Quins II 43-13 City of Derry II
Quins II 43
City of Derry II 13
By Mark Henderson
Saturday 10th December Quins 2’s returned to the Senior 2nd XV league after three weeks of Conference league fixtures which saw two of those games being postponed due to pitches being unplayable.
City of Derry travelled to Deramore Park for a 1pm ko to facilitate the Ulster Ravens fixture and the large crowd of spectators were not to be disappointed with a fine display of rugby from both teams although Quins were to run in seven tries against two from the visitors.
The game started at pace and Quins forwards dominated play and just rustiness stopped Quins having an early score, but on the seven minute mark blindside flanker Babe was to score out wide which was converted by James Sheills giving Quins a 7 – 0 lead.
City of Derry fought back but were unable to break the Quins defence, although Quins had the same problem for the next 20 minutes, unable to unlock the defence line of COD. On the 27th minute COD were awarded a penalty which they kicked making the score 7 – 3 with 13 minutes left in the half.
Some excellent play between the Quins backs and forwards resulted in a Robbie Creighton try on the 30 minute mark followed 7 minutes later by his brother David scoring an excellent try converted by Sheills, some two minutes later after a great backs move Robbie went in again out wide putting the halftime score at 24 – 3 for the home side.
Quins forwards had shown their talent in the first half with dominating the scrums and loose play, they managed to take 3 scrums against the head against a formable COD pack who themselves were very mobile about the park but just could not live with the young Quins side.
The second half started well for Quins with an excellent try from lock Mike Willis, converted by Sheills in the first 2 minutes, however 3 minutes later Quins were to lose try scorer Babe with a Knee injury putting the side down to 14 players.
This gave the hard working COD a lift and some good work by them resulted in a score out wide unconverted putting the score to 31- 8. Quins soon gelled and two wonderful tries were to end the game with both backs and forwards intermingling without mistakes, the first resulted in winger Holmsy scoring wide on the right wing and the second was good interplay from the forwards and backs with Mike Willis side stepping the opposition and passing to Robbie Creighton how went in on the corner for his third try converted by Sheills who had set the play off, prior to this COD managed an unconverted try after some good back line play.
Although the final score was 43 – 13 it did not reflect the entertaining game both side played and the amount of possession COD had during the game however Quins were clinical in their play and although the smaller pack dominated the forward play.
Captain Paul Greenaway said he was pleased the way his side had played and the amount of work they had put in last week on the training pitch in poor weather conditions had paid off.
Quins continue their 2nd XV League campaign with an away game to Ards next Saturday
Inishowen 10-12 Quins IV
The 4’, accompanied by a hardy bunch of supporters, made the long trip to Inishowen RFC for the first round of the McCambley Cup on Saturday and came away from Donegal with an epic victory against a seasoned cup team who have rarely lost at their home ground.
The persistent rain throughout the week meant conditions underfoot were poor and from the first whistle it was evident that any chance of a free-flowing running game was unlikely, but credit to both teams, who tried to move ball into space. Choosing to play with the tide in the first period, Quins started well and it was evident from the first ruck that the 4’s meant business (as did Inishowen). This resulted in a 20 minute stalemate with neither team able to dominate however it was Inishowen who registered the first points of the day with a well taken penalty after 22 minutes to make it 3-0. This seemed to spur the Quins men on as they drove continually at their opponents with Paul Gardiner tidying up things at scrum half. All the forwards took their turn to hit ruck after ruck and put in tackle after tackle and with Gardiner probing and Scotty kicking well and feeding Matty in the centre, who went on several great charging runs, it was only a matter of time before they registered some points. Quin’s first try came from a kick ahead, Dr Fergal chased like a sprinter and the pressure he put on the full back allowed Paul Gardiner to get to the ball (which had kindly rolled over their line) to touch down. The conversion was missed to leave the score 3-5 which it remained until half time.
Turning round after the break and playing into a slight breeze the 4s men continued in the same vein as the first half with the intensity and commitment to put their bodies on the line clear to see from the side-lines. Matty, Aedan, Pete and Paddy Butler (making a welcome return after parental leave) took a lot of ball on from the base of rucks and with Harry, Ian and Lewis in support and gaining a lot of hard yards themselves the 4s pressed into the Inishowen half. On 60 minutes the referee adjudged the Inishowen backs to be offside allowing Scotty a shot at the posts however the kick fell short and with no real chasers putting pressure on the defence, they ran the ball out of their own half, kicked ahead and crossed the Quins line. With the conversion the score read 10-5. Undeterred, the 4s then laid siege to the Inishowen line with a host of rucks but were unable to breach their defence and, after trying to move the ball wide, an understandable knock-on gave Inishowen a scrum in their own 22. All was not lost however as Paul Gardiner, yet again playing out of position at 9, sealed another man of the match performance when he pounced on an error from their number 10 in his own goal area to score just left of the posts and with Scotty converting the score line was 10-12 with 15 minutes to go. Inishowen then battered the Quins defence for a sustained period and were awarded a penalty after an indiscretion at a ruck. Their out half curled the ball just left of the posts and from the resulting 22 Quins were able to put the ball back into the Inishowen half. With 3 minutes remaining and still all to play for, Jamie Sterling was sin binned for a tremendous “man and ball” tackle which the referee claimed was dangerous. This put the 4s under more pressure but yet again the sheer determination and grit to keep them out reduced their chances of scoring to nil. The final whistle was met with relief and sheer delight and rightly so.
This performance has to rank as one of the most committed and determined this reporter has witnessed in numerous years of watching the game. The willingness of all the players to put personal safety second to the performance of the team was a sight to behold and proves that there is a large amount of pride and spirit within the team. Martin Malseed (subbed for jack lavery after an hour of fine mud-wallowing) and Kieron scrummaged very well, Aedan Harrison was outstanding in the loose and Paddy and Pete delivered a gritty performance, continually taking the ball at men twice their size. The back row were, yet again on top form and refused to let anything through and with Paul at scrum half proved a formidable defence. Scotty controlled things at ten and his encouragement and direction throughout the game played a big role in the victory. Matty, Dr Fergal, AJ and Gareth ran and tackled like it was the final and Finton looked cool, calm and collected at full back.
All in all a great victory and a great day out, capped by the hospitality afforded to all the team and supporters by the Inishowen President, John, who hosted us regally in The Arch. The attitude and dedication of the Inishowen team and their president is something to be admired and our best wishes go to them for a long run in the Butler Shield.
Finally the bus journey home was a rather subdued affair with the only highlights being Craig’s excellent poetry recital, a song from “new tourist” Dr Fergal Monaghan and a rather freakish display from Kieron Degan, the “human bottle opener”. The 4s men and their band of supporters returned to Deramore extremely happy, safe in the knowledge that they had achieved what few, if any, Belfast sides have done in many years; leave Inishowen with a cup victory. It was a long day, it was a good day and the team earned a great victory. Next week its back to the league and the final match prior to the Christmas break at Ards.
Quins III 25-10 Portadown III
THEY SAY revenge is a dish best served cold this week it was served in sub zero Belfast on the back pitch of Deramore.
Having been sent home with no points and little dignity in early October the Wayne Storey select had a score to settle but the carnival atmosphere around the club was not replicated in the depths of the clubhouse.
The warm up was neat but quiet and that mood was sombre, despite storeys futile attempts to get a buzz going. Little did he know what he mistook as a morose mood was in fact determination pouring from the 15 due to be released on the pitch. It wasn’t until the first whistle went that the emotion came out with some claiming they saw a tear falling from Ivan Girvan’s eye.
CLINICAL in a word is how the game started. Penalty, precision kick to corner, line out take, cycle, recycle; try in that order and in about the same length of time. Dan McRitchie, small in stature but huge in determination bludgeoning his way over the line from five yards like one of Wayne’s thorough-bred stallion’s,
A penalty from the Portadown ten mid-way through the half was met by some old fashioned crash ball running from Ivan Don and Andy McPhail. A reminder why we don’t do contact in training and why we like them in our team on a Saturday. After some patient build up play on the Portadown try line McPhail found, or made, a hole leaving the score 15-3 at the half.
Even the guy with the three legged Labrador on the sidelines could see it was only a matter of time before Usain Scott and McPhail would link up, and glorious it was when it happened. Pete collecting the restart for the second half weaving round a handful of would be tacklers before McPhail hit a majestic line on the Quins ten before gassing his way all the way to the try-line with Trimby hot on his heels to call him fat once he touched down.
The rest of the second period was played inside the Portadown half and when it wasn’t Trimby Gibbo and Batman ran the ball back with interest. Further scoring was limited to a Portadown consolation and as the Gurkin of time made its way to the Big-Mac of destiny the final kick of the game was a penalty by Cabbage to leave the score 25-10.
THERE was little doubt that the massive support at the game enjoyed a wonderful spectacle, initial worries that the pack were in fact too big and there were too many flamboyant ball carriers amongst them were put to bed by Ben, Ritchie and Dan who according to stats man Francois were at every ruck (but I don’t speak French so I don’t really know what it said). Some players questioned whether Dan was actually playing considering they didn’t see his face for 80 minutes. There was no mistaking master Waterson who stuck out like a sore thumb coming down from lineouts with snow on his head. There was no mistaking the work ethic of Paul and Jodie volunteering themselves not only at set play but at also in the loose and Jodie’s constructive criticism as always was not lost on anyone, particularly Josh the referee and that guy who looked at him funny on the side-line.
At one stage Barry Dowling was overheard referring to the balanced running of Connor complemented Andy’s direct approach like a rich Merlot with a Steak but then again Barry did go to Portora.
It should be noted that Josh had to be dragged off the pitch after the 80 having set the record for the most tackles in a single match.
Man of the match is Cabbage because I wrote this so I can…..
“Obviously as the above report was written by Cabbage there is no mention of his attempted drop goal from the halfway line which was as you can imagine no-where near the posts & there is also no mention of his pass through his legs to no-one!!!”
“Great work guys – let Wayne know who all can go to the Christmas dinner on Saturday night – Also Francois leaving do, so let’s make an effort!!!! Remember to wear your silly Christmas jumpers!!!!
