DCU was defeated by Queen’s University Belfast in the final of the SSI Rugby Sevens competition for the second year in a row.
Queen’s, who will now go on to represent Ireland in the Red Bull Sevens Six Nations, proved too strong for DCU, winning by a scoreline of 50-14 with star man Damon Hill running over a hat-trick of tries in a comfortable win, the pick of which saw him kick and chase to touch down directly under the posts.
DCU was outplayed from the outset, struggling for any meaningful possession and the match was almost beyond them by half-time with a 26-7 scoreline. The second half was to be no different as Queens kicked on, scoring another four tries.
DCU man Tim Schmidt was able to run in late in the second half for a well worked try but it was nothing more than a consolation at that point as Queen’s claimed their third successive title.
DCU’s Division 2 team faced the same fate. They lost to Belfast Met Rugby Academy by just one point. Sean Hayes scored three tries for DCU in a very tight game but it was not to be enough as they lost 32-31.
It wasn’t all bad news for DCU as the women’s A and B teams made it to the final. Having beaten NUI Maynooth and a combined Dundalk IT and IT Tallaght team respectively, both DCU teams played out an exciting final with the B team winning 27-20.
Cormac O’Shea
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