Donaghadee 2nds 3 vs 34 Bangor 2nds League ~ Derby winning streak continues
For Pictures of Gryphons v Antrim RFC III XV CLICK HERE
Playing a derby match under lights on a Friday night is always an enticing affair for any rugby player. Bangor’s players certainly rose to the occasion and maintained their good form against the Dee with a convincing 34-3 win.
For Shots of the II XV v Donaghadee RFC II XV CLICK HERE
Due to the adverse weather, the game itself was given the go ahead mid Friday afternoon but this looked in jeopardy as the lights then failed. But all credit to the local spark, he soon got them working again and the match was a go.
With the Bangor 1st XV and alikadoos on the sidelines cheering on their clubmen, Bangor set about their business, looking to get some early points on the board.
The forwards showed from the off their intent to be physical and compete at every breakdown. Sometimes with too much vigour, they were penalised on numerous occasions for being off their feet.
It was, however, from a ruck that Bangor got their first points. With Dee penalised in front of the posts for side entry, Ryan law slotted the ball between the uprights.
Pete Gray was the first to cross the try line. The forwards set the platform for the backs to run the move with Pete striking from deep, showing great strength and balance to break several tackles en route to score under the posts. With Ryan’s conversion this brought the score to 10-0 after ten minutes.
The next 25 minutes were very much a scrappy affair, the flow of the game somewhat broken by the referee’s raised arm for infringements from both sides. The only incidents of note in that period were a penalty apiece bringing the score to 13-3 to Bangor. Both sides however, during this spell ,did show signs of promise but the penalty counts killed the passages of open play needed to suck in defence and create the space, for scoring opportunities.
On the stroke of half time, a break and pop pass by Ryan Law just inside the Dee half set Dave Miller cantering under the posts to the delight of the travelling support. Ryan duly converted making the score 20-3 in Bangor’s favour.
At half time , coach and captain Stephen Cullen stressed the need to reduce the penalty count at the breakdown as this was killing the style of rugby Bangor seek to play. The lads were hungry to put an impressive score on the cards and to their credit, they are more than capable of doing so.
With the second half underway Bangor, playing up the slope, were again guilty of being off their feet at the breakdown. This was the last straw for the ref and the ever increasing penalty count, and Seth Crawley was sent to sit under the posts for the next 10 minutes.
This however seemed to be the catalyst Bangor needed as with just 14 men they lifted their efforts , strung together 6 phases of play which resulted in Pete Gray again scoring under the posts. Ryan converted to make the score 27-3.
From the restart, a spectacular overhead catch by Ryan Meeke saw the second row break the first tackle and find himself in open field. He surged forward past the Dee 10 metre line, where the scrambled defence swallowed him up. The resultant ruck provided quick ball which Bangor took full advantage of. With slick hands from Dougie Gordon and Jamie Foulkes, the ball ended up in the hands of Dave Miller. The winger never needs an invitation to score, and took full advantage of the stretched defence to run in his second try. Ryan again converted bringing the score to 34-3.
It was in this passage the ref pulled his hamstring and brought the game to a close 20 minutes early.
To be honest, it wasn’t a spectacle of a game but derbies rarely are. Both sides seeking to have bragging rights adds to the physicality but finesse goes out the window. On this occasion, points go to Bangor who showed in spells the fruits of hard work put in over the summer. There is plenty to work on but it’s still early days.
Bangor team: S Cullen (capt), B McNally, S Irvine, A Rushe, R Meeke, S Crawley, J Ferguson, I McBurney, M Baillie, R law, D Gordon, J Foulkes, D Miller, N Cuthburtson, P Gray
(Big thanks to Andy Brisbane for this report, and to Sean Curran for the photos)
