Saturday saw a 3rd XV team combining youth and experience make the relatively short journey to play Dromore in the first league game of the season at this level.
It was a fine, sunny day with a firm pitch which seemed ideally suited to CI’s expansive game plan. CI started brightly securing good ball at the line out and with Sheep and MacAttack securing reliable set piece ball in the scrum. In fact, the CI pack had their heavier opponents going backward on occasion, winning a couple of scrums against the head.
Despite good possession in the first quarter, early season rustiness was to blame for CI not troubling the score board. Too often the last pass was forced or an impossible offload sought to no avail. Strong running from the Dromore forwards tested the CI defence throughout. It was a stolen line out on the halfway line that facilitated the opening CI score, the ball whipped wide and the move finished off in the corner by Duncan Gleadhill. Neil Wallace added a score shortly after to extend the lead. Richard Meerkat was forced to leave the field shortly before halftime with a recurring neck injury, leaving CI with 14 players for the remainder of this game…….. for the full report >> http://ciyms.com/2014/09/14/dramatic-finish-downs-dromore/
