TRINITY NEWS
Wednesday 5th December 2012
Sport
The year in review: Sarah Burns and James Hussey look back on 2012’s top sporting moments p.22
Ladies’ rugby captain, Tara Deane, lifts the Kay Bowen Trophy in College Park. Photo: Peter Wolfe.
Trinity GAA secures Sigerson status
Ladies’ rugby team lifts inaugural intervarsity cup Tara Deane Contributor
O
n a cold Saturday morning at College Park, DU Ladies’ Football Club took on University College Cork (UCC) for the Kay Bowen Trophy. The cup for the new ladies’ rugby intervarsity championship was named after Trinity’s own Kay Bowen, the first woman to be president of an All-Ireland League rugby club (namely our own men’s side, DU Football Club). Trinity’s ladies were keen to keep the trophy at home. A strong start from the Trinity forwards was met with solid defence from UCC and, despite several quick penalties taken by Trinity flanker Caitlin Crowe, the UCC defensive line could not be breached. UCC succeeded in turning over the ball and a good run from their flanker moved them out of their own 22, but not for long as the ball was soon back in Trinity hands. Trinity’s outside centre, Amanda Shovlin, saw an opening and made an impressive run through the UCC backline. She was supported by Aoife Rowan, who took the ball off her toes and went just short of the UCC tryline. This burst from the backs was not wasted as the forwards were quick in support. Trinity’s captain, Tara Deane, pushed relentlessly against the UCC defence until the opportunity arose in the 21st minute, and the ball was carried over the line by Louise Sullivan for the first score of the game. UCC responded with intensity and forced Trinity into their own 22 for the first time in the game. A big performance by the UCC scrum-half and captain, Mona Feehily, led the charge towards the Trinity line, but all attempts were shut down by some great tackles made by second-row duo Nico McNamee and Caroline Von Konig. An outstanding interception by Amanda Shovlin turned the tables and brought the focus back on the UCC defensive, until
Trinity
UCC
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DU Team Sheet Tara Deane Abbey Deane Louise Sullivan Nico McNamee Helen Rooney Niamh Gaskin Lydia Kelly Dona Cromar Aisling Halpin Eibhlin Malone Caroline Von Konig Anne-Caroline Viande
Eva Bodenschatz Amanda Shovlin Faye McKeown Caitlin Crowe Suzanne Thompson Maggie Aljomani Aoife Rowan India McGirr Annik Dennehy Siofra Fogarty Eloise Sheerin Caoimhe Brady Kim Dalton
24th November 2012
the end of the first half with Trinity leading 5-0. UCC were quick off the mark at the opening of the second half, immediately putting pressure on Trinity in their 22. The Trinity backline held their nerve, reacted to a UCC mistake and cleared the ball to touch. Tremendous followup play from both the backs and the forwards showed Trinity’s determination. Trinity number eight, Abbey Deane, picked from the back of the scum and exploited a gap in the UCC defensive line, making her way back into UCC’s 22. Trinity continued to be held back by the UCC defence until a kick by Aoife Rowan resulted in a lineout five metres from the tryline. Trinity chose to feed the ball out to their backline where Faye McKeown showed smart game play, avoiding several UCC
tackles and charging her way up the pitch, finally passing off to Amanda Shovlin who scored Trinity’s second try. UCC showed great spirit in spite of a low number of supporters and facing Trinity on their home pitch. McNamee was named woman of the match for her tireless efforts in defence and attack. Bowen herself presented the cup to Deane, and commended both UCC and DULFC for their roles in promoting ladies’ rugby. DULFC would like to thank its coaches, Conor Thompson, Phillip Williams and Emma Doyle, for their time and effort that made the win possible, and also sends special thanks to Ducac, DUFC and Jerry Foley, the president of IUFC, for their support.
T John Tighe Staff Writer
his was to be the match that would define not just this season, but also the last, a relegation battle that no one expected DU Gaelic Football Club to win, with the Irish News calling the club “as gutless” a Sigerson team as they had seen. The club’s chances were definitely not helped by the fact that, only in March of this year, the National University of Ireland, Maynooth were playing against Dublin City University in the Sigerson Cup final in Pearse Stadium in Galway, the same weekend we were the Trench Cup. We had put so much effort into getting out of Division Two, none more so than our manager, Ryan Casey, who has given the best part of a decade to Trinity GAA. The dedication has not only been shown by Ryan but also by the old boys who came to the match, which shows that Trinity GAA is much more like a club team than a college one. The beginning of the match did not bode well for the rest, Seán Higgins being booked early on. That was followed by a goal which put Maynooth four points up. They continued to push, and Trinity kept pegging them back, with the teams going into half time separated by only one point. Immediately after the break, the jostling continued with Trinity up by two points until Maynooth scored another fortuitous goal, putting them up by one point again. They scored a further point so that, going into the last 10 minutes of the match, Trinity was three points down. By this stage some players became slightly pessimistic, but still believed that the comeback was possible, and with three quick scores we tied the game. It was at this point that Maynooth began to commit cynical fouls, with their full-forward being booked for tripping one of our players while on the attack. Trinity dominated the possession and the territory throughout the match; however, the conceding of two freak goals on either side of the half led to this game being much closer than it should have been. The sheer doggedness of Donnacha Ó Cailleatáin set the tone for Trinity’s intensity both
on and off the ball. The match was a long way away from the time last year when Trinity beat the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown in the League Two final at University College Dublin, a place we desperately did not want to go back to. A fantastic display from the team captain, Tomás Corrigan, who scored 10 points, spearheaded the effort but his performance was repeated all the way from the goalkeeper to the full-forward line, who put in a gargantuan performance to guarantee that Trinity will stay in the top tier of
college football for another year. The scale of this achievement was reflected in the sheer jubilation that was shared not only by myself, but every member of the squad, while we wished Maynooth luck in the relegation final. The freshers, who will make up the backbone of the Gaelic football team in the coming years, were also present and we can only hope that those freshers give the same commitment and determination to the cause of Trinity GAA for many years to come. After Christmas comes the Sigerson Cup, and we will have to be ready all over again.
14th November 2012 Trinity
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0-16 2-7 DU Team Sheet 1 Plunkett McCullough 4 James McPadden 25 Mickey Boyle 2 Conor O Donoghue 19 Seán Higgins 8 Cormac Noonan 21 Mark Regan 20 Seán Murray 9 Mick O’ Grady 22 Donnacha Ó Cailleatáin 11 Trevor English 3 Paul McPadden 29 Daragh Daly 15 Tomás Corrigan 14 Luke Turley