Scoring
Q1
0-8 Trinity: #18 reception from #13. 2 PAT (#13, run)
Q2
0-14 Trinity: #85 reception from #13. 2 PAT no good (incomplete)
8-14 Rhinos: Sean Power #15, reception from #9 Stephen Macken. 2 PAT (Macken, run)
Q3
16-14 Rhinos: Dan Breslin #23, run. 2 PAT (Sean Power #15, run)
24-14 Rhinos: Dan Breslin #23, run. 2 PAT (Sean Power #15, run)
Q4
24-20 Trinity: #18, reception from #13. 2 PAT no good (incomplete)
Game Photos
Photos by Jeff Dowling
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Game Report
Game Report by the West Dublin Rhinos
On a baking Sunday afternoon the West Dublin Rhinos made the short trip north to take on their cross town collegiate rivals Trinity College Dublin, in a battle for second place in the Dublin division.
The Rhinos knew going into the game that a win against Trinity would give them hopes of reaching the play-offs for the first time. And win is exactly what they did. However, a poor start to the game led to Trinity taking advantage through their passing game. A number of big gains through the air, and some costly missed tackles from the Rhinos’ defense, ultimately led to Trinity taking an 8-0 lead. Quarterback Stephen Macken and his offence attempted to even things up but they were shut down by Trinity and forced to punt the ball. Things looked bad for the Rhinos when the Trinity students punched in a second touchdown in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead.
A revival came immediately though, when the Rhinos successfully stopped the two point conversion. Macken got into his usual form and connected with all of his receivers including two catches from stand in tight end Stevie Moon helping to move the ball down the field. However, Macken’s biggest pass came when he found Sean Power on a deep pass near the Trinity sideline. Power put his finishing touch to the play when he ran it in for a touchdown. The Rhinos’ star quarterback then plunged the ball into the endzone himself, on the point after try, to give his side the extra two points and put them within a score of Trinity at the break.
At the beginning of the second half the score was 14-8 in the home side’s favour but the Rhinos were not about to let go of this game yet, stepping it up a gear to open the second half and put their mark on the game. The Rhinos offence showed pure grit and determination when they started to run the ball successfully on their opponents. Running back Dan Breslin gained hard earned yards on consecutive carries before he eventually took the ball into the endzone to bring his side level. On the resulting two point conversion Sean Power gave a second and third effort to stretch the ball over the goalline to put the Rhinos ahead for the first time in the game.
On the ensuing drive, Trinity had the ball near the halfway line when a lateral from the Trinity running back to his quarterback led to Gary Cullen punching the ball loose where it was smothered by Rhinos’ defensive end Barry Bolton. This gave the Rhinos excellent field position and they stuck with what worked by giving Breslin the ball. He duly obliged when he ran in his second touchdown of the day, with Power again adding the two extra points. This gave the Rhinos the lead at 24-14 after putting up 24 unanswered points.
But the Trinity students didn’t lie down and they brought themselves back to within a score of the Rhinos in the fourth quarter, when their quarterback found their tight end open in the middle of the field. The Rhinos once again stopped the 2 point attempt which left the score at 24-20. The Rhinos should have extended their lead when Breslin ran in what seemed to be his third touchdown of the day from 40 yards out. However, an illegal block call brought the ball back and gave Trinity a breath of relief.
Though a late defensive stand held out Trinity, the Rhinos rode out of the Trinity Sports Grounds with a 24-20 win over their hosts. The return fixture is now set to be a thriller as the Rhinos host Trinity in Castleknock College on the 6th of June.