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Civil Service (NI) RFC 10 Newry 22
Service travelled to Newry knowing that a win would see them progress in the cup while a loss would see them exit at the group stage. A few last minute alterations to the lineup had altered the team but the replacements of Brendan Smith and Danny Ansell proved to be more than adequate replacements as the game unfolded.
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It was a reluctant start, the Newry kick not really chased hard but allowed to bounce out into touch as nobody really went for it. The lineout was dubiously called not straight in the first of a number of questionable calls. The Newry players were very physical and enjoyed running hard at the Service defence which held firm despite the repeated bombardment. Some great counter rucking from Service turned over the ball but then were adjugded to have not released giving the Newry 10 a good kick to make it 3-0. Some scrappy play then followed, both teams maybe a bit nervous and handling wasn’t great as knock ons from both sides started occurring but the Newry packs’ early dominance in the scrum made things very difficult and when Service were penalised for coming round the side of the ruck they were punished again to leave them 6-0 down. Some good play followed that with Service seeming to realise that they were good enough to get something and after a smart quick penalty from scrum-half Alistair Montgomery, Jonny Armstrong at 10 was able to reduce the deficit with a smart kick to 6-3. Another debatable ‘Not straight’ call at the lineout followed and a good covering tackle from Danny Ansell followed a dangerous break from Newry down their left wing. Another penalty for coming round the side though was quickly taken and Newry were able to touch down for a try which was left unconverted at 11-3. A great cover tackle by Emmett McKimm on the wing was quickly followed by a great break by Moore Holmes whose pass then just was agonisingly not held. Unfortunately Newry then progressed down the pitch and a third penalty was given away and converted to make the score 14-3 at half time.
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Unfortunately at the start of teh second half play didn’t seem to improve much and much attritional work was done in the middle of the pitch with neither team really making much ground or able to make much headway. Unfortunately then the first to lose concentration were the Service defenders who missed a couple of tackles which newry took advantage to score a second try. At6 14-3 Service had to get back into the game but another fantastic break from Moore was left unconverted and it took a sensational wrap up tackle on the line to steal posession and allow Service to clear. Again though Newry’s kicker took advantage of sloppy play as Service were penalised and another 3 points made the score 22-3 with about 10 minutes left to play. Service somehow then started then playing some of the best rugby of the match, another quick penalty and run by Alistair made yards and a smart pass to Beachboy was well finished as he showed good speed and agility to cross the line, quickly converted by Jonny to make it 22-10. Another quick break by Moore had the service supporters cheering as they nearly scored again and as the referee whistled to finish the game they were left to wonder what could have been if they’d had that confidence throughout teh match.
Man of the Match: Moore Holmes- his usual hard hitting defensive game was added to by an equally impressive attacking display where a couple of breaks could, and possibly should, have seen Service score more points.
Civil Service (NI) RFC 2nd XV 7 Belfast Harlequins 4thXV 12
Service 2’s came up against a strong, well organised Harlequins team in a match that may have lacked some of the excitement of some of the high scoring affairs Service have been involved recently but was a tough battle between two very evenly matched teams.
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The afternoon began with a torrential downpour just prior to kickoff but as the referee’s late arrival prompted a slightly delayed kickoff the clouds had time to part and the sun suprisingly shone brightly down on Deramore as George Brown kicked off the match. General indecision reigned in the Harlequins pack as the ball bounced through them into touch for the first lineout of the match. Brian Wilson did well to disrupt their line as he continued to do all afternoon, forcing some errors however Quins pushed up field and the overkeen Service defence was called offside within the 22 area. The Quins outhalf calmly slotted over the penalty to give them the lead and was later able to slot over a second from the 10 yard line to put them 6-0 up. Service had been given very little from the referee but had two attempts at goal missed by George Brown, the first from right over towards the touchline and the second from near the halfway mark facing into the wind. A break from centre Moore Holmes nearly saw Service gain some points after some great pressure but JC wasn’t quite able to touch the ball down and Quins were able to clear their lines and escape without conceding as the ref blew for halftime.
Service started out strongly in the second half but soon Zombie came on for prop Peter McKee who had done admirably in his first game for the club in quite a number of years. George Brown received a yellow card but even down to 14 men Service matched the high tempo of their opponents and held them at bay. Most of the action was happening in the middle of the park, both teams refusing to give an inch and defences held strong in both directions. Team captain Ryan Campbell took a knock and went off reluctantly to be replaced by Mark Symington just before Moore Holmes missed another long, ambitious penalty after Quins were penalised for diving over the ruck. Unfortunately Quins kicked another penalty to give them a strong 9-0 lead before Phil Patterson at 8 took a great burst and showed good speed to break through only to be denied by a good tackle from their fullback, the knock he took then forced him to come off and allowed Marty McGuigan to step into the pack. The Quins outhalf then converted one more penalty to put Quins into an unassailable 12-0 lead before Dan Cartland scored a fantastic solo try darting past a number of desperate defenders to make the scoreline a more reasonable 12-7.
In all Service can feel a little frustrated at not taking their chances in the first half when they had built a good platform to score. Some very good place kicking decided the match but both defences showed great resilience and showed why both teams will give others a tough game this season.
Starting XV 29/10/2011 Belfast Quinns (A)
Dan Cartland
Kenny Dane
Greg Brown
Moore Holmes
Ryan Campbell
George Brown
Neil Palmer
Jason Orderly
Brian Wilson
Phil Patterson
Robin Fleming
Niall Donnelly
Peter McKee
Jonny Cartwright
Andrew Sloan
Subs
Marty McGuigan
Stephen Hein
John Kelly
Mark Symington
Brett Jones
