The Colours Match
| The Colours Match - Cluiche na nDathanna | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby Union Football |
| Inaugural Match | 13 December 1952 |
| Teams Involved |
University College Dublin Dublin University |
| Inaugural Winner | University College Dublin |
| Current Holder | University College Dublin |
| Captain | Jamie Glynn |
| Current Edition | 65th |
| Most Recent Match | 7 April, 2017 |
| Venue | UCD Bowl, Belfield |
| Trophy | The Colours Cup |
| Series | University College Dublin: 39 Dublin University: 22 Drawn: 4 |
| Largest winning Margin | UCD 50–20 DU (6 March 2008) |
| Longest Winning Sequence | UCD (10) [1997/98—2005/06] |
| Most Captaincies | Shane Moore, UCD (3) [1999/00—2001/02] |
| Most Matches Played | Brian Cawley, UCD (8) [2008/09—2015/16] Bill Mulcahy, UCD (8) [1953/54—1960/61] |
| Next Meeting | 2018 |
The Colours Match (Irish: Cluiche na nDathanna) is an annual rugby union fixture between the University of Dublin and University College Dublin. Rugby matches between UCD RFC and DUFC predate the inauguration of "The Colours Match". Their first meeting took place at Terenure on 18th October 1919, won by Trinity. Between 1919 and 1952 "friendly" matches took place annually between the clubs on a home and away basis. There were also memorable encounters between UCD and TCD in the Leinster Senior Cup when the draw brought the sides together. Following the Senior Cup win of UCD over DUFC in 1948 by a dropped goal to nil, the idea of a Colours match was discussed between Harry Thrift of Trinity and Sarsfield Hogan of UCD, who had served together on the International Rugby Board, on which basis each University club would award Colours for the season. Lengthy negotiations ensued and with the cooperation of the I.R.F.U. committee and of the Lansdowne and Wanderers RFCs a scheme for an annual Colours match was finally agreed. The two Universities would play once a year in December. Each University would act as the host in turn and be responsible for the management of the match and for the entertainment. The host University, after consultation with the other side, would invite the referee for the match. A formal teams' dinner would be held after the match. It was envisaged that the match would be played on a Saturday. Increasing numbers of representative matches and the limited number of Saturdays on which Lansdowne Road was available led to pressure to change the match from Saturdays to a mid-week date.
The Colours Match was inaugurated on 13th December, 1952 at Lansdowne Road with the first title taken by University College Dublin R.F.C. Trinity gained their first win in 1954 and the first drawn match came in 1955. The first 26 matches and the 35th to 38th matches were held at Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin. The 27th to 33rd fixtures and the 39th through 60th matches were played at Donnybrook Rugby Ground, the traditional home of the Leinster rugby union team. The 61st and 63rd encounters took place at the UCD Bowl, Belfield, the 62nd match at Donnybrook Rugby Ground and the 64th match in College Park Rugby Ground, Trinity College.
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