ARDS SHARE SPOILS WITH DUBLINERS
Ards 15 V 15 Suttonians
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF I XV V INSTONIANS
Dublin side, Suttonians, were the visitors to Hamilton Park on Saturday for the second AIL match of the season. With both teams having lost their first match the result was crucial for Ards to get their campaign up and running. The game was played in dry conditions and Ards elected to play into the strong breeze coming from Scrabo. The home side were quickly into their stride and Paul Cox confidently stroked over a penalty from 25 metres after just three minutes. The lead was short lived however with Suttonians using the elements to their advantage and following a series of lineouts and scrums close to the Ards line they scored an unconverted try in the right corner after eight minutes. Ards regrouped and with the back row of Stinson, Minis and Calvert contesting ferociously in the loose, possession was retained, even though Suttonians were spending long periods in the Ards half. Then, a wayward kick from the backline handed the Dubliners an opportunity to attack and they did so with considerable pace and composure to score under the posts in the nineteenth minute, and with the conversion easily added Ards were 12 -5 behind. With the breeze picking up Ards had to defend strongly for the remainder of the half as Suttonians through everything into attack, attempting to build up a significant lead. The Ards defence stood up to the challenge with their young players making tackle
after tackle to keep their line intact. They played the elements well in the second quarter and showed good teamwork and understanding to gain a foothold in the Suttonians half as the break approached. Eventually Suttonians were penalised for hands in the ruck and Cox held his nerve to convert the penalty into the wind to make it 12-6 at the interval.
The second half saw Ards dominating territory for long periods with Cox reducing the arrears to just three points with another penalty early on. Stephen Cole, who was having an excellent game then had to leave the field with a knee injury and Ards reorganised with Andrew Hassard taking his place. The relatively old heads of McCavery and Creighton, both playing their first senior games in a long time, kept the Ards pack going forward, and were well supported by Conor Piper and Matty Weir with their ball carrying and aggression. The Suttonians defence were forced to concede penalties and Paul Cox squared the match in the sixtieth minute when he was again successful with his fourth penalty. The final quarter saw the game opening up with both sides striving for a precious win and with the wind no longer a factor. To their credit Suttonians looked dangerous in attack and this paid dividends when they scored a penalty with only two minutes remaining to take a three point lead. Ards had to respond quickly and they rose to the challenge admirably. As the seconds ticked away Ards were camped inside the Suttonians 22 metre line retaining the ball through numerous phases. The pressure worked as the visitors were forced to concede a penalty close to their posts and young Cox showed a cool head by dispatching the penalty to leave the sides all square at 15-15. Both teams picked up two league points and the share of the spoils was probably a fair result between two closely matched teams. This Saturday Ards play Connemara at the Monastery Field in Clifden, Galway. The Ards squad was; Weir, Piper, Wylie, Creighton, McCavery, Stinson, Minis, Calvert, Banford, Cox, Todd, Cole, Young, McClean, Wilson, McClure, Busby, Dawson, Hassard, and Devlin.
Ards 2nd XV v Londonderry YM 1st XV
Saturday 8th October
Ards seconds made the long trip to Drumahoe on Saturday afternoon to open their Conference League campaign. The game was played in wet conditions but produced a keenly contested affair between two evenly balanced sides.
Ards took to the field with just fourteen players due to a very late cry of. This seemed to spur the young Ards team into action as they took the lead after a fine drive by Mathieu Wilson to lead five nil. Ards continued to dominate the early period and added a second try through Adam McKee who latched onto a loose ball to charge in at the corner. Ards tired in the final 10 minutes of the half and allowed YM to score two tries to leave a half time score of 10 each.
The second half began with the larger YM pack dominant. Pressure was put on the Ards team and penalties were conceded too often. This gave YM good territory and Ards were relieved to weather the storm by only conceding a penalty and drop goal. As the game swung back in favour of Ards they exerted pressure on the YM line. The more experienced Ards front row were able to pin YM on their own line for a succession of scrums and with a penalty try imminent Ards released their backs to allow Roger Scott to cut a good angle and score close in. Stephen Robinson added the conversion to put Ards into the lead 17-16.
With eighteen minutes remaining disaster struck as Ards forward Mathieu Wilson suffered a bad break to his ankle. Due to the nature of the injury the game was abandoned with agreement of the two captains and referee.
Ards would like to thank all those who helped with first aid and thank everyone from YM for their messages of support. All at Ards wish Mathieu a full and speedy recovery and hope to see him back at the club as soon a possible.
Irish Guards challenge match
Thursday night seen the Irish Guards rugby team, band and supporters descend upon Hamilton Park by the coach load!
As part of the weekends celebrations the Irish Guards brought their rugby team along to Ards for the annual charity match. This fixture has been played on a regular basis over the past three years and is becoming hugely successful.
Thursday night seen the guards arrive, bringing along with them their recruitment trailer, the Fifes and Drums, the Pipes and Drums, their officers and friends along with four coach loads of soldiers from the regiment.
Despite the wind and rain earlier in the day the game got under way with near perfect playing conditions. Early in the game the guards broke loose and sent the right wing in for a score in the corner giving the guards an early lead.
Ards came back with a penalty and a try of their own towards the end of the half to nudge ahead just before the break.
While the two sides got their breath and took some water on board the Guards Fifes and drums took to the pitch providing the half time entertainment.
The second half seen the Ards select team push further ahead with several well worked tries. The guards however were undeterred by the Ards play and went on the attack themselves. From one of several strong runs deep into the Ards half the guards No. 8 crashed through for a score under the posts.
The final stages of the match were just as evenly contested as the first half with a lot of hard running from both sides. The guards got the final say of the game as No. 22 took a tap penalty and burst through the Ards defence to score just under the posts. The conversion saw the Ref blow the final whistle.
This was a terrific game for the spectators with plenty of open play and end to end play.
Post match saw the Clubhouse filled to capacity for the awards a bowl of stew and further entertainment from the Pipes and Drums.
The President would like to thank all those involved in arranging the fixture, cooking up and serving the grub, working behind the bar, the match officials and all those working behind the scenes to ensure a very successful and enjoyable evening for all.
Thanks must also go to the Officers and soldiers from the Irish Guards who came along to take part and support the event
Up Coming Events at Ards RFC
Sat 15th October – 8:00pm
Quiz nite by Ards Ladies
Sat 29th October – 7:30pm
Poker Night
Sat 6th November – 8:00pm
St Trinians Disco
Fri 18th November – 6:00pm
Ards RFC’s major fundraiser for 2011 will be a trip to the Drumbo Dogs Track, on
Please see the club Web Site for more information. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/ards/
