Bonus point win over Strabane
for action shots from various Grosvenor games across various club teams against various opposition CLICK HERE
With Strabane detached at the bottom of the table and needing to get some points this match had all the potential to be a slip up fixture for Grosvenor. The pre-match hopes were not helped by the dreadful conditions it had to be played in. The forecast was for winds in excess of 60 mph and the teams took the pitch with those gusts and squally rain destined to make it “a game of two halves” and a potential lottery.
With the strong wind at their backs in the first half, Grosvenor camped in the Strabane half but the pack were pushed back in the first scrum as the Strabane pack drove up the pitch, keeping Grosvenor at long range from their line. After 10 minutes Grosvenor had a great chance to score when, following a superb driving maul, skipper Mark Cartmill broke down the left touchline with Neil Adams outside him. Mark drew the defence but couldn’t get a pass away and grubber kicked into the in goal area but the Strabane full back got their first. A pattern developed with Grosvenor driving close to rucks and mauls but not getting the breakthrough while Strabane benefitted from strong scrummaging following Grosvenor’s frequent handling errors. The penalty count began to rise and Peter Davidson came close with two long range efforts. On 35 minutes Grosvenor was awarded a penalty close to the left touchline and about 30 metres out. Mark Cartmill chose a scrum (thereby avoiding a potential crooked lineout call), Ben Coard made a break close to the posts and two phases later Pearce Jamison drove through a couple of tackles to score an excellent try. From the restart Grosvenor attacked the 22 again with Jamie Meaklim breaking through the defence only to find Ben too far away for an accurate pass and the chance was gone however Grosvenor won the ruck and moved the ball right where a low pass was knocked on by Chris Cahoon 5 metres from the line. The referee decided the knock on was provoked by the Strabane left winger being offside and he promptly binned him. Grosvenor continued to press but couldn’t break through then at a ruck in the Strabane 22 referee Brian Lyle binned Phil Hill, we think for playing the ball on the ground. Both of these yellow cards seemed very harsh but did encapsulate the referee’s at times over fussy performance. Half time 7-0 with Grosvenor supporters worried we hadn’t a big enough cushion.
catch
With Coach Peter Lowry away, Alain Douglas took over the half time pep talk and a different Grosvenor came out for the second half. Strabane did begin the second half well driving the ball forward through their hard working pack and for a few minutes it looked like Grosvenor would have to defend for the whole half. However after 5 minutes a break 40 metres out down the right touchline by Grosvenor’s out-half, Peter Davidson resulted in him diving over in the corner. Conversion missed 12-0. Both sin bins completed.
The match reverted to its pattern with Strabane driving close to the breakdown but encountering good Grosvenor defence. Grosvenor always looked dangerous on the counter but suffered from a series of handling errors in the difficult conditions. On 10 minutes the referee binned another Strabane player and now in possession Grosvenor worked its way back up the pitch. After a clever kick behind the advancing back line from scrum-half Neil Adams, centre Ben Coard displayed his soccer skills by dribbling the ball into the in goal area and beating the defence to score a converted try under the posts. 19-0. Grosvenor thought they had scored again when Peter Davidson collected a Neil Adams kick ahead but the referee bought play back for line out.
break
Grosvenor always threatened on the counter attack and with ten minutes to go a flowing move using the full width of the pitch got inside centre Jamie Meaklin over the line for an unconverted try to bring the score to 24-0. In the final 8 minutes Peter Dawson left the pitch with an injury and the referee binned a third Strabane player! The penalty count must have been in excess of 25 and 4 players were binned yet the match was played in excellent spirit and most of the yellow cards were a mystery to players and spectators alike.
With Omagh beating Lisburn and Carrick not having a match. the 5 points gained today lifted us away from Limavady and above both Carrick and Lisburn in the league. Next week’s away fixture at Lisburn should be a good test of our side.
Try fest at Belmont
With the teams occupying the two league positions immediately above the relegation spot and separated from each other by only two points this was a must win game. After two insipid performances against Randalstown and Carrick, coach Peter Lowry made it clear to the team he expected them to perform at a much higher level for this match. Colin Miller was welcomed to the team for his first match of the season at this level, becoming the 25th player appearing for the first XV in the 12 matches played so far this season.
Limavady kicked off with the wind at their backs, their much bigger pack looking like they would prove to be a real handful for Grosvenor. Straight from the kick-off Grosvenor ran at Limavady with pace and purpose and after only a minute a break in his own half by inside centre Jamie Meaklim forced Limavady onto the back foot. From the ruck, out-half Peter Davison made another clean break, he was bought down 15 metres out, the ball was quickly transferred right and second row Chris Culbert ran in for the try 5 metres in from the right touchline. Peter Davison missed the conversion.
lvady Prop Phil Hill makes a pass
This set the pattern for the match with Grosvenor running the ball wide while Limavady tried to force a way through the midfield, mostly using their big forwards. After 5 minutes Davison made the lead 8-0 with a penalty awarded for offside. Limavady replied with a penalty to make the score 8-3. Limavady pressed Grosvenor back through some driving runs through the middle of the pitch and the Grosvenor supporters began to get concerned that Limavady must eventually score through one of these runs. However on 20 minutes Peter Davison made another clean break on the edge of his own 22, he passed to Jamie Meaklim who made ground before moving the ball to Ben Coard who ran round the defence to score beside the posts; Davidson converted, 15-3. The pattern of play continued with Limavady pushing Grosvenor back but being unable to break through. Continuing this pattern, Jamie Meaklim made a nice break and from the ensuing ruck Matthew Sunerton popped up in the back line to spot a gap and race through to score beside the posts. Davison converted, 27-3. Four minutes later Matthew Cahoon gained possession 40 metres out and with a barnstorming run, powered his way through a number of tackles to score a great try under the posts.
Limavady however was not finished and right on half time they drove down to the Grosvenor line. The referee gave a number of penalties (most on the sideline had no idea what many of these were for) and eventually Limavady mauled the ball over the line to score a converted try. This period of play bought an amusing moment in the match when the referee called Grosvenor captain, James Bowman to him to say it was only the fact he could not get a number for a particular player which was preventing him from yellow carding a Grosvenor player for speech play. A sheepish coach who was standing behind the Grosvenor line and had the team between himself and the referee moved to the side before he again let the ref know how he was feeling! Half time 29-10.
lvady2 Scrum-half Neil Adams makes a break
Limavady then lost the services of their No 8 to a back injury but as the second half commenced this was not apparent in their play. Grosvenor carelessly lost possession in its own 22, so instead of playing in Limavady’s half Grosvenor was forced into defence. The Limavady pack crashed against a fantastic Grosvenor defence (not really seen since the Ballymena game at the start of the season) but could not find a way through. This seemed to go on for an eternity but after 10 minutes the ball came out of the side of a ruck 20 metres from the Grosvenor line, Neil Adams seized on the ball and two passes later Ben Coard was GONE. Peter Davison converted to bring the score to 36-10.
Grosvenor had a couple more chances to score but instead of using players who were free through overlaps the red mist seemed to descend, passes were not made and chances lost however after 15 minutes Peter Davidson powered his way through a tackle to score, which he converted to make the score 43-10. As the match moved into the last quarter, to add to Limavady’s woes they had a wing forward sin binned for punching. Shortly after this Jamie Meaklim made a clean break, beat the remaining back row for pace and wrong-footed the full back to score under the posts. Peter Davison converted. 50-10.
To be fair, Limavady demonstrated great character and close to the half hour a good break by a centre wide on the left resulted in a score close to the touchline. 50-15. Limavady was restored to 14 players when Peter Davison scored his second try of the match which he converted to make the final score 55-15. The referee immediately blew for full time, perhaps 8 or 9 minutes early but probably for the good of all.
After the poor performances against Randalstown and Carrick this was much better and while it can seem a strange thing to say there is still room for improvement. Discipline can be improved. The penalty count in the first half was 10 against Grosvenor with 5 against Limavady. Worryingly a number of penalties were awarded against us for speaking out of turn, referees will not tolerate this and it needs to stop. On another day with a better kicker Limavady might have been able to stay in touch on the scoreboard though those penalties. The wastage of overlaps needs to be eliminated, it didn’t matter to-day but in a close match it could make the difference between winning and losing.
We played with great pace to-day, Limavady could not cope with the tempo and if we keep that up there are probably few teams in this league who could. There were 15 men of the match to-day but special mention to Phil Hill who managed two passes!
