DCU Devils make their bid for a league final spot when they meet Waterford IT in the penultimate round today.
Team captain Clara McDonald said that all involved are firmly focused on the prize at stake; a place in the decider in UL in three weeks time. “The WIT match is our make or break match this year, we are really looking forward to it.”
The team continue to carry the hurt and disappointment of last year’s final, where they were beaten by Cork IT. McDonald believes that the scars of that defeat and the loss to Queens earlier this semester will serve as huge motivation: “It encouraged everyone to get back into hard training again.”
DCU topped Group B courtesy of a walkover from Sligo IT last Wednesday. The Sligo outfit were unable to field and so DCU were awarded the points.
As last week’s game did not come to fruition, it means the side are short on competitive action, having had only one game this semester. The Devils traveled to take on Queen’s University at the beginning of February, but it proved a fruitless sojourn with the home side winning out by 36-0.
McDonald blamed the long Christmas break for the loss, and believes that the absence of training over that period had a detrimental effect on the final score.
“Taking on a big match like that with no training since before Christmas was a huge task. It was reflected in the final score line. We were very disappointed.”
Elsewhere, DCU Women’s Rugby have recently launched their ‘Rugby Scholarship Program’. Run in co-ordination with the Sports Development team, they are now able to create the opportunity for girls in the U-18 and U-19 categories to qualify for the ‘Elite Entry Scheme’.
Clara McDonald welcomed the news, informing The College View that the club will be celebrating this development by organising an All-Ireland Youth Blitz which will take place in the DCU Sportsgrounds on April 13th.
The club received another boost in recent weeks when six of their squad members attended a screening for the IRFU Rio 2016 7’s squad. Amy Cotter, a final year PE and Biology student, made it through to the next round.
Emma Jane Hade
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