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It looks like the Bruff bandwagon has kept on its wheels in style. Another away win in Ulster on the road to add to the mesmerising collection of away results up north in Bruff’s short AIL history.

This time another established AIL team bent the knee to a great performance which was far more convincing on the pitch than the tight scoreline would lead you to believe.

Two minutes in some nerves and soft defending by the usually magnificent Bruff defence saw the Quins loose head Tim Morton go over for their one and only try of the game. Duly converted by Ulster playing Outhalf Niall O’ Connor, O’ Connor was one of the four Full Ulster Players playing for Quins on the day. The Bruff team gathered behind the posts for some strong words and then things took off.

The Bruff pack took things in hand and asserted their dominance in the set piece and in the loose. Just rewards on ten minutes with a penalty opportunity for captain Brian Cahill but it went to the side and wide. With the game by the scruff of the neck, Bruff launched attack after attack but handling errors and infringements at the ruck gave Quins relief time and time again from the onslaught. By half time, Bruff had spent thirty five of the forty minutes inside the Quins half but all they had to show for it was one converted penalty attempt after 7 minutes of injury time and another missed penalty on 25 mins, Quins also had to be happy with a pair of missed penalty attempts by O’ Connor on twenty and forty minutes. Half time score 7-3 to Quins.

The second half began as the first left off and the breeze stiffened a little to give Bruff whatever slight advantage it offered in the second half. Three minutes after the whistle Cahill slotted penalty number two to close the gap and three minutes later after sustained pressure, Cahill broke to go over for Bruff’s only try of the game, missing the conversion however kept the lead at four points. Following  yellow cards (one for each side) in the aftermath of the try, play passed up and down between the Quins half way line and their twenty two, but on their only incursion into the Bruff half,  Ten minutes later O’ Connor knocked over his second to close the gap again to a single point but Bruff maintained their momentum and had stretched the lead out to four points again three minutes later. The Bruff line attacked the Quins line the siege being lifted again by turnovers at the ruck. An  interception by the Scrum half Paul Marshal saved a two on one overlap and very nearly turned it into a breakaway try when he chipped over the returning Bruff defenderSean Daly, Winger Andrew Cashman won the race to the ball and managed to keep  Bruff in the game. A last burst for Quins brought nervous thoughts of last seasons last gasp winning try against the odds but the siege was finally lifted and Bruff held out to finish the game with a 14 point to 10 final score.

Bruff Scorers: Brian Cahill, 1T, 3 pens.

Quins Scorers: Tim Morton (T), Niall O’ Connor 1C, 1 Pens.

Bruff lined out: 15. P. Thomspon, 14. Nigel Riordan, 13. John Malone, 12. Garry Leonard, 11. Andrew Cashman, 10. Brian Cahill, 9. Tony Cahill, 1. Stephen Foster, 2. Cathal O’ regan, 3. Keith Laffan, 4. Alan Bourke, 5. Maurice O’ Connell, 6. David Gardiner, 7. John S. Shine, 8. Mike Carroll. Subs: David Horan, Graham Bolger, Peter Malone, Sean Daly, John Carroll. Ref: John Carville (IRFU), TJ’s: Christopher Wilson & David Fergie.

Pictures will be posted later on this evening.

We seem to have developed a penchant for mad periods of extra time. Unlike normal however today’s cannot be placed solely at the feet of the referee, after 5 minutes we probably came to last play but what followed was a further 6 minute period where the ball just would not go dead for the home side, without any guarantee of the game being over even if it did.

On their very first trip to Kilballyowen, UCD arrived on the back of a big loss to local club Thomond last week, and looked to gain revenge.

UCD opened the scoring after 15 minutes with Niall Earls slotting over his first penalty of the match giving the visitors a 3 point advantage which they managed to hold most of the way through the first half. With the momentum of the game swaying over and back between the two sides, neither seemed to be able to gain advantage, both defences winning the day. UCD spectacularly failed to make any major use of the strong breeze blowing right from their backs, despite some nice kicking from the hand by out-half Earls and a lot of fancy footwork from their fit back line.

Finally right on the stroke of half time, after a period where Bruff seemed to camp inside the UCD half, line-outs, scrums and relief for the students seemed to happen again and again until after another Bruff scrum, captain Brian Cahill made a lovely crossfield break from just inside the UCD 22 finishing with an inside pop just as he was tackled to allow Centre Garry Leonard to go over five meters left of the posts. Brian then calmly slotted the relatively easy conversion and despite a last rally from the students during the four and a half minutes of injury time played in the first half, Bruff went into the break on the better side of the 7-3 scoreline.

With the wind dropping just before the break, the advantage of the changeover lessened but Bruff continued their momentum and four minutes in Bruff winger Nigel Riordan completed the roll with a try, duly converted by Cahill to put a little daylight between the sides. Bruff looked to be secure and comfortable but the students refused to roll over and on the 50 minute mark, Earls slotted over penalty number two to begin the claw back into the match. Five minutes later, kick number three and the students looked to be on a rampage. On 59 minutes,he slotted number four and all of a sudden the game changed.

The Bruff defence rallied and the pack, dominating the scrum again all day, began to make ground in the loose and with the maul. Decisions against them at the breakdown cost them dearly in the students twenty-two on occasion and with the students willing to run from anywhere, the rallying cry of “Turn attack into defence” rang out from their Backs coach Killian Keane. Some good field possession inside the twenty-two and some nice field gains ended up being returned with interest.

All seemed lost a few minutes from time, when the UCD winger broke from inside his own half, romping home from seventy meters or so. He seemed set to close out the game but the home team were saved by a brilliant diving tackle from center Andrew Cashman who came from the middle of the field to tackle him into touch only five meters from the line. With the many home supporters breathing slightly easier, the Bruff defence took up the challenge and worked their way out again. Injury time at this stage and the students would have fired the DANKE into it if they were allowed to bring it on the field but time after time the Bruff defence held on, hit after hit, managing not to give away a penalty although it would likely have been spurned by the students as they went all out for the win. A yellow card reduced Bruff to fourteen men but five minutes in we thought it was surely all over, but no-one told College. They recycled, attack after attack being matched only by a last gasp defence of the home team reminiscent of Custer at the Alamo, with the large home crowd praying for a different outcome.

Finally fifty minutes from the start of the second half, seemingly out of nowhere the siege was broken and the students heart with it when Bruff full back Patrick Thompson latched onto a spilled ball with a sweet scoop pickup and galloped home from just inside his own half, touching down under the posts to deny the students their losing bonus point. Captain Cahill slotted over his easiest kick of the day to give a final scoreline of 24 points to twelve.

Bruff slot nicely into 6th place on the League Table, score difference separating ourselves, DLSP, Bective and Corinthians on 13 league points. Harlequins have 14, Thomond lie in second place on 16 after their 26 all draw against Highfield and Lansdowne continue their massive start to this years campaign with another away win, beating Terenure 22-3.

Three wins out of four outings, we have a two-week break when we then face Belfast Harlequins away on the 14th of November.

Feeling the pain, John Shine being tackled, Click the picture for the Slideshow