Tel/Fax: +353 (0)91 799 215
Corinthians suffered their first defeat in there AIL Div 2a campaign against University College Dublin in Cloonacauneen Park on Saturday afternoon in very blustery conditions. The students started brightly with the windy conditions favouring them and they were on the score board after five minutes when the home side conceded a penalty in front of posts man of the match outhalf and captain David Joyce slotted the penalty for the visitors.Corinthians did well for the next twenty minutes powering up the pitch with captain Fionn Gormley the driving force and the students conceded a penalty on there ten meter line.The home side decided to go for goal against the gael and centre Wayne Williams was well short with same giving the students an opportunity to break down field. This led to a turn over with the Cloonacauneen outfit been penalized again and Joyce converted to lead by six points.Just before the break IRFU referee Richard Kerr had to call both front rows aside for consistent barging in the ensuing scrum Corinthians were again penalized.Joyce converted same for the Dublin outfit to lead by nine points to nil at halftime.
The messing continued in the front row after the break and Kerr had no option but to yellow card Corinthian loose head Finlay Bealham and TCD’s tight head Paddy McCabe.The home side gathered a bit of impetus during this period with lock Pat Cunningham and prop Tom Toolan to the fore with the students conseding a penalty in front of posts.Williams converted same. It was no quarter asked or given for the next twenty minutes by both packs and eventually TCD conceded another penalty which Williams again converted.Late in to the last quarter Williams had an opportunity to draw level after TCD’S front row collapsed the scrum but he was just wide with same.Corinthians had a great chance of stealing the game at the death with fullback Darren Classen making a great break for the line but his final pass to substitude Mickey Murphy going astray. But you have to hand it to students with there second rows Jack Kelly and Colin McDonnell kepping the ball tight in the mauls until ref Richard Kerr blew time up.The result left Corinthians joint leaders with three other teams as they travel to Malone next week. Final score Corinthians 6==Dublin University 9.
Corinthian Team;R Kennedy,D Classen,F Gormley(capt),W Williams,B Dixon,(M Murphy).E Flynn,(M O Flynn).K Marmion,F Bealham,K O Byrne,(D Small).T Toolan,G Warde,P Cunningham,J Merigan,L Berini,A Casanova,
