5 point Christmas bonus for firsts – Young guns contribute to well deserved victory
Cooke got an early Christmas gift with a well-earned bonus point win over Coleraine in this bottom of the table clash in Qualifying One. Within minutes and as spectators emerged from lunch it was the visitors who opened the scoring with an unconverted try from a ruck at the corner. Cooke pulled back three points with a Burrows penalty though the same player pushed a difficult penalty wide minutes later.
Cooke continued to battle courageously against a bigger Coleraine pack and were rewarded when player-coach Atkinson barged over from close quarters. Burrows added the conversion. Coleraine responded quickly when scrum half Kettyle emerged with the ball from a ruck on the Cooke 22 and ran under the posts unhindered. Carstens conversion saw the Bannsiders secure a 12 : 10 half time lead.
The Belfast side commenced the second half with a greater degree of urgency. Almost immediately out-half James Finlay stepped through at least 3 tackles for a fine individual try beneath the posts allowing Borrows the easiest of conversions. Coleraine received a further set back when influential number 10 Carstens had to leave the field injured and Burrows edged the Belfast team further ahead with a penalty as the Bannsiders continued to impede Cooke illegally. With confidence growing, the Belfast side struck again when centre Doherty crossed the line after a great phase of inter passing amongst his backs. The all important bonus point try for Cooke came with ten minutes remaining. The Cooke pack drove their opponents over the line from a maul some 10 metres out where Ulster U 19 hooker Scott Finlay made the touch down.
With victory almost certain, young winger Kyle Mitchell added his name to the score sheet, taking on his opposite number out wide for an unconverted try. The concluding score of the day went deservedly to Cooke’s live-wire scrum-half Charlie Burrows. The ex-Sullivan Upper pivot broke through in the Coleraine 22 to score under the posts, increasing his personal tally on the day to 17 points and completing the scoring atCooke 42 : Coleraine 12
This was a very encouraging performance where tries by ‘veterans’ Atkinson, James Finlay and Doherty were complemented by contributions from the youthful Mitchell and teenagers Burrows and Scott Finlay. Phil Cartmill returning from long term injury had a solid performance as the Cooke backs dominated their opponents. In the pack it was Atkinson who led from the front though the work rate of his open-side partner Mooney did not go unnoticed.
