Dolphin go down to UCD

UCD 20 Dolphin 13

UCD did all the work in the first half as two early tries saw them secure their fourth home win of the season against Dolphin at a windy Belfield.

A fourth try fell out of their grasp at the death as captain Shane Moore inspired them to end a rot of poor form which saw them lose recently to the likes of Garryowen and Dungannon, teams wallowing below them in the table.

Left winger Paddy Hickey-Dwyer opened the scoring for the home side after 17 minutes when he ghosted onto a flat Moore pass for his first try of the season.

Moore converted and added a penalty six minutes later. Flanker Kevin Croke got on the end of a fine UCD front eight rumble to touch down on the half hour before Dolphin centre Andrew Finn brought the Cork men back into the game on 34 minutes, after good work by his inside partner Mick Manning for a 15-7 deficit at the break.

College hooker David Blaney, last season’s captain, showed his brute in muscling over for UCD’s only score of the second half sixteen minutes in.

Dolphin, struggling to cope with a ferocious UCD pack, had flanker Donnacha Murphy competing in his 67th straight league fixture and lived off the beef of out-half John O’Mahony’s right boot, as they have for much of their disappointing campaign, and his two second-half penalties did at least deliver them a bonus point for the long trip home.

Scorers: UCD: Tries: Hickey-Dwyer, Croke, David Blaney; Con: Moore; Pen: Moore

Dolphin: Try: Finn; Con: O’Mahony; Pen: O’Mahony 2