Following on from their home win against Garryowen, Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) recorded their second victory over Limerick opposition in the space of two weeks, this time away to Young Munster, to climb to sixth in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League, winning 15-12. On what was a fairly miserable weekend for Irish rugby fans, Trinity Rugby supporters were cheered up by what could end up being a crucial win on the road. While the top four have pulled away in recent rounds, the battle for survival remains extremely tight in this very tough league. This win gives DUFC some breathing space with further winnable fixtures to come.
Young Munster were clear favourites coming into this game, having sat in either first or second place for most of the season. Since their flying start to the campaign, Trinity have struggled of late and their current target is to avoid relegation. That did not stop the students from starting the better of the two sides at Tom Clifford Park. After only five minutes, number eight Tom Ryan, who is in fine form, crashed over the line to give the visitors their first try. Left-wing, Bryan Mollen, was unusually on goal-kicking duties on this occasion and slotted the conversion.
Things got better for DUFC as Pierce Dargan, playing blindside flanker, got over for the team’s second try following a charge-down on 22 minutes. Not many of the Trinity faithful could have imagined such an impressive start against such strong opposition. Young Munster openside flanker Dan Walsh brought them back down to earth when he scored his side’s first try just before the half-time whistle. Trinity, however, were happy going into the break with a 12-7 lead considering their underdog status.
The home side got off to flying start in the second-half. Replacement Elie Mundu got over for a try only three minutes after the game’s resumption and the scores were level at 12-12. DUFC were determined not to let the opportunity for a hugely important win slip by them and kept their performance level high. There were no scores for over half an hour in this tense game. Eventually, with only three minutes remaining on the clock, Trinity were awarded a penalty wide on the left-hand side of the pitch. This would have been a difficult kick for any player, let alone an irregular goal-kicker. However, it did not phase Mollen who split the sticks. This was to be the final score of the game and DUFC ended up 15-12 winners.
The magnitude of this result will only truly come into focus at the end of the season but it appears to be a major milestone on the journey towards survival in this league for DUFC. They now sit in sixth position, four spots and nine points ahead of automatic relegation and three spots and six points ahead of the dreaded relegation-promotion play-off, from which Trinity themselves benefited last year. With two of the final three fixtures at home to sides the students have already beaten away, in the form of Terenure and St Mary’s, DUFC should be confident that survival is within reach. To stay in this league would be a marvellous achievement, especially considering this is Trinity’s first time in Division 1A and the bookies had them as favourites to go down in September.
The one remaining away fixture is the Colours match in the Belfield Bowl. There will be much more than simple league points on the line in this game between bitter rivals. UCD picked up a strong win away to Mary’s this weekend so both teams appear to be coming into the game on form. If the last few years of this prestigious match are anything to go by, rugby fans are in for a treat. The style of play on show is always of a fantastic quality. Two players involved in the 2015 match, Dan Leavy and James Tracy, have gone on to gain full international caps for Ireland. Trinity’s immediate focus now turns to the crucial game against Mary’s in College Park on March 25th.
