Ormond given a rugby education by Trinity

RUGBY: Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B Round 4

Dublin University 29

Nenagh Ormond 7

Report: Mike McMahon at College Park, Dublin

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Jonathon Ginnety (Dublin University)

SCORERS – Dublin University: Tries: Browne (2), Lynch, Ginnety; Cons: Tracey (3); Pen: Tracey (1)

Nenagh Ormond: Try: Burke; Con: Stewart

Nenagh Ormond slipped to out of the playoff spots in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League after a disappointing Saturday afternoon at College Park, where a rampant Dublin University (Trinity College) side ran out convincing winners.

Cold and wet, with a stiff cross-field breeze, conditions were hardly ideal for open rugby, but nobody seemed to have informed the home side. Recycling quickly at ruck time and playing to width at every opportunity, the students showed impressive skill levels in a dominant first half display which yielded four unanswered tries.

Winger James Browne opened the scoring on nine minutes, putting the finishing touch to a sustained passage of home pressure and in their next attack, the students went fourteen points clear as centre Hugo Lynch gathered a chip over the top to touch down under the posts.

Chasing shadows for much of the first half, Nenagh were uncharacteristically subdued as they struggled to get a foothold in the game. Although they held a clear edge at scrum time, the visitors could not turn it to their advantage as Trinity grew in confidence and looked dangerous every time they had the ball.

Impressive second rower Jonathon Ginnety almost increased the home side's lead when he broke clear on the half hour but was hauled down just short of the line. The reprieve did not last long however as winger James Browne made a decisive line-break shortly after, showing good speed to round the defence and touch down for his side's third try.

The bonus-point arrived with three minutes of the half remaining as Ginnety got on the end of another flowing attack phase from the students. With scrum-half Conor Tracey adding the extras, this left the half-time score at 26-0 and Nenagh looking out of the contest.

To their credit, the visitors gave their fans a glimmer of hope early in the second-half through a try from prop Mathew Burke but they were unable to add to that effort despite having a couple of opportunities as they slowly began to get more into the game.

Entering the final quarter, Nenagh conceded a penalty on the ten-metre line and the home side took the pragmatic decision to go for the posts. Tracey's successful kick effectively put his side out of reach and ultimately was the final score in a game which the students held out comfortably to secure a well-deserved victory.

The defeat sees Nenagh drop to sixth place in the table but, with the division tightly bunched in the early stages, they remain only four points off leaders Highfield. Another university side in MU (Maynooth University) Barnhall will provide the opposition for Nenagh in round 5 and they will be looking for a much better showing if they are to get their promotion aspirations back on track in front of their home support at New Ormond Park.

TEAMS – Dublin University: Geoff O'Sullivan, James Browne, Hugo Lynch, Callum McDonald, Johnny O'Sullivan, Stephen McMahon, Conor Tracey; Karl Brennan, Harry O’Neill, Hunter Deane-Johns; Jonathan Ginnety, Artur Smykovskiy; Conall Henchy, Jack O’Neill, Daniel Cox.

Reps: Rory O'Connor-O'Hehir, Eoin McDermott, Daniel Colgan, Paul Dunne, Sean McDonald, Charlie Naughton.

Nenagh Ormond: Matt Brice; Luke Graham, Conor McMahon, Patrick Scully, Fionn Higgins; Jonty Stewart, Aaron Maloney; Iva Struzia, Ignacio Falla, Matthew Burke, Kevin Seymour, Kevin O'Flaherty, Oli Ayling, John Brislane, John O'Flaherty (Capt).

Reps: Taylor Coles, Richie Whelan, Robbie Tynan, Rob Buckley, Liam Walsh, Derek Corcoran.

Referee: Ross Whitfield