Match Result
- Result: Galwegians Firsts 3 - UCD 35
- Venue: Crowley Park on Sat Oct 31st 2015
- Competition: AIL Division 1A
Match Report
Galwegians suffered a massively disappointing second straight defeat in Division 1a and lost their unbeaten record in the process against a rampant UCD side at a sun-kissed Crowley Park on Saturday. They can have few complaints as they were outplayed almost from start to finish.
The students did not take long to assert themselves, and two early scrum turnovers unsettled the hosts who were wearing their away strip of black. College centre Conall Doherty put his side ahead with two straightforward penalties inside the opening quarter, and it was no surprise when the visitors scored the opening try soon after. Following yet another scrum turnover, the students went on the attack and a right to left move resulted in winger Barry Daly crossing near the left corner on 23 minutes.
There was to be no respite for Wegians who did not help their own cause with some sloppy errors and poor set-pieces, which simply handed the initiative right back to their opponents. The students made the most of it and just before half-time, the try of the game resulted in a mesmeric move involving most of their team, with full-back Adam Byrne taking the final pass to score try number two. Doherty missed the conversion again, and Wegians were given the slightest ray of hope when they finally won a penalty in opposition territory, which out-half Aidan Moynihan converted to reduce the gap to 16-3 at the break.
Unfortunately it was normal service resumed after the restart as the hosts went in for the kill. On 45 minutes their third try arrived when Doherty took a simple crash ball off a lineout with a perfectly timed run to slice through the middle and dot down under the posts, which he converted himself to put the game beyond reach.
Wegians centre Brian Murphy was binned shortly after with the penalty count mounting, and a bonus point seemed a formality at this stage. However some heroic defence from Wegians saw them lift a siege on the hour mark following a succession of scrum penalties on their line. But cruelly, just when a breakaway move was on, a loose pass by Murphy was picked off easily by UCD centre Jack Power who sauntered home unopposed for the bonus fourth try.
Wegians threw caution to the wind at this stage in a bid to salvage some pride, and although Cormac Brennan came close late on, the visitors sealed a perfect day when another breakaway move by their lightning quick backs saw full-back Byrne score his second and his side’s fifth try.
Coaches Matt Brown and John Muldoon will have a lot to do to pick their side up after this bruising defeat, as their next match is a very difficult away assignment against Clontarf this Saturday.