Victory for 1st XV in league opener
For pictures from this game and a link to Grosvenor Club Excellence Report CLICK HERE
In bright breezy conditions at Belmont Larne had the wind advantage in the first half. The opening ten minutes were fairly evenly contested but Grosveor began to take control of the match through their forwards who began to dominate both in the loose and in set plays. Grosvenor shunted Larne off their own ball at a scrum in the Larne 22 and surged over the line, Andrew Kelly controlling the ball well at No.8 and dotting down for the try. Little added the conversion. 7-0.
Grosvenor then set up a series of attacks and Larne clung on desperately but eventually their defence was breached out wide and left winger Mark Atkinson scorched over for a try. Conversion missed. Grosvenor continued to attack in the Larne half and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty try when Philip Stoops’ pass to Jim Neill was slapped forward by the last defender. But the referee awarded a penalty which was converted to extend the lead to 15-0. After another series of attacks Matty Little darted through a gap in midfield and scored under the posts. Conversion added. 22-0.
There was no let up for Larne in the second half as Grosvenor sought the valuable bonus point. It eventually came from another push-over try at a scrum with Kelly again dotting down. Conversion added. 29-0. Matty Little was orchestrating things at out-half and after fifty minutes he made a searing break on half way but the last pass was dropped and another certain score was missed. Jim Neill made amends a few minutes later when he broke up the right wing on half way, handed off his opposite man and sprinted in under the posts for a great individual try. Conversion added. 36-0.
Larne never let the heads go down and they created an opening up the left flank, their winger diving over for a great try. 36-5. Normal service was resumed when debutant flanker Matty Cahoon made a great break inside the Larne 22, spinning out of tackles and dragging several Larne defenders with him towards the line. He was stopped just short but from the ensuing scrum Grosvenor steamrollered Larne over the line for a third push-over try and Kelly’s hat-trick. Conversion added. Final score 43-5.
Grosvenor will be pleased to get off to a good start in their first league match but there is much room for improvement, particularly in finishing off scoring chances. Nicky Koch had to leave the field just after half-time with a hamstring injury and we wish him a speedy recovery.
Man-of-the-match has to be a forward this week and despite Kelly’s hat-trick, Pierce Jamison at prop gets the nod for his impeccable set-piece play and rampaging runs in attack.
Physio watch – Imo’s nail polish was a natural gloss this week.
Grosvenor RFC – proud recipients of the IRFU Club Excellence Award 2011/12
3rd XV Travelling Travails Continue
On a day when 69 points were scored Grosvenor came out on the losing side by 43 points to 26. On a lovely autumnal day the 3rds travelled to Roughfort low on confidence after a poor performance and result away to Carrick the week before but before the game in the warm up and for the first 20 minutes last week seemed to be completely forgotten. The ball never left the Academy half for all of these 20 minutes but a number of scoring chances were squandered and Grosvenor ended up only 7 points ahead after a try by Glen McCready and conversion by James Taylor.
This period of Grosvenor pressure seemed to galvanise Academy and they soon upped their game. Both teams lost a player to injury although Marty Gault did attempt to return to the field only to be thwarted with back pains (no jokes as I know how he feels). As half time approached Academy scored a few very soft tries as a result of some seriously lack lustre tackling. However, Dee McLaughlin, playing his first game at centre, was to prove a constant thorn in the side of Academy and either side of half time he scored tries from inside his own half.
A further try was to be scored by Mikey Morris but every time Grosvenor looked to be getting a foothold in the game Academy struck and scored more tries, many of which were either avoidable or simply poorly conceded.
From a neutral perspective this was probably a fairly enjoyable spectacle but from a Grosvenor viewpoint it was at times very difficult to watch. A lack of lineout options hurt us very badly, poor allignment at rucks allowed Academy to persistently break around the fringes and some woeful tackling allowed Academy too many scores. One area of grave concern for players and coaches alike was the apparent lack of fitness of a number of players. This is something which needs addressed in training in order for this team to progress.
Man of the match is shared between Andy Kenny who is a constant barrel of energy and Dee McLaughlin for making such a surprising impact at centre.
Only hard work and commitment will remove us from this current period of malaise.
