Randalstown (17) V Newry 1st (20)
A great victory for Newry 1st’s which keeps the promotion hope alive.
Newry 2nd (10) vs Ballymena 4th (12)
Rugby returned to Newry after the recent cold spell which played havoc with the fixture lists across Ireland. With the First and Third teams both playing away last Saturday the main home fixture was a Forster Cup match between Newry Seconds and Ballymena Fourths. The afternoon was cold, wet and windy but those supporters who braved the elements were treated to a terrific game of rugby with the only blight on the day being the result which saw the City locals lose out with a score of twelve points to ten in favour of their country visitors.
The opening quarter saw the two teams fighting for possession and attempting to make inroads into the other’s territory. Newry established dominance in the set piece with Declan “Shoulders” Tolan and Rick “Flash” Gordon ascendant in the lineout and the ever youthful Donal Farrell hooking valuable ball against the head against a much bigger Ballymena pack. Newry efforts were rewarded with a superb solo effort by “man of the match” Declan Austin who latched on to an intercepted pass to sprint 70 lung bursting metres touching down for the opening score of the match. Further Newry pressure before half time yielded a second try only for the referee to bizarrely deny the score on the grounds that he did not see it despite the acknowledgements from both sets of players that the score was good. The half-time score; five – nil to Newry.
The second half started well for the visitors and some aggressive running saw them break through the Newry back line to score under the posts. With the resulting easy conversion, Ballymena then had their noses in front, seven points to five. Things some got worse for the city men when a moment of madness from the Newry out-half resulted in him being sin-binned and a second try being conceded. Newry then lost their star winger, Denis Doyle to injury and the visitors sought to take advantage of their extra numbers by throwing the ball out wide at every occasion. Newry for their part decided to keep the ball tight for the remainder of the game except for a lovely backs movement which put full-back Declan Doyle over in the corner for a second, unconverted Newry try. Newry continued to press for the winning score with evergreen Andy O’Donnell held up over the line and captain Paul Haughey bundled into touch on the line. Unfortunately for Newry there were to be no more scores and the final spoils went to the delighted visitors with a score line of twelve points to ten in their favour. Newry were left rueing a match wherein they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They will have to pick themselves up off the ground and do it all again away to Randalstown next Saturday.
Newry team: C O’Neill, D Farrell, C Best, D Austin, D Tolan, A O’Donnell, R Gordon, P Haughey, D Reilly, J O’Kane. D Doyle, J McEldowney, D Cranley, D Armstrong, D Doyle.
Youth
Newry rugby youth played back to back fixtures with Armagh last Wednesday evening and Saturday morning. The U17′s won both their games convincingly with a magnificent performance in Armagh, were they defeated their hosts 25-13. Newry ran in 5 try’s but their kicking needs practice as all conversions were missed, with both wins, Newry finished 3rd in their league a great achievement for the club.
The U15′s lost both their games. However both teams must be congratulated for providing the match of the year in Telford Park. Armagh won 3-0 but gutsy performances from all players meant no-one left this game early.
The U13′s also lost both their games to Armagh but certainly have shown signs of improvement since the start of the year. Kacper Janik and Ciaran Byrne were consistently good in both games whilst Joe Rice performed excellently on his return as Hooker.
On Wednesday night all teams were captained by a member of the Byrne Family. Ciaran captained the U13′s, Niall the U15′s and Ryan the U17′s. Hopefully one day they will all represent Newry on the same team.
Woman’s Rugby
This is the inaugural year for woman’s rugby in Newry, already there are great numbers showing up at the club on Sunday mornings at 11am. Anyone with any interest in rugby is welcome to join in, no experience is needed and professional coaching is provided.
Training
Senior and under 17’s training, occurs at Telford Park, on the Hiltown road adjacent the Cove Bar, Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7pm to 9pm, anyone interested in trying the sport are encourage to come out and have a go. Youth training is Wednesday evenings at 7pm, U13’s and U15’s welcome to attend.
Fixtures 22-1-2011
Newry 2nd XV Away v Randalstown
Newry 3rd XV Away v Cavan
Youth – All 3 teams start their cup competition away to Dromore.
