Brurnsy Brace Steadies Service
By Roy Lawton, 1st Dec 2013
Chris Burns nailed his colours to the mast and helped secure a vital league victory over BHSFP with two excellent tries at Stormont on Saturday. Dan Cartland ensured the points stayed firmly in the bag with his ‘never give up’ attitude which was rewarded with a fine try late in the second half to round off the day with a 19 – 12 score line in favour of Service.
Malone make the most as Civil crocks prove costly
by Brinley Sturgeon
A game played in the best spirit by unfortunately was ultimately decided by 3 quick injuries to key Service players that finished any contest
CLICK HERE for the shots from Martina O’Brien photography
The phrase ‘a game of two halves’ is the perfect description for this game that was tight 14-6 at half time but with three injuries to key players- Rab Snodden at hooker, Lee Orderley at 8 and Marty Hamill at Centre- the hosts ran rampant against 13 man Service to romp away to a 55-6 win. The visitors had gamely fought hard against the odds but Malone used smart game management to pick off the despairing defence out wide and repeatedly work the overlap to make the most of their numerical advantage.
The game kicked off but it was the same old slow start for Civil Service. Malone collected and recycled the ball comfortably and spread it through the hands well, sucking the Service defenders in before releasing their pacey winger. Ciaran O’Relly was cruelly exposed to the overlap and despite tackling his man and then Ryan Campbell at fullback making a thumping cover tackle the ball was distributed quickly to support runners wide for an early try under the posts.
With the previous 50-0 defeat to their hosts still fresh in the memory the omens looked bad when Malone scored their second just a little later with a similar move. With the conversions both dispatched successfully it left Service 14-0 down early on. As ever it only seemed after this setback that Service really got going with Captain Paul Culbert dragging heads back up and they started playing some of the rugby they’re capable of. In quick succession 3 penalties were awarded to Service around the 10 yard line in Malone’ half. Jonny Armstrong attempted to kick the first 2 but with the low lying kicking tee getting overrun by the long grass his usually reliable kicking was considerably hampered and both went wide. The third kick was sensibly drilled out for a lineout just shy of the opposition line. The throw was well taken by Stewart Moody and Service drove towards the whitewash. When they were finally slowed though, instead of keeping it tight they mistakenly threw a log ball wide- Poor centre Kenny ‘The King’ Dane fielded the very definition of a ‘hospital ball’ as he got hammered straight away by the aggressive Malone defence and they were able to clear their lines. Service were once again performing well in the set plays with scrums driving forward regularly headed by props Rab Warnock and Glenn Kirkpatrick and the lineouts well secured. They also put great pressure on the opposition ball and this resulted in a penalty to Service. With a new, higher kicking tee selected Jonny was able to return to his accurate best as he calmly slotted the 3 points. With their hunger returned Service battled forward with game management improving as they utilised the tight driving of the likes of Niall Donnelly and Simon Hoskins to make the ‘hard yards’. Another penalty late on in the half reduced the arrears to 14-6 and Service started to push forwards, one long kick taken deep by Malone was well followed up with some big tackles by Marty Hamill and Matt Thompson and suddenly Stuart Moody handed off the first defender and set off down the line but he was well dragged into touch from an excellent defensive cover tackle by the Malone winger.
With the game finely balanced it was then spoilt as a contest with a spate of unfortunate injuries to Service players, first Rab Snodden had to retire with a rib injury with Gareth Lewis coming in to play his first ever game of rugby! Shortly after the break Marty Hamill took a knock to his tibea and then within minutes Lee Orderley had to be helped off after his ankle gave way. With them now down to just 13 men Service were always going to struggle and Malone were experienced enough to work the numbers and pounce on any mistakes they could. With Service admirably still taking the game to their opponents they caused a few suprises as they drove forward when they kept rucking and mauling in tight but this was difficult to sustain for the best part of a half ad whenever the ball went wide Malone picked them off and scored repeatedly to win with an impressive 45-6 after 5 second half tries but certainly the scoreline did not tell the whole story. When the teams left the pitch at the end of the match though the handshakes were genuine and the cheers were heartfelt as everyone respected the effort and it was a mark of the sportsmanship at the two clubs that each injured player had been applauded by both sides as they were helped off.
Service Man of the Match:
Stewart Moody- ran himself into the ground as he worked to cover the gaps inevitably left by the injuries and looked dangerous carrying the ball forward.
Service team
1. Robert Warnock
2. Robert Snodden (inj Gareth Lewis 35mins)
3. Glenn Kirkpatrick
4. Paul Culbert(c)
5. Niall Donnelly
6. Stuart Moody
7. Simon Hoskins
8. Lee Orderley (inj 45)
9. Steven Lawton
10. Jonny Armstrong
11. Ciaran O’Reilly
12. Marty Hamill
13. Kenny Dane
14. Matt Thompson
15. Ryan Campbell
