Enniskillen recorded a fairly comfortable win against the East Antrim visitors to complete a league double over the league newcomers.
The opening was bright with ‘Skins taking the game to the visitors but eighteen minutes were on the clock before the opening score came, and it was ‘Skins who were rewarded for their early endeavours. In the stiff breeze outhalf James McIntyre saw a penalty attempt drift wide, but a mistake from the resulting “22” drop out was pounced on by skipper Alan Wilkinson, who covered the ground quickly to score an unconverted try.
The next score came only three minutes later as ‘Skins, with their tails up, cut into the Larne defence. A great run from Clive Donaldson took play into the heart of the visitors’ “22” from where ‘Skins had one or two goes for the line only to be held up short. With an overlap wide on the left the chance was nearly passed over with a loose pass, but fullback Nigel Johnston managed to dive in at the corner to double the lead to 10 – 0.
On the half hour mark ‘Skins recorded their third try and effectively ended the contest. A powerful scrum set the home side in motion putting the visitors on the back foot and two rucks later Richard Beatty powered through a missing Larne defence to romp home. McIntyre added the conversion and ‘Skins had a commanding seventeen point lead.
This proved to be the last score of a first half dominated by the home side but in truth the fourth, bonus point, try should have been scored before the break when two good chances were squandered with a lack of control.
Despite the missed opportunities just before the break it took ‘Skins only five minutes of the second period to secure their bonus point. The game from the restart had been played deep in Larne territory and following another dominant scrum David Taylor punished the visitors with an unconverted try.
With the bonus point in the bag however ‘Skins lost their way for a period, failing to keep possession and throwing the ball wildly in search of more points and they came unstuck when an interception was taken half the length of the pitch for a converted try to Larne, giving the score a semblance of respectability at 22 – 7 going into the final quarter.
‘Skins did bounce back immediately, knuckling down to the task at hand and within five minutes Taylor had added his second try, taking an inside ball and romping home to stretch the lead to twenty points.
The closing minutes saw some scrappy periods of play, but just as the game seemed to be petering out, Ally Duncan received the ball and with seemingly nothing on managed to pick his way past the Larne defence to end the try scoring. McIntyre added his second conversion to leave the final score at 34 – 7.
A satisfying win, which with more control could have been even better. However this result lifts ‘Skins into second place with games in hand going into the month of November which sees three crucial league games starting this Saturday with a trip to Lisburn.
3rd XV captain Adam Breen and Chris Fox receive the new Power NI sponsored 3rd XV kit for 2011/12
Enniskillen II – 57, Larne II – 3
Yet again Enniskillen’s 2nds took to the field showing too many changes from the previous week, but managed to get revenge on the visitors for defeat at Glynn back in September, and in some style, scoring nine tries in total, whilst Dale McMaster converted six.
The opening fifteen minutes was a fairly even contest but ‘Skins gradually took a foothold in the visitors’ half and when they were awarded a scrum fifteen metres from the line, the script was already written and true to form Ross Duncan picked from the base and crashed over, dragging several defenders with him.
‘Skins then fell in to the complacency trap and allowed Larne to come back at them, conceded several penalties in succession and where twice marched back for backchat to the referee, and Larne registered a penalty to bring the game back to 5 – 3.
‘Skins however did start to play a more structured game from then on, using a wind to dominate territorially. The star of the show was undoubtedly Andrew Dixon, who showed pace and physicality as he ran riot in midfield answer a Larne backline who had no answer for his powerful running, and it was Dixon who accounted for the next two tries. The first came from a scrum on halfway and he followed this up with a second from distance a few minutes later.
Trevor Whitaker added a fourth try before halftime to give ‘Skins a 26 – 3 advantage at the break.
In the second half ‘Skins did play much better and working off a solid and powerful scrum Duncan made countless yards, driving deep into the visitors’ defence. The line out too started to dominate and ‘Skins used the driving maul to great effect, sucking the strength out of the visitors.
Richard O’Callaghan used the kick cleverly into the wind to keep ‘Skins going in the right direction and the scores just kept coming, one after another as the Larne side started to wilt under the constant pressure. Dixon chipped in with two more to take his personal tally to four, Matt Drumm scored and when Duncan put O’Callaghan in for his second of the game the referee had enough and ended the contest some twelve minutes early, with Larne perhaps looking to make final preparations to their fancy dress costumes which graced the Mullaghmeen bar shortly after.
This was an encouraging result and performance from what is essentially a young side, who can only benefit from the inclusion of a number of “aul hands”.
If Dixon’s was the performance of the day, surely the “highlight” of the match was Adam Breen’s peroxide blonde locks, standing out as a beacon in the gloom. No doubt a feature of his own fancy dress costume for the evening.
The seconds now face a tricky month of November with three away fixtures beginning at Lisburn this Saturday. A turnout at training is required to build some momentum after a disappointing start to the season.
Fixtures
1st XV – Away – Lisburn
2nd XV – Away – Lisburn II
Under-19 – Home – Omagh
Youth – Away – Omagh
Ladies – Away – Garda – Sunday 6th Nov
