We know Cooke were sore after our last visit and epic League win, so we went in with our eyes open and a steely determination in the build up to kick off.
The steely bit was well observed, as we got off on the front foot from the off and managed Cooke well in the opening stages, with Norm kicking a penalty on 5mins: 0 – 3. The next few minutes were littered with penalties to us as Cooke and the ref fell out, however, on 9 mins after some real offensive defence, we forced a loose kick from Cooke which Normski latched onto and hoofed downfield. Cooke scrambled the ball to touch. We took a good ball at the LO and set up a planned drive for “Permatan” Press to blaze over from 2 feet: 0 – 8. Over the next 20 mins the ref littered the game with penalties against us this time, but curiously Cooke declined kicks for goal – again the big Academy “D” was well able for Cooke. After some sustained pressure, on 28mins, we forced a penalty at a ruck with Normski converted: 0 – 11.
We were the more constructive for the last 10 mins of the half, but some daft mistakes blunted our efforts and Cooke eeked out a penalty. Half Time: 3 – 11
Almost from the restart Hubby, of all people goat a yellow card, being offside in midfield! Cooke got a hurry up realizing their 1 man advantage, and capitalised soon after, on 46 mins following some good high tempo, driving and recycling, finally drawing us first left, then right, then left as the Academy “D” wilted: 10 – 11. Nick Simpson came off with a bang on the cheek – Mad Matt came on in the back row, with Kyle moving to centre and Steve Stewart shuffling onto the wing. Just before Hubby came back on, on 51mins, Cooke got another penalty: 13- 11. Cooke tails were up, and the balcony filled with disillusioned Ireland supporters as this turned into a real ding dong. Restored to the full crew, we quickly got to grips again, and on 55mins, Kyle scored following a series of phases that most were involved in, notably Frank bulldozing, Hubby dancing, Norm being Norm and Stevie S showing off some soft hands: 13 – 16. On 58mins, Kyle didn’t get up from a ruck after piling through the Cooke defence and was eased off with very sore ribs – enter the Jacko! To be honest I missed a score from Cooke: 20 – 16, but got back to see Mood doing his Nasher impression, bursting onto a slick inside pass from Hubby to puff and pant his way in from 30m!! Norm converted 20 – 23.
The last 8 mins was like a scene from the Alamo, as both teams really went at each other, involving various kitchen sinks lobbed at us by Cooke, with the help of some nonsense penalty calls. These last minutes characterized this latest generation at Academy – real dog in defence, several seasons ago we may have leaked a score, but not this lot! 89 mins played and then peep peep……..Read Yer Ulster!!!
Final Score: Cooke 20 – Academy 23
Another defeat for Cooke at home to Academy, a nice wee pattern developing there. Some sore bodies afterwards, but what a performance. “Ravers” anyone????
UNDER 9’s
Seventeen boys made the trip to Malone’s Gison Park on Saturday. Our first match was against a strong CIYMS team but the boys played brilliantly. They demonstrated that they had taken on board last weeks rucking and mauling skills. CI were at times barely able to get their hands on the ball as we continually recycled but CI defended well. Nevertheless we fully deserved the 2-1 victory.
MINI RUGBY PHOTOS 1 – CLICK HERE
MINI RUGBY PHOTOS 2 – CLICK HERE
Next up were the hosts Malone. With so many boys keen to play we made wholesale changes but our much reshuffled team took time to settle with the opposition racing into a lead. Missed tackles costing us dear. However the boys rallied and we finished the game on the wrong side of the 5-3 scoreline.
More changes to our team were made to accommodate some latecomers in another game against CIYMS. The boys did go to ground to set up rucks but with tired legs support was lacking and this allowed the opposition to frequently come through and pinch the ball. Once again tackling could have been better and we finished 5-1 down.
Our final game was against the hosts Malone and the boys were determined to win this one. They lifted their game and once again rucked and mauled brilliantly. When spaces opened we took our chances and scored the tries. Our defence held firm and we ran out 4-0 winners.
A very enjoyable morning was finished off with crisps and juice from our hosts.
