Eight tries help College bridge the gap to top two | Stephen Barry

UCC 56Banbridge 17UCC ran in eight tries as they thoroughly demolished a surprisingly inept fourth-placed Banbridge side in the Mardyke. However the five points gained were not enough to make inroads into joint-leaders Terenure College and Corinthians narrow lead as, only down the road, the Dubliners hammered Midleton while in Limerick Old Crescent experienced the same fate at the hands of Corinthians.The game marked UCC’s best home performance in a year during which the Mardyke had seen UCC close out only two wins from five games until Saturday. It could also prove a turning point in UCC’s season after dropped points away to Cashel, drawing after an injury time Galwegians try and failing to take a fifth point from bottom side DLSP in their previous three outings.UCC’s season will now end with games against Corinthians and Terenure and will be confident of carrying the momentum from this game into that pair of season-defining cup finals against two teams that lie only a point ahead of them, albeit with a game in hand.Former pace-setters Banbridge came into the game on the back of three losses in their four games since the New Year but created little in the course of eighty minutes. In fact the two tries which kept Banbridge within touching distance for the opening half-hour both came from defensive gaffs by the hosts and their attacking endeavour only bore fruit in the final minute.That last minute try from Christopher Allen cancelled out some of the potentially crucial improvements made to UCC’s points difference after their octet of tries.The open nature of the game suited the students as they kept the ball in hand and made line-breaks with a huge regularity. It only took them two minutes to open up a seven point lead as Seán Óg Murphy played Dan Horgan away down the line inside the 22 and Horgan barged his way over for a try.However some charity from UCC handed the Northerners their opening try ten minutes in. Captain Willie Ryan picked quick ball off the back of a retreating UCC scrum. He got round the first defender but his attempted pass was juggled and secured by Andrew Morrison who kept enough distance from Murphy and Horgan to reach the corner. Scrum-half Ian Porter kicked the first of three successive wides on a poor day for the Banbridge kicker.Minutes later and UCC had restored the difference of seven from a move which started on their own 10-metre line; Kevin Slater broke free down the left, passing inside to Horgan kept the move going and he played in Luke Duffy for a try.Some pressure from the Bannsiders had UCC camped under their own crossbar. An excellent steal by Kieran Stokes seemed to have lifted the siege. However the ball came to Horgan and his awkward clearance kick was blocked down by Greg Taylor who fed Jonathan Graham for the try.A Murphy penalty stretched the lead to 15-10 before the impressive Darren Sweetnam pumped his legs to escape from Allen’s tackle and dot down beside the posts after the half-hour.The bonus point wasn’t long in coming as Sweetnam streaked upfield before the move was finished off out wide by a succession of out of position forwards; Stokes with an excellent back-handed pass to John Fitzgerald, who fed Cathal Gallagher, who in turn had tighthead prop Peter McCabe on the wing to reach the corner. It was a strangely adventurous day for McCabe who had tried a chip and chase from his own 22 earlier in the half.27-10 up at the break, the points were in the bag for UCC; however they did press on with an early Murphy penalty followed by a try for Olan Dennehy, for which the platform was set by the consistently relentless ball-carrying of Willie Ryan.Slater should also have had a try, just after the hour mark, but he knocked on with a clear 10-metre run ahead of him to the line. But, soon after, Murphy rectified that error as his dummy pass took Graham for a fool as he strolled in under the posts.Slater put in Shane Moynihan for five points which Murphy made seven as the ruthless and relentless UCC pressure began to open the floodgates. The next to profit was Duffy who brought UCC, deservedly, over the fifty-point barrier and add to their points difference only for Banbridge’s late forwards’ try to take some of the gloss from the scoreboard.UCC: D Sweetnam, O Dennehy, L Duffy, D Horgan, K Slater; S Óg Murphy, D Foley; P McCabe, K Stokes, B Scott; B Quill, David O’Connell; J Fitzgerald, C Gallagher, W Ryan. Replacements: M O’Mahony, S Moynihan, D McSweeney, C O’Regan, J Holland.Banbridge: G Taylor, J Porter, A Morrision, J Little, M McDonald; A Doherty, I Porter; C Bickerstaff, D Weir, M Cromie; C Allen, S Irvine; R Patterson, D Carson, J Graham. Replacements: P Cromie, J Weir, S McKinstry, J Dodds, A Finlay.