Brilliant Bangor destroy Donaghadee
Bangor 2nds entertained Donaghadee 2nds on a perfect day for rugby. The game certainly matched the conditions, with the home side running rampant in the second half to win by 57-7.
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On Saturday Bangor 2nds welcomed our neighbours Donaghadee 2nds, in their last meeting of the year – Upritchard Park was looking well and bathed in early spring sunshine. With a large crowed supporting the home team the scene was set for a mouth watering game of rugby, and boy, they didn’t let us down.
Donaghadee kicked off and were immediately put under pressure by the home side. The Bangor pack were in form and started to dominate in open play, moving the ball through their hands with ease and precision. It was evident the training sessions were paying off, as the home side looked fitter and were more comfortable on the ball. With 10 minutes gone on the clock, the Bangor forwards secured the ball and moved it out to the backs. Ryan Law received the ball inside the Donaghadee 22 and with sleight of hand and nifty footwork, he sent the visiting defender the wrong way and scored. The conversion was unsuccessful, but Bangor opened the scoring to lead 5-0.
That score seemed to ignite the Bangor team, as they continued their assault on the Donaghadee line with our pack in what can only be described as majestic form, pushing their way through the Donaghadee defence with ball handling skills and support play that would not look out of place in the southern hemisphere. This led to Bangor’s second try, with Jake Harrison thundering through to score. This was converted by A Brisbane, and Bangor now led 12-0.
As the half progressed the home side were moving the ball well, maybe too well, a little complacency may have set in, as this led to a number of handling errors and penalties conceded.
With the score 12-0, you may think that Bangor had it all their own way, but this was not the case – the visitors were certainly making a game of it. It was only stout defending and superior fitness by the Bangor players that kept the score as it was. With 5 minutes to half time Freddy Black received a yellow card for a well deserved retaliation on the Dee hooker. With just 1 minute remaining, Bangor were awarded a penalty for a Donaghadee infringement. This was converted by A Brisbane, and the referee blew his whistle to conclude the first half with Bangor ahead by 15-0.
The team talk was all about our over commitment to the ball and the penalty count. The Captain A Brisbane urged his players to keep up the high standard they set in the first half.
The game restarted with the home team stepping up to the mark, which the captain had asked for at half time. The pack were superb and ably led by S Cullen, who bossed his troops around the field of play. They responded with a work rate Ulster would be proud of – the visiting team had no answers to the ferocity of the Bangor pack, who I may say were in majestic form. With the return of Freddy Black after his 10 minute rest, Bangor were once more back to full strength.
With 6 minutes into the second half the Donaghadee moved the ball to their back line who ran in a well executed try, which was converted leaving the score 15-7. If the visiting team saw this as hope on the horizon, the Bangor players saw it as a challenge to up their game once more. The Bangor team set siege on the visitors half of the pitch, and after a combination of slick moves from the forwards and backs, the ball finally made its way into the hands of D McNally who broke through to score. Well I counted 3 tackles but Duckie later said it was probably 5. No matter what the count was, it was a try that he made happen with his powerful running. Bangor were successful with the conversion, bringing the score to 22-7.
As the Bangor pack continued to push on, the backs demanded more ball, and when they got hold of it they didn’t disappoint the home support, with young Matt Coey breaking at will. His only problem was the speed of his breaks – his supporting players were sometimes left behind. Again it was small errors that led to Bangor not scoring more points. With D McBride chasing his own kick, he out sprinted the Donaghadee defence only for the bounce of the ball to beat him at the last second. The home team were now on fire and it felt we could score at will. The forwards carried the ball into the Dee’s 22, it was then dispatched to R Law who crossed the line to score. Again this was converted by A Brisbane, extending Bangor’s lead to 29-7. At the restart the home team continued to press the visitors line. Once more the forwards were in, yes I’m going to say it again, majestic form. This time Rob McCausland was Bangor’s scorer, with another successful conversion by A Brisbane.
The home side were now in their stride and fully loaded to inflict devastation on the visiting team. The forwards now in full control, the ball was moved quickly to the wing, where (electric legs) David Charles received the ball in his own half. With not one visiting player putting a hand on him, David ran through to score under the posts. The simple conversion now brought the score to 43-7.
At the restart, Bangor backs were now running at will, and the pack dominating at the breakdown. The ball was again secured by the rumbling forwards who set S Gilliland off to score under the posts. With the added conversion bringing the score to 50-7, this was turning out to be a bad day at the office for Donaghadee.
The visitors kicked off again and Bangor took possession deep in their own half. The ball went swiftly out to the Bangor backs and ended up in the arms of David Charles who took it gently in both hands and secured it under his left arm. He then set off down the right wing, scorching the earth as he moves untouched through the hands of the Donaghadee team, and to the delight of the home support he touched down under the posts – this was a marvellous individual try by a very talented player. The conversion was successful – the captain A Brisbane had an excellent kicking game today with only missed conversion. With the score now 57-7, the referee brought the proceedings to a close.
I would like to pay tribute to our opponents Donaghadee who to their credit never gave up, and indeed contributed to a breathtaking game of rugby, but they meet a Bangor team on form today.
Big thanks to Rick Armstrong for his time today.
I just have a few more things to say. One is a big ‘thank you’ to our team for once again producing a fantastic result; you deserve it because you played for it. Finally to our absent supporters – you missed a cracker.
