1st XV march on in Junior Cup
Grosvenor travelled to Randalstown for this second round Junior Cup tie. Once again there were a number of changes to the team; 3 positional and 4 replacements including Paul Karayiannis at No8 and Peter Davison both making their season debuts. The match opened with a cold, gusty cross wind blowing towards the clubhouse from Grosvenor’s right during the first half.
Grosvenor started brightly and after 3 minutes a flowing back move resulted in an overlap on the right. Ben Coard timed the pass perfectly and Mark Atkinson scored in the right corner. 0-5. For the next 15 minutes Grosvenor’s scrum was on top but Randalstown had most of the possession due to Grosvenor giving away a number of penalties, mostly for not releasing the ball in the tackle. Despite this Randalstown didn’t look like scoring and it was Grosvenor which scored next. Paul Karayiannis picked the ball up from the base of a scrum, broke left and drove through the Town defence. Paul was brought down on the Randalstown 10 metre line and 10 metres in from the left touchline. Town went off their feet and a penalty was awarded. Jamie Ball stepped up and hit a beautiful kick into the wind. 0-8. Grosvenor was now well on top with the scrum totally dominant. Some lovely rugby was played but handling errors, possibly due to over-elaboration and the continued concession of penalties meant that domination was not turned into points. After 26 minutes Grosvenor paid the price for this when a Grosvenor player took the ball into a tackle, lost possession and Randalstown counterattacked to score a try 20 metres to the right of the posts; kick missed 5-8.
This seemed to waken Grosvenor up and we began to dominate again. On 30 minutes Matthew Allen stole the ball in a tackle, the ball was moved quickly left with Jamie Meaklim kicking ahead along the left touchline. Randalstown gathered the ball but their players were driven into the in goal area and a 5 metre scrum resulted. The ball was won well with Peter Davison having a dart from the outhalf position, he was stopped right on the line but from the resulting ruck Matthew Allen dived over to score. Jamie Ball converted. 5-15. Grosvenor continued to play well, retaining possession through phases but was unable to add to the score. Half time 5-15.
During the first half the wind had changed direction and was now blowing into Grosvenor faces. From the kick-off Randalstown set up camp in the Grosvenor 22. There were a series of rucks near our line, the referee penalised Matthew Cahoon for kicking the ball away while still on the ground after a tackle and to the surprise of the spectators sent Matthew to the sin bin. Randalstown didn’t seem to have confidence in their kicker so they ran the penalty but excellent defence kept Town at bay. Randalstown kept battering away and Grosvenor conceded a number of penalties all of which were run until one was awarded 15 yards out and just to the left of the posts which the Randalstown kicker attempted but missed. Play continued in and around the Grosvenor 22 and it wasn’t until 14 minutes of the half that Grosvenor managed to get into the Randalstown half. With the wind behind their backs Randalstown was able to kick long and keep the play in the Grosvenor half. After a good period of play by Randalstown the right winger scored a try under the posts. To the surprise and delight of the Randalstown supporters this try was converted. 12-15.
The 14 men of Grosvenor pressed Randalstown back but a long kick got Town back into the Grosvenor 22. Another Town penalty from 25 metres was missed however after 24 minutes Jamie Meaklim tried to run out of the 22 and threw a loose pass inside, the ball went to ground and at the ensuing ruck Grosvenor was penalised. The penalty was kicked! 15-15. Another penalty to Randalstown 30 yards out was awarded almost immediately after this but missed as was another penalty 4 minutes later. Both sides pressed to score with the balance of play being Randalstown’s largely due to the wind however on 46 minutes a Randalstown move in its own half broke down and Jamie Meaklim scooped up the ball to race unopposed to the posts. Jamie Ball converted; final score 15-22. Either team could have won this match but Randalstown rued the lack of a consistent kicker, had they had one the score line would have been different.
2s win over Coleraine
Grosvenor started this match in determined fashion and after only two minutes had a valid claim for a penalty try. From a catch and drive off a line-out on the 22 they surged towards the line with such pace that most of Coleraine’s defenders fell away. With two metres to go a canny Coleraine forward dived in from the side to bring the maul crashing down just short of the try line, however a penalty was deemed sufficient by the referee. Grosvenor kept the pressure on and after some neat handling in the backs Dee McLaughlin burst through the centre for a lovely try under the posts. Conversion added 7-0.
2nds coleraine victory 3 12-10
Grosvenor continued to throw the ball about and really stretched the visitors, but a few key passes were fumbled when a score looked on. Ben Morrison had probably his best game in a Grosvenor jersey and was a constant thorn in attack, aided and abetted by Steve Marshall, Gibbo and Lylo while Neil Adams had a great day at scrum-half, delivering a regular supply of good quality ball to Gummy and the back-line. Gmac, Colin Adams and Simon Beattie made some great counter-attacking runs, however Coleraine fought back and eventually scored a well deserved try to leave it 7-5 at half-time.
Grosvenor were reduced to 14 men for the second half when young PK had to leave the field with a head injury, but it did not dampen their enthusiasm or restrict their expansive style. After ten minutes Gummy made several darting breaks and Simon Beattie barged his way through four defenders to score a cracking try. Conversion added 14-5.
2nds coleraine victory 12-10
Coleraine came back strongly and scored another unconverted try to make it 14-10. However some over ambition by Coleraine led to Grosvenor’s third and decisive try. Grosvenor were attacking in the right-hand corner and were disposessed. The visiting out-half saw that an overlap was on and tried to run the ball wide from behind his own line, only for his pass to be intercepted by the lively Steve Karayiannis who dotted down under the posts. Conversion added 21-10. This score took the wind out of Coleraine’s sails and Grosvenor held on for a well-deserved victory.
2nds coleraine victory 2 12-10
A great win for Grosvenor and there are signs that this wee team are beginning to gel into a useful side. Simon Beattie gets the nod for man-of-the-match for his great all-round play both in defence and attack plus for the determined way he finished for his try.
