2nds victorious over Bangor
Grosvenor 2nds kept their title hopes on course with a terrific 36-7 victory over second placed Bangor 2nd XV.
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Bangor mashed by I XV
Bangor started brightly but found themselves behind after ten minutes when Robin Coates pounced on a dropped pass in the centre and sprinted fifty metres upfield before offloading, the ball going through several pairs of hands before Andrew Kelly crashed over 7-0. Bangor responded quickly with a well taken try by their lively winger who sprinted in from twenty metres. The difficult touchline conversion was beautifully struck to level the scores. Matty Little edged Grosvenor in front with a penalty which Bangor quickly cancelled out with one of their own. Grosvenor put Bangor under pressure from the restart and some panic in the backs resulted in a coughed up ball which Grosvenor pounced upon to score a second try. 15-10. As half-time loomed a piece of indivdual brilliance by Grosvenor outhalf Matty Little drew gasps from the sizable crowd. From a scrum on halfway he side stepped his opposite number and swereved through the Bangor defence before handing off the fullback and diving over for a marvellous try. Conversion added 22-10.
Bangor started the second period strongly but Grosvenor just absorbed the pressure and then pounced when the opportunities arose. Andrew Kelly was immense all afternoon and made another break from a scrum on halfway, the ball was quickly recycled and Brendan Parke slipped a lovely pass to Andrew Robinson who scampered over in the corner for try number 4. Conversion added 29-10. Bangor were flumoxed and try as they might they could not break down the stubborn Grosvenor defence. As the match entered the final quarter the home pack began to gain the upperhand and from a scrum against the head that man Kelly charged yet again into the heart of their defence making great yards before offloading to Peter Dawson who dived over for a great try. 36-10. Fullback Matthew Fitzsimmons applied the coup de grace with a lovely try following a neat backline move. He sprinted in from thirty metres and dotted down under the posts. Conversion added. 43-10.
This was Grosvenor’s ninth win on the trot and they really are playing with a great deal of confidence and composure. Man of the match was extremely close this week with Andrew Kelly, Brendan Parke, Peter Dawson and Phil Hill all in the frame but Matty Little just edges it with a superb all round performance including that moment of genius.
Pythons Plunder Points from Carrick Raiders
Due to an injury/unavailability crisis at prop and outhalf the Pythons team which took to the field to face Carrick was only finalised late on Saturday morning. The match was to be played on the rolling hills of Aircraft Park, which is second only in its undulations to the top pitch at Ophir.
Carrick took to the pitch and looked to be a pretty impressive outfit with an athletic pack anf muscular backs. Grosvenor kicked off and started the game with good pace and determination and a successful early penalty attempt from outhalf, Jonny Greer, helped to settle both his nerves and that of the team. Carrick responded with a simple try in the corner which should have been defended, the conversion attempt falling short.
This was to prove to have a galvanising effect for the Grosvenor team which began to exploit weaknesses in the wide areas of the Carrick defence through both centres and Andy Moore on the wing. While Pearce was becoming a huge thorn in the side of Carrick as he continually charged straight up the middle to great effect. Before half time Dee Montgomery scored a cracking try near the posts after great inter play down the left wing, converted by Jonny Greer. Half time score 10- 5 with all to play for.
The second half followed the pattern of the first with Carrick being continually stifled by the hard work of the Grosvenor back row, who were all over the park on the day. While simple errors from their backs wasted several good scoring opportunities. Grosvenor had chances of their own with Pearce again to the fore.Jonny Greer added a further penalty to make the score 13-5 and belief was rising in this inexperienced Grosvenor side. However, this faith was to be tested time and again as Carrick charged for the line. They finally breached the line and scored under the posts with the conversion added, 13-12. But Carrick’s celebrations suggested they felt they had taken the lead and could relax as the game was won.
Grosvenor comfortably saw out the remaining time for a great morale boosting victory for a somewhat makeshift team. Its hard to single anyone out on what was a great collective effort. Jonny Greer was calmness personified at 10, Dee McLaughlin was at his pugilistic best, the back row were magnificent in their scrambling but man of the match goes to Pearce Jamison who was a rock in the scrums, fierce in defence and huge going forward.
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Ireland Ladies Rugby I XV Are playing England this weekend and need as much support as they can get – please watch the clip below and feel free to share it, they are on the verge of a great VICTORY & with Ulster representation!
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