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Armagh travelled to Shaw’s Bridge to play what was heralded to be one of the most crucial qualifying fixtures of the current season. Prior to the match Cooke had played 11 games lost one and with nine bonus points their points tally stood at forty nine. Armagh, on the other hand, had played ten fixtures also lost one, gained seven bonus points and their total points tally stood at forty seven but with a game in hand! This latest points situation included for the last Armagh fixture with Dromore when both clubs agreed to a ‘Double Header’ to apply when the one game would count for both Qualifying league and the Powerade Towns Cup quarter final Armagh won this game 38-19 in a high scoring home fixture.
The conditions were absolutely perfect for an exiting open game of Qualifying League rugby. While it was cold there was no wind and the pitch at Shaw’s Bridge was in perfect condition. These conditions had drawn a typically large crowd from the ranks of Ulster rugby. In fact there were observers from quite a few clubs in the junior leagues! From the kick-off the Armagh team immediately launched into their familiar attacking style and for the first quarter of the game Cooke were pinned inside their ‘22’. Armagh forwards came close to touching down on two occasions but only dogged defence work by the Belfast forwards kept the score board clear. However, after fourteen minutes the Armagh out-half, Adam Gowing, scored a fine try when he cut back inside his opposite number and touched down just left of the posts. His conversion brought the score to 0-7. This enormous effort had made its mark on the Armagh side, Lock forward, Brian Bassett, had suffered a suspected broken nose and full-back, Johnny Steenson, was suffering with a back strain. To add to these injuries both out-halves collided mid-air whilst attempting to field the same ball just inside the Cooke ‘22’.Thankfully, both players were able to resume at their positions after receiving attention!
Armagh continued to attack the Cooke line with both forwards and backs gaining good ground. Johnny Clarke came on whilst Bassett received attention for his blood injury. During this spell he made a fine break down the left wing only to be bundled into touch ten metres short of the Cooke line. In fact, it was only after twenty nine minutes play that Cooke were able to get points on the board. Armagh were penalised for off side in a line out and their out-half was successful with the kick to bring the score to 3-7. After thirty two minutes play Cooke forwards managed to force their way into the Armagh ‘22’ and another penalty saw the heavy Belfast pack take the line-out option only to be robbed when Armagh managed to force a turn-over to ease the pressure. At the half-time whistle Armagh had managed to hold at least 90% of the game in the Cooke half and were looking the more dangerous side. Cooke, on the other hand, were beginning to realise that if they kept the game tight, in the front eight, they might just grind down the lighter Armagh pack.
The second half started with Armagh adding to their already high penalty count. On this occasion a forward had strayed off side in a line-out. The resultant touch kick put Cooke inside the Armagh ‘22’ but yet again they were turned over. The Armagh pack were now gaining confidence and by employing rolling mauls they too were gaining enormous ground. From one of these mauls the ball was fed back to Gowing, who was lurking in the pocket and managed to put over a drop-goal to bring the score to 3-10. Almost immediately after the re start Armagh were penalised in front of their posts when they strayed off side again but the kick went wide of the posts. Within another five minutes the Cooke kicker managed to put another three points on the board when Armagh were penalised yet again. Score 6-10. Armagh managed to finally stamp their authority on the game when centre, Colin Atkinson, picked up a loose ball and blasted his way through the Cooke defence to score left of the posts. The kick went wide but the score 6-15 meant that Cooke, ironically, had to score at least twice to win the match. Up to this stage in the game they had failed to cross the Armagh line so it appeared an evermore daunting task for the Belfast side. Armagh maintained this score to the final whistle despite missing three fairly straightforward penalties.
When all is said and done the lighter Armagh pack showed much more physicality while their backs were more enterprising. The high penalty count, however, needs addressing. It cannot be emphasised enough that the massive crowd were entertained by two teams who put their all into a hard but clean game. Surely the entertainment enjoyed by this crowd reflects the fantastic standard or rugby to come from both these clubs. There is an enormous following in the province for the Ulster Qualifying League, indeed many a premier soccer club would relish the crowd seen at Shaw’s Bridge!
While Armagh had failed to score a bonus point they had managed to deprive Cooke the vital losing bonus. This now puts Armagh on fifty one points while Cooke remain at forty nine point. Bearing in mind that Armagh still have a game in hand the match at Chamber’s Park when Armagh travel to neighbouring Portadown on Sat March 26th will be a clinker. In the meantime, Bangor travel to the Palace Grounds on Saturday for another league fixture and while they are languishing at the bottom of the table they still posed a formidable opposition for a period of the match in Uprichard Park.
