SECOND FIFTEEN BREAK THEIR AWAY DUCK
The 2nd XV made the trip to Shaw’s Bridge with 0 wins from 3 on the road and in the knowledge they would be facing a strong Instonians team.
For the umpteenth time this season, the 2nd XV was unrecognisable from the team that played the previous fixture, the trip to Coleraine. The backline saw the return of Paul Blewitt to out half after being unavailable for the previous fixture, Nico Espana reverting to scrum half, Richard Bailey return from injury and the return of Gavin Gordon to the centre after several seasons in England. In the forwards, James Cheshire was promoted to the 2nds, Stephen Cullen moved into the front row, where he was joined by the returning Phil Collins and, in a very late change to the side, the unavailable Matthew Kane was replaced by Kyle Morrow.
Instonians kicked off for the first half in which both teams failed to find their rhythm. Both teams made handling errors early on and Donaghadee seemed very eager on trying to kick the corners.
As the half progressed Instonians were forced down to 14 men with an injury to one of their backs, however it was the Donaghadee pack who started to exert some dominance. They put together multiple phases with good running coming from Adams, Cheshire, Morrow and Thompson as they took the fight to the heavier Instonians pack. Unfortunately, the pack could not carry this dominance into the lineouts, with the Dee surrendering good possession and territory on more than one occasion. This forced the Dee men to keep the ball in hand at every opportunity which brough them right up to the Instonians line. After some good linkup play in the backs it looked like outside centre Ryan Campbell was about to make the breakthrough, only for some last ditch defense to rob him of the ball right on the line.
Donaghadee did manage to have the scrum awarded to them after Instonians carried the ball over their own line but the heavier Instonians pack finally won them a scrum against the head. This would be the only one of the game as hooker Blair Savage hooked superbly on the back foot all day. Instonians cleared their lines to around half way and, twice in quick succession, Donaghadee were awarded a penalty. Blewitt lined up both of these but fell agonisingly short with both. The whistle blew shortly afterwards as an entertaining half somehow finished 0-0 in which both sites had created some decent chances.
The 2nd XV have generally performed better in the second half when going away from home, which is why it came as a massive shock when Instonians took the lead with only 5 minutes gone in the half. The Inst men won the ball from the kick off and made several line breaks to bring them to the Dee 5m line. After some great defence in the tight it was a lapse in concentration that cost the Dee as the first defender was too eager to push off the line and leave enough of a gap for the Inst 9 to snipe through and finish. The conversion was missed but Instonians now had a 5-0 lead.
The Dee responded well and again found themselves with good possession and territory but just couldn’t find a way through a stubborn Inst defence. It really was starting to feel like “one of those games” as chance after chance went begging. Several Dee men made good line breaks but the Inst scramble defence was excellent as they snuffed out the danger again and again.
Finally the breakthrough came, with the forwards winning possession on the right hand side and the backline flashing the ball wide. Scrum half Espana followed the ball and had it returned to him to make the line break. Again Instonians scrambled back and forced Espana to send the pass wide to winger Andrew Cash. He received the ball outside the opposition 22 and still had a lot do, but he took off down the touchline, beating several defenders round the outside when he had very little room to work with and was eventually forced to cut in, where he beat another two defenders to score a try that was a magnificent team effort as well as an emphatic solo finish. Blewitt’s brilliant conversion was very unlucky as it come back off the post, but there was a sense that Donaghadee weren’t finished.
The Dee claimed possession from the kick off and again came flooding forward. The pack were winning great front foot ball that was allowing the backs to really stretch their legs which again brought the Dee right to the Instonians line. The pack continued to dominate with ball in hand and forced another penalty, with this one all too easy for Blewitt to slot over and give the Dee and 8-5 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Some teams may have sat back and defender their lead, but the Dee men were eager to secure a first away win of the season and came storming forward. Again the Dee pack won good possession on the right hand side. This time the blindside winger Andy McGrugan came off his wing and took the ball and arced towards the far corner. His pace proved too much for a tiring Inst defense and he cut through the line. The Inst full back did well to get across to him but he was well supported on the inside by flanker Stuart Thompson who was put away by McGrugan’s well time pass. The Inst winger was right behind Thompson when he received the ball but he showed a clean pair of heels to hold him off and score under the posts. Blewitt added the extras and gave the Dee an unassailable lead of 15-5 with only 1 minute left.
Instonians did manage to win the ball back from the kick off, but fumbled it as they came round the corner of the ruck. Donaghadee hacked the ball on but couldn’t recover possession and, with no advantage coming, the referee blew for full time and there was a massive weight lifted off the shoulders of the Dee men.
The Dee have been unlucky when going away from home this season due to a number of injuries and unavailable players. On Saturday, they showed what they can do when they have everyone fit and available. The 2nd XV now have five weeks off before a trip to Ards 3rd XV on 28th December. This will no doubt be a tough and fiery affair, but they couldn’t have asked for a better result going into this fixture.
THIS WEEK – DONAGHADEE v BANGOR – QUALIFYING LEAGUE ONE & RODNEY GRAY CUP
This Saturday heralds the return egaerly awaited Bangor fixture when the Dee welcome their near neighbours to Donaldson Park in the first of the two Clubs’ Qualifying One meetings this season. Bangor are in their first season back in Q1 after spending the last two in Q2 and although the Dee have enjoyed no little success in Q1 during that period the annual match-ups against Bangor have been greatly missed by players and supporters alike from both Clubs. The game, which kicks off at 2:30pm, doubles up on this occasion as the annual battle for the Rodney Gray Cup of which Bangor are the current holders. Bangor have had an excellent start to the season and will present an extremely difficult hurdle for the Dee men to overcome. A large crowd is expected and supporters are urged to make their way to Donaldson Park at the earliest opportunity as pitchside spots and carparking will be hard to come by. Neither the 2nd or 3rd XVs have a game this weekend.
