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CITY OF ARMAGH FOURTH’S v GROSVENOR THIRD’S
City of Armagh 4th XV made the journey up to Gibson Park in Belfast to play a Grosvenor side knowing a win would see them propelled further up the table following their last few results. Armagh fielded a team consisting of a number of players returning after injuries including Harry Boyd and Luke Crozier.
The team started well and scored a try from the kick off putting their opponents under immense pressure on their own half. From the back of an Armagh scrum inside the 5m the ball was spread across the pitch and Luke Crozier was on the end of it to cross the line and touch it down. The conversion was narrowly missed by Captain David Loughran. Armagh’s narrow lead was soon wiped out when the hosts scored a try of their own as a result of Armagh conceding a series of penalties in quick succession. They too missed their conversion to leave the scores tied at 5-5. Another Armagh try soon followed off a similar move as the earlier one only this time Full Back Geoffrey Dougan was on hand to cross the line and done well under a lot of pressure. Harry Boyd send the conversion attempt across the face of goals and Armagh now held a 10-5 lead. Armagh had a number of other chances to extend their lead including close efforts from back rowers Ross Finlay and Robert Straghan but sadly could not see them through. After a period of sustained pressure where the Armagh defence stood strong the lads conceded a second try just before the interval and it was successfully converted to leave the scores at 12-10 to Grosvenor at the half.
The second half was equally as entertaining with a slight change in the pack seeing Alex Starrett making way for David Black before the start. The game ebbed and flowed and Armagh took the lead once again through a great breakaway run from Hooker Gareth Graham, Harry Boyd added the extras and Armagh once again regained the lead in this game with the scores now at 17-12 to the visitors. The Grosvenor pack was a much heavier and dangerous one but to our lads credit they matched it for large parts of the afternoon. The forwards was their go-to weapon of choice in terms of getting points on the board and it was now paying dividends with another try coming directly from a good driving maul they fell over the line for their third try of the day but could not convert it to leave the game tied for the second time at 17 points a piece. Armagh dug deep from the restart and looked intent on getting another try, the backline were operating well together and causing their opponents all kinds of trouble. Impressive breaks from Wings Stuart Agnew and Scott Armstrong saw Armagh gain great territory in the opposition half. With Boyd now orchestrating the play from 10 the men in red and black looked certain to score again… And they did. Luke Crozier got his second try of the day after a superb individual break. The conversion was narrowly missed from an acute angle by Harry Boyd and Armagh took the lead once again. The game was set up for a nervy last ten minutes and the lads kept going to the bitter end, evident in a great break from second row Brian Bassett towards the end. The Armagh defence stood strong much like it did for the rest of the afternoon and forced an error where the referee blew his final whistle for a memorable away win over Grosvenor for the 4’s.
Full Time Score Armagh 22 – 17 Grosvenor.
Everyone who wore the red and black jersey of Armagh gave it their all. The half back combination of Ross Crozier and Harry Boyd were instrumental in this victory and at the heart of everything. The win sees Armagh now sit in third position behind neighbours Portadown and Ballynahinch with two games remaining in this league. Next up is a trip back to Belfast this time to play Civil Service.
Team: W. McKee, G. Graham, N. Lutton, A. Starrett, B. Bassett, A.Hume, R. Finlay, R. Straghan, R. Crozier, H. Boyd, S. Agnew, R. McCreesh, L. Crozier, D. Loughran, G. Dougan, D. Black, S. Armstrong
City of Armagh RFC 21 Old Crescent RFC 9
Old Crescent RFC made the long trip from Limerick on Saturday to challenge Armagh’s unbeaten run in Division 2B of the All Ireland League. The home team didn’t play to their best but they prevailed to maintain their winning run with a 21-9 victory.
In perfect sunny conditions with a chill in the air, Armagh kicked off playing into a slight breeze. The visitors brought play to the Armagh 22 and in the second minute missed a straight-forward penalty from 25 metres. A more difficult attempt was successful a few minutes later from 50 metres to put Old Crescent ahead 0-3. On 14 minutes, a late tackle on an Armagh player resulted in a successful penalty to level the score at 3-3.
Both teams were making errors in the early stages and were content to test each other out with probing kicks. The second quarter saw the two teams lose possession frequently and the game was evenly balanced. On thirty minutes Armagh number eight Neil Faloon received a yellow card and Old Crescent kicked the resultant penalty to edge ahead 3-6.
As the halftime break approached, Armagh attacked from the halfway line and a kick ahead was recovered to send winger Andrew Willis racing to the try line for an outstanding score. The try was unconverted and referee, Helen O’Reilly, blew for halftime with Armagh leading 8-6 after 40 minutes of uninspiring rugby apart from the Armagh try.
Old Crescent kicked off the second half in determined fashion and put the home team under immediate pressure. Promising attacks saw the visitors penalised at the breakdown on several occasions and Armagh were able to clear their line.
Fifteen minutes into the second half and Old Crescent received a blow when their number eight was sent to the sin bin. Armagh took a quick lineout and caught the Old Crescent defence napping and John Faloon made good ground on the right wing before being halted short of the try line. The visitors infringed and Harvey Young kicked the penalty to put Armagh ahead 11-6.
Five minutes later Old Crescent were rocked with a second yellow card for their outhalf following a high tackle on Armagh winger Ryan Purvis.
Young’s kick from 35 metres hit the upright and Old Crescent escaped.
Armagh tried to use their numerical advantage and a strong run from Willis looked promising until Old Crescent relieved the pressure with a turnover. With 15 minutes remaining Armagh were still trying to make the game secure but Old Crescent were proving very competitive.
Good play from Armagh led to a five metre scrum in front of the Old Crescent posts to give the home team a great attacking position and Neil Faloon stormed over for five valuable points and the conversion made the score 18-6.
Old Crescent returned to the attack and a successful penalty reduced arrears to 18-9. The visitors then pressed for a further score in search of a losing bonus point. As full time approached, Old Crescent were penalised on their 10 metre line and Purvis kicked the 3 points to bring the scoreline to 21-9 and the final whistle went confirming Armagh as victors by a score of 21-9.
Overall the team’s performance did not please the Armagh coaching team but they were happy to take the win. A lot of work is still required on the training ground and it was good to see Peter Elliott returning from a lengthy injury and he put in a man-of-the-match performance.
With six wins from six, City of Armagh now has the best record in all five divisions of the All Ireland League and the team will be hoping to maintain this successful run this Saturday when another Limerick side, Thomond, travel to Armagh for a 2.30pm kick off.
