Ulster Senior League 1st XV vs Ards (39 – 6)
A fractious sort of game that never reached any great heights and one that both sides will be happy to forget.
Dungannon led 10 – 6 at half time after a first half that never flowed. A cause of great concern to the home contingent was the loss of Jason Bloomfield, with what we hope is not a serious injury. Eventually Gannon got some momentum in the final quarter scoring four tries and gaining the bonus point.
The game started well for Dungannon on a fine evening at Stevenson Park. A turnover scrum saw Jaryd Bennett starting a move that allowed David Egner to fly over in the corner. Michael Lawton converted with a fine kick.
7 – 0
Ards pressed and after several phases Rowan Halsall wrestled possession away for Gannon but lacked support and Ards were awarded a penalty that Paul Cox dispatched in the tenth minute.
7 – 3
A good Dungannon move caught Ards offside and Michael Lawton kicked the resultant penalty after twelve minutes.
10 – 3
Dungannon dominated territorially for a long period but took too much out of the ball on occasions. They missed opportunities to score after some good build up play, eventually Ards punished those misses with another Cox penalty after thirty-four minutes.
10 – 6
Gannon pressed again in the run up to halftime but failed to capitalise on their superiority.
A Michael Lawton penalty after forty-five minutes extended the lead.
13 – 6
After the hour mark Gannon clicked into gear and following a good lineout take by Paul McCarroll and a great scrum Dungannon’s pressure told and James McMahon forced his way over on sixty-five minutes. Michael Lawton converted.
20 – 6
Dungannon’s next try followed a great break up the touchline by Stuart McCloskey, the move was carried on by Derek Hall, Mark Jenkinson, Jaryd Bennett and Mark O’Shea. When the ball was recycled for the third time Michael Lawton come into the line and went over on the left. Unfortunately his conversion attempt bounced back off a post.
25 – 6
A good restart take by James McMahon set Gannon on the front foot again. An Ards clearance kick was taken by Michael Lawton who chipped ahead and as he gathered the ball he was felled by an Ards defender and left the pitch on a stretcher. We are pleased to report that he recovered post match and is not seriously injured. Gannon now had their danders up and a second McMahon try followed on seventy minutes, Jaryd Bennett added the extras.
32 – 6
Ards lost a man to the bin and Gannon made the superior numbers count when Mark Jenkinson made good ground a fed Darren ‘Dazzler’ Simpson who raced over to score behind the posts. Stuart McCloskey added the extras
39 – 6
Not a great performance but five more league points accumulated.
However we must remember that six of the normal side were on duty with the Ravens, Craig Miller, Tim Smith, Adam Duhig, Callum Threlfall and Michael Kirkwood were injured and Paul McKenzie unavailable so it is not surprising that it took over an hour for the team to really come alive. On the pitch Phil Whyte, James McMahon and David Egner made the most of their opportunities and the presence of the evergreen Kieran Campbell had a great influence on the game.
Team: Michael Lawton. Mark O’Shea, Paul Magee, Stuart McCloskey, David Egner. Jaryd Bennett, Jason Bloomfield. Glen Sinnamon, Phil Whyte, Mark Farquhar. Mark Jenkinson, Paul McCarroll. Derek Hall, Rowan Halsall, James McMahon. Paul Jackson, Steven Sinnamon, Ben Howard, Darren Simpson, Kieran Campbell.
Referee: Stuart Douglas (Instonians)
Tries: David Egner, Michael Lawton, James McMahon (2) & Darren Simpson
Conversions: Michael Lawton (2), Jaryd Bennett & Stuart McCloskey
Penalties: Michael Lawton (2)
Millar McCall Wylie Ulster Junior Cup 2nd XV vs Donaghadee (21 – 30)
There was no shortage of entertainment in this Millar McCall Whylie Junior Cup Quarter Final encounter at Stevenson Park. Qualifying League leaders, Donaghadee were expected to provide a stern test for the hosts and they did pulling clear twice to finish worthy winners on a 4-2 try count.
Dungannon made the early running with Rowan Halsall taking play into the Dee half before a knock on spoiled the chance. The hosts’ held good field position though and Jaryd Bennett fired over a penalty on six minutes.
Seconds later the sides were level when Dee winger, Ricky Santos struck in similar fashion.
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3 – 3
The visitors still hadn’t settled and when they tried to move the ball a spillage allowed Stuart Lester to put Gannon back on the offensive. Darren Simpson went close before Jaryd Bennett knocked over his second penalty on fifteen minutes.
6 – 3
That drew a riposte from the Down men and within five minutes they rocked Gannon with two well taken tries. First it was No 8, Richard Millar following a flurry down the right flank before Santos added a second midway through the half. The latter converted his own score to give Dee the lead.
6 – 15
On twenty-five minutes Dungannon came back into the game when a superb break from Darren Simpson sent Alan Cummings away and his try cut the deficit to four points.
11 – 15
Forward exchanges overheated on the half hour and each side lost a player to the ‘bin’. Despite the extra room on the park the score remained 11-15 at the break.
Donaghadee started the second half on a high note taking advantage of some erratic play in the Dungannon midfield. A spilled pass allowed Millar to race away once more and when Santos converted on forty-five minutes Dee were clearly growing in confidence.
11 – 22
Three minutes later the visitors increased their advantage when more sloppy play allowed the Dee pack to swoop for a try scored by Chris Goode.
11 – 27
Dungannon were now chasing the game and they did threaten in the final quarter. The first visit to the Dee line resulted in a turnover that allowed Bill Allen to clear the danger. Excitement then reached fever pitch when on seventy minutes Rowan Halsall sold an outrageous ‘dummy’ before going all the way for a super try. Jaryd Bennett converted.
18 – 27
At nine points between the sides there was still life in the game and time for Gannon to turn things around. Peter Smith almost escaped from a set scrum but the Donaghadee defence held firm and the home side had to be content with a Jaryd Bennett penalty on seventy-eight minutes. That left the Dee supporters a little uneasy until Santos sealed the issue with a penalty strike right on the final whistle.
21 – 30
A good game but Donaghadee were too strong on the day.
Team: Gareth Graham. Darren Simpson, Stuart Lester, Mark O’Shea, Brian Simpson, Jaryd Bennett, Rowan Halsall. Adam Lockhart, Paul Jackson, Ben Howard. Rodney Blair, Robin McCleary. Steven Sinnamon, Alan Cummings, Peter Smith (Capt).
Referee:
Tries: Alan Cummings & Rowan Halsall
Conversions: Jaryd Bennett
Penalties: Jaryd Bennett (3)
3rd XV vs Enniskillen 2nd XV (22-22)
Junior League. A first home game of the season for the 3rd XV, not what you expect in November. A number of changes once again from last week’s team but Dungannon certainly started the brighter and arguably should have had a try for their forward dominance in the early exchanges however they had to satisfied with a well taken Richard Fletcher penalty after 7 minutes. 3-0. Dungannon didn’t sustain the early enthusiasm in the forwards and Enniskillen missed a chance to level the scores when the visiting out half was unsuccessful with penalty attempt after 14 minutes. However they continued to pressure and were rewarded a further penalty on 16 minutes which was converted by their left winger. 3-3. Such was to be the pattern of the game, Dungannon then went on the offensive after conceding points and Richard Holmes did some great work at the kick off to force his opposite number into touch. Dungannon attacked from the lineout and Richard Fletcher almost made it to the line but from the resultant play, Dungannon were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Richard duly slotted after 20 minutes. 6-3. And so it was Enniskillen’s turn to pressure the home side however the dominant Dungannon lineout was proving decisive at this point and Dungannon cleared the danger and a good kick chase allowed them to pressure Enniskillen into conceding a penalty. Richard Fletcher took play into the Enniskillen 22 and Lorcan Martin secured possession again from the lineout and under pressure from the resulting play, the away side gave away another penalty under the posts. Richard Fletcher took the easy option and increased the lead to 6 points on 25 minutes. 9-3. Dungannon were only briefly able to hold Enniskillen at bay from the restart but eventually they conceded a penalty under the posts. In what initially seemed a strange decision they opted for the scrum but a good bust from their no. 8 led to a try for their prop, who picked up and dived over from a yard out. The winger added the extras on 31 minutes. 9-10. Tails were now up and Enniskillen bucked the trend and put the home side under pressure again for the remainder of the half. Their efforts were rewarded with another penalty on 39 minutes successfully converted by the winger. 9-13. Dungannon lost their influential 2nd row Lorcan Martin in the lead up to the penalty with a knee injury and he was unable to start the 2nd half. Dungannon started the 2nd half like the first and some badly needed urgency and desire was injected by Richard Fletcher who spotted a weak cover defence, taking a quick tap penalty and feeding no.8 Peter Keightly who barged over wide on the right after 47 minutes. The conversion was missed. 14-13. This spurred the rest of the side into life and with the home side on the offensive Enniskillen’s prop was yellow carded for hands in the ruck. He did his best to talk himself into more trouble but 10 minutes was enough to even up the numbers, if only for a brief period. Dungannon then began to make things hard for themselves with a number of silly errors and it was only a matter of time before Enniskillen capitalised. They were rewarded with an easy penalty for their winger, who had now got his eye in, on 58 minutes. 14-16. Enniskillen then lost another player to the sin bin for being, according to the referee, hearing impaired. However, as it turned out, this was literally one in – one out of the bin as their prop returned to the fray. However Dungannon won possession at an attacking lineout and in an uncharacteristic moment of exuberance from the backs, Eddie Laverty showed great pace and strength to come into the line in the middle of the park and round all the Enniskillen outside backs to score a great try in the corner after 63 minutes. The difficult conversion was unsuccessful. 19-16. Despite being advised that there was almost 20 minutes remaining an element of complacency crept in to the Dungannon effort. The breakdown had long since become a lottery and such was the amount of player chat, it was anyone’s guess as to why the penalties were being awarded. But it was Enniskillen who benefited on 70 minutes to draw level through their winger. 19-19. Not to be outdone, the Enniskillen right winger almost put the game beyond doubt with an excellent run after the restart. After kicking in the hope of winning the race for the touchdown he was impeded illegally by a large group of Dungannon players and the easy penalty allowed the left winger to give Enniskillen the lead with 7 minutes remaining in the match. 19-22. Cooler heads on the pitch from the home side may have brought about a try on a number of occasions. Another backs move saw Eddie Laverty bust the line again however the final pass to Angus Dines was just short of the target. The clock was really against Dungannon and when opportunities went astray, Dungannon were reprieved with a series of penalties. With the final play of the game Richard Holmes secured the lineout and an excellent and controlled drive from his fellow forwards into the 22 resulted in Enniskillen collapsing the maul just to the right of the posts. Richard Fletcher coolly slotted the penalty on the final whistle to leave the final score 22 points each. A game that initially seemed there for the taking ended up with Dungannon probably just deserving the draw after playing a half with 14 men. An inability to protect the scrum half, not only due to his own team and a lack of composure at times ultimately cost Dungannon any decent or sustained possession. If only the dangerous Eddie Laverty had seen more of the ball this would have been a different game. Improvements need to be made, primarily to fitness, to ensure everyone is playing at the same level as those who have kept this team unbeaten until now. Team: Eddie Laverty, Angus Dines, Mark Faloon, Jonnie Smith, John Toal, Richard Fletcher, Rory Patton; Steven Gavin, Richard Fletcher, Neil McGinley, Lorcan Martin, Richard Holmes, Philip McCammon, Mark Thompson, Peter Keightley. Referee: Michael Cairnduff. Tries: Peter Keightly, Eddie Laverty. Conversions: Penalties: Richard Fletcher (4)
Junior League 4th XV vs Clogher Valley III (34 – 0)
The IV’s visit to the Cran proved fruitful with a win in what was described as a good game played in good conditions.
Dungannon’s opening scored saw debutant Peter Kennedy race on to a Mark Salley pass and touch down for a try converted by Mark.
0 – 7
Gannon kept on the pressure and before halftime Mark Salley took a quick tap and went over in the corner.
0 – 12
The second half was very open with skipper Julian Knipe going over for a try converted by Mark Salley.
0 – 19
This was followed by two more tries from Peter Kennedy to make a try scoring debut and granting him the dubious privilege of having to buy a bottle of champagne or stout for his team mates.
0 – 29
The final try of the afternoon was a well taken effort from Mansell Purdy.
0 – 34
A good performance by the team and non more so than the effort of Derek McMullan. Derek or Mad Dog as he is known in rugby circles refused to allow his boys go into battle one man down and donned the boots to play a stormer. He has told his family that this was a one off.
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Team: Kevin McElduff. Jerome McClure, Peter Kennedy, Jordan Patterson, Mansell Purdy. Mark Salley, Julian Knipe (Capt). Ally Moore, Tarquin Reti, Darran Lucas. Gareth Lucas, Derek McMullan. Fergal Mallon. Andrew Caddoo, Keith Blevins.
Referee: Steven Robb
Tries: Peter Kennedy (3), Mark Salley, Julian Knipe & Mansell Purdy.
Conversions: Mark Salley (2)
Penalties:
Referee: Steven Robb
Tries: Peter Kennedy (3), Mark Salley, Julian Knipe & Mansell Purdy.
Conversions: Mark Salley (2)
Penalties:
