Dublin College FC v Lansdowne FC
Energia AIL Division 1 A
Saturday 2nd December 2023
School Park
Dublin College 3 – 17 Lansdowne
If a workforce near the underside of the league is meant to be simple opposition, nobody informed the students of Trinity School final Saturday. The scholars dominated possession and territory all through the sport, however simply couldn’t translate their benefit into factors. However credit score the place it’s due, the Lansdowne defence was tireless and when alternative introduced itself, we struck. We could have been “extensively thought to be ‘Trinity Second String’ in 1872”, based on the house match programme, however we have been deserving winners on the day.
Shrouded in wintery mist, School Park appeared extra like Hogwarts than ever, because the groups took to that hallowed pitch. Previous buddies, the 2 golf equipment share a fantastic historical past and in addition just a few gamers within the current. Trinity outhalf, Harry Colbert, wingforward David Walsh, winger Calum O’Reilly, and utility again Hugh O’Kennedy all discovered their craft with Lansdowne minis and youths (below the watchful eye of Michael O’Brien), whereas our personal hooker Tom Barry continues to be a pupil in Trinity. Such overlaps didn’t result in a let-up within the competitors, which was quick and fierce from the kick-off.
Trinity drew first blood on the 5 minute mark when Harry Colbert slotted over a penalty from the center of the park. And although they spent many of the subsequent interval in our half, a short foray into theirs yielded a penalty which Stephan Madigan transformed, his first of many vital kicks on the day. The scholars continued to camp in our half for the rest of the primary quarter, their assault relentless, however our defence was agile and aggressive in equal measure. We didn’t sit again and soak up what they threw at us, moderately we needed to defend actively and this led to some offsides and associated infringements, finally leading to a Lansdowne yellow card simply after the half hour mark.
If we have been composed in defence, sadly the identical couldn’t be mentioned of us once we had possession. We appeared decided to reward our hosts with the ball at each alternative, none extra so than on our personal line outs. These wizardly students should have damaged our lineout codes and contested every throw, robbing us of many, a lot of our personal balls. However for all their craftiness, they couldn’t breach our line and it was in certainly one of a lot of their thwarted assaults that they spilled the ball ahead on our 22 and we burst again in counterattack. From the breakdown ruck ball, quantity eight Harry Van Eeden burst away on the poorly defended Trinity blindside. Breaking via the primary sort out he offloaded to centre Andy Marks, who made one other 20 metres to carry us for a uncommon go to into their half. There he was joined by speedy winger Sean Galvin and although he had loads of floor to cowl, he wasn’t ever going to be caught earlier than scoring within the nook. Stephen struck the ball fantastically, drawing it in to safe a superb and vital conversion. 3 – 10 with 5 minutes left of the half.
Trinity piled on the strain for the remaining 5 minutes, however glorious defensive scrumming and mauling (notably with solely seven forwards on the pitch) helped us preserve them at bay till the break.
The second half began with us regaining some measure of management of the sport and operating just a few phases, however once more, errors and unreliable set items (trace: not the scrum) undid any momentum we’d construct up. Although we have been again to fifteen males once more, we have been additionally again on the ropes. If college students have been purported to tire within the later segments of a recreation, it was yet one more memo this Trinity workforce didn’t obtain. Their strain continued and we struggled to flee from our personal 22. Good scrums, mauls and even glorious defensive clearances from Stephen would all be undone by a sloppy mistake and handover of possession and territory.
Nonetheless, in opposition to the run of play maybe, we did handle to cobble collectively just a few chess strikes that introduced us swiftly up the pitch into their territory. A superb clearance from Mads following a Trinity penalty on our 10 m line introduced us to close the midway. Mercifully, a fantastic line out and following a break down the center of the pitch from centre Rory Parata, Trinity have been pinged for going off their ft within the ruck that adopted. Stephen planted the kick completely on their 10m metre line and the lineout and maul that adopted have been issues of magnificence too. Ever-present quantity 8 Harry Van Eaden was the person to the touch it down and the guests and their touring entourage breathed a collective sigh of reduction. One other cracking conversion from Stephen Madigan made it 3 – 17 as we entered the ultimate quarter.
Far too early to loosen up, we resumed our defensive camp inside our 22, with the scholars making an attempt each spell within the e-book. Ultimately their strain yielded a outcome they usually crossed our line for the primary time all day. It was yet one more lineout maul on our 10 meter line and unable to drive over, they moved the ball into the centre of the park. They have been first to the breakdown and their openside wing ahead bounded over our line below the put up. Certainly the conversion would chop the margin to a one rating recreation, however the ref mentioned No and reversed the attempt, saying it was a double motion. Fortunately for delicate ears on the sideline, many of the Trinity supporters have been talking Historical Greek, so their feedback will stay a thriller.
Our defence wasn’t fairly determined, however it was artistic and so it led to a different yellow card. With lower than 10 minutes to play, we have been again right down to 14 males and we wanted to attract on sensible outdated heads like Clive Ross and Jack Cooke, to handle the ball and the clock intelligently. And they also did and the whistle lastly blew. FT 3 – 17
Solely the stoniest of hearts wouldn’t really feel some sympathy for our hosts who performed many of the rugby and by no means appeared like tiring. However it’s a very encouraging signal of a facet that’s settling properly mid-season that we are able to nonetheless “win ugly” when not fairly at our greatest.
See you all subsequent week for our final residence recreation this 12 months versus our different outdated buddies, Clontarf.
Lansdowne expects …
Match Report – Brian Whelan
