity 23
Rory McCarthy | Deputy Sports Editor
DUFC’s awesome winning streak in the Ulster Bank League came to a heartbreaking end in Athlone after a tough and committed Buccaneers side put them to the sword on Saturday afternoon last. Trinity had a very bright start when after a great turnover by Warren Larkin and a quick break by Brian Du Toit, Trinity scored a clever yet cheeky try through Jack Kelly.
However it was a false dawn as Buccaneers through the excellent Jack Carty and uber-physical Kolo Kiripati brought Buccs crashing into the game at breakneck speed. Connacht ‘A’ winger Mark McCrea was also prominent as Buccs began to spread the ball wide early and fast to stretch the Trinity defence.
Buccs played exactly to their strength. Ex-Wanderers back row Kiripati nearly always required two tacklers to fell him giving Carty extra space to exploit. The consistent practice of trying to rip the ball off Kiripati by some DUFC defenders didn’t help slow his momentum and after Trinity’s early lead he restored parity with a try off a maul with the conversion added to make it 7-5 to the visitors.
DUFC’s Collie McDonnell brought crashing to earth during Saturday’s defeat in Dubarry Park. Photo: Peter Wolfe
Trinity were unfortunate to suffer quite a few injuries and some small niggles forced substitutions to be made that affected their rhythm and continuity. David Joyce was having a very good kicking game and probed in behind Bucc’s line to great effect. However a crucial period of ten minutes saw Trinity fall way short of their normal standards allowing Buccs to build an imposing lead. It started with a Carty break that saw the Ireland 20s outhalf glide through untouched and feed McCrea to see the ex-Ulster representative dive over for a try.
Buccs employed a varied and accurate kicking game. Carty used chip kicks over the top of the Trinity blitz defence that fullback Shane Leyden scorched onto time and time again. Also utilized by scrumhalf Mark Dolan were high Garryowens and following one relieving kick that was gathered by the abrasive and energetic David Heffernan, Buccs added their third try from Shane Leyden to make it 15-7. Their lead could have been bigger were Carty not having an off day with his place kicking, missing all three conversions and an early penalty attempt.
Trinity tried to settle themselves and had a few forays into the Buccs twenty-two where Tom Collis and Brian Du Toit carried aggressively and strongly. On one occasion Collis crossed the line but it was deemed held-up much to the surprise of Collis, his teammates and indeed the Buccaneers defence. However Trinity spoiled their opportunities through indiscipline, handling errors and just plain bad luck.
Buccs, to their credit, were awesome with Heffernan and Kiripati very hungry in defence, consistently seeking out Trinity’s go-to ball carriers for special attention. One grimacing hit on Paddy Lavelle caused a loud groan around Dubarry Park with even the home fans feeling its force.
Carty added another penalty to make it 18-7 and then Trinity’s game plan began to unravel.
Outhalf David Joyce went off injured with a nasty looking ankle injury before half-time but his replacement Cathal Marsh and the impressive Ciaran Wade added penalties to make it 18-13.
However, Trinity were now playing a reactive game to Buccs, having to respond to the home teams actions rather than try and hold possession and set their own tempo. Jack Kelly was playing as strongly as ever, making dozens of tackles and carrying with menace to the Buccs line. But a further bout of soft defending off a Buccs lineout saw Kiripati go over for his second try to make it 25-13 at half-time, Buccs having secured the bonus point.
After halftime Trinity began to assert themselves a bit more on the game with Collie McDonnell and Martin Kelly having strong cameos from the bench.
After some excellent inter-play between David Fanagan and Niyi Adelokun down the left touchline Trinity opened their account with Neil Hanratty sliding over for a try. Marsh’s excellent conversion from the touchline made it 20-25.
Kiripati, who was only returning from injury, began to drift out of the game as his opposite number Jack Dilger joined Kelly and Du Toit in aggressively taking the ball to the Buccs line, being much more proactive against a Buccs side mystified at how they had let DUFC back into the match. Ciaran Wade was distributing brilliantly across the backline and making a number of outstanding breaks on the outside to get Trinity down the pitch. Wade put in one massive hit on Leyden that saw Trinity win a penalty to kick down the line.
It was the start of prolonged period of Trinity pressure in the Buccs twenty-two that failed to produce a score. The seminal moment of the game occurred when within sight of the try line, Adelokun elected to cut infield rather than dive. Given how wet the pitch was, a dive may have carried him over the try line.
Marsh reduced the gap to two points with his penalty kick but it was to be Trinity’s last say of the game as again in search of scoring chances they became frantic and flustered. Buccs, who had played superb rugby in the first half clung on for a huge win that ended DUFC’s unbeaten run in the Ulster Bank League that had stretched back to October 2011.
Yet, despite a fruitless foray in Athlone, defeat can’t take the gloss off what has been a phenomenal calendar year for Dublin University Football Club.
