It was a tough day at the office for Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) Women’s team yesterday, as it fell victim to a 71-0 thrashing at the hands of a merciless Institute of Technology, Carlow side. Played in mucky conditions in Carlow, the game marked Trinity’s third successive defeat in Division 1 of the SSI Women’s Rugby League.
Carlow blitzed DUFC from the off, touching down for two early tries to set the tone for the rest of the game. Ill-discipline from both sides was an issue throughout, but it was Carlow who had the first player sent to the sin-bin, after repeated penalties for hands in the ruck and dissent. Nevertheless, Carlow maintained the initiative with two more unconverted tries to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Trinity struggled at the scrum, with a much larger Carlow pack dominating them physically. They had some joy in the lineout, where flanker Kayla Young turned a number of Carlow throw-ins into Trinity possession. However, it was not enough and Carlow’s dominance was almost absolute.
Trinity out-half Charlotte Bowen was shown yellow midway through the first half for a high tackle. The visitors did not cope well after her removal from play, and quickly conceded two further tries. With morale sinking rapidly, Young was also sin-binned after repeatedly giving away penalties in the ruck. One further unconverted try later and Trinity trudged off for half-time with the score at 39-0 to Carlow.
DUFC emerged for the second half with Young still watching from the bench and Carlow was ruthless in exploiting the gaps left by her absence. Desperate to plug the leak, Trinity was sucked in towards the ball, leaving acres of space out wide. The hosts were only too happy to run into these defensive holes, landing five tries in the space of half an hour in a relentless display of attacking rugby.
Although on the back foot for almost all of the game, Trinity did create some opportunities of its own in the last quarter. However, unforced handling errors put paid to most of these and Trinity was unable to claim what would only have been a consolation try. To add insult to injury, Bowen was yellow-carded once again towards the end. After one final unconverted try from Carlow, the referee brought to an end what was in truth a miserable day for DUFC.
With no Leinster League game this weekend, DUFC will have time to reflect on today’s performance. After three defeats in a row at college level, there are undoubtedly issues that need addressing in order for results to pick up.
