What at times has seemed like a never ending story finally drew to a close last Saturday whenever Holywood entertained Virginia at Kerr Park in their last league game of the season. The league campaign has lasted a full eight months with its usual ups and downs but the season finale was well worth the wait as the decent sized crowd were treated to an entertaining game whilst they basked in the warm sunshine. A stiff breeze that was swirling about the pitch was an added problem for the players who knew from the outset that they would be playing on a firm surface and that dehydration would be an issue if they did not take on sufficient fluids throughout the game.
Virginia kicked off into the wind although it was Holywood who were able to exert the early pressure on the Virginia line and following a fumble from a kick ahead by Robert Cooper Holywood were warded a scrum in the centre of the pitch on Virginia’s 22 metre line. A quick strike from hooker Chris Murray allowed scum-half Angus White to break blind and feed the ball to his brother Jamie White who had come into the line from his full back berth. With the opposition full back now looking at 2 Holywood players a simple draw and give pass left right wing Jordy DePledge the simplest of scoring opportunities which he took with some aplomb by touching down in the corner. Gareth Hillen slotted over the conversion from the touchline and with only 3 minutes on the clock Holywood had established a 7 – 0 lead. If the crowd thought that the visitors from County Cavan were then just going to roll over and let Holywood run up a cricket score they were to be disappointed as Virginia showed straight from the restart that such thoughts were far removed from their own game plan. It was now Holywood’s turn to feel the pressure of having to defend against a determined opposition and whenever they leaked a penalty on their own 22 metre line Virginia set their stall out by turning down what could have been a relatively easy 3 points and went for the kick to touch instead. From there Virginia built up a head of steam that was eventually to lead to their forwards rumbling over the line to score a try under the posts. Inexplicably the conversion attempt was pulled wide but after 10 minutes Holywood were left in no doubt that at 10 – 5 they had a game on their hands. Holywood responded in a positive way by taking the game directly back to Virginia and putting the visitors’ line under pressure for a lengthy period of play. Holywood also spurned a couple of penalty chances to kick to the corner and keep the opposition defence squarely on the back foot. Despite the home pack’s best efforts the line could not be breached with Holywood continually either falling short or dropping the last pass. Whenever Virginia infringed at a 5 metre scrum skipper Stephen Glover decided to give the scoreboard some action and called up Gareth Hillen to kick the penalty and give the home support some cheer with a 10 – 5 lead after 25 minutes play. With their tails now up Holywood now began to do what they should have been doing from the start and let their backs loose on their opposite numbers. Ball greedy forwards had dominated possession but 3 minutes later and a succession of rucks led to quick ball and Angus White darting around the blind side and firing a telling pass to Jamie White in support. Having crashed over in the corner for the try Jamie White had taken Holywood into a 15 – 5 lead but Gareth Hillen was unable to repeat his heroics of the first conversion and the lead was left at 10 points. A continuing issue with the Holywood side has been their propensity to be at their weakest from restarts and this one was to be no different as they struggled with the intensity of Virginia‘s response by shipping a few penalties and ended up having to defend their own line. But for the tenacious tackling of Stephen Leyland and Stephen Glover, allied to the stealing ball abilities of open side flanker Gareth Hillen, Holywood would have certainly leaked a few more points but as it was they held out with their 15 – 5 lead through to half time. With the wise words of the skipper still ringing in their ears Holywood kicked off the second half and for the first ten minutes play oscillated back and forth between the respective 22s with neither side really able to get a foothold in their opposition’s territory nor dominate possession. Whether it was the hot playing conditions or because it was the end of a long season both sets of front tight forwards began to flag and mistakes started to creep into the game on both sides. Ivan DePledge was by now a walking member of the team with a recurrence of an ankle injury that effectively reduced him to set plays although Holywood, with his undoubted help, continued to dominate the scrums although a few strange calls by the ref tended to keep their level of dominance pegged back! On 14 minutes Holywood had failed to clear their line despite numerous attempts at kicking from open play and were eventually made to pay the price for their ineptitude whenever a fumbled attempt at a catch under the posts led to the simplest of tries for the Virginia player that had decided to follow up on the kick. The straightforward conversion went over and suddenly Holywood’s comfortable lead was reduced to 15 – 12 and the home supporters began to feel a little uneasy with how the game was panning out. Two minutes later and the feeling of unease increased following the ref’s invitation to Sean Hunter to take a ten minute rest after he had exchanged a few blows with the instigator of a spear tackle on a Holywood player. Being reduced in numbers seemed to provide Holywood with the kick up the backside they needed as they began to knuckle down and play considerably better than had been earlier in the half. Matt Mullan continued to supply quality ball from the lineout and both he and Keith Griffin were equally up to the task of disrupting the Virginia line and denying them clean ball from that set play. Holywood’s 14 men were by now well aware that Virginia were not behind the door in the physicality of the game and at times discipline was sorely tested but a combination of words from the skipper and the fact that the game was now being played out in Virginia’s territory meant that no more enforced rests were required. The last score of the game came whenever Holywood decided to play fast and loose open rugby and moved the ball through numerous pairs of hand that left Joe Wood with 25 metres to run and 2 players to beat to get to the Virginia line. Having ran around the first defender he handed off the second and crashed over in the corner to score. Gareth Hillen just failed with the difficult conversion into the wind but at 20 – 12 the game, and league points, were both secured. The ref called a premature halt to the game but as both sides trudged off, with some even suffering from sunburn, it was evident that the players were sad to see the season over but after a bit of a rest over the summer they’ll be all set to go again. Perhaps a physical game was not what Holywood expected on the last and by far the hottest day of the season, but it’s what they got. Despite missing a few first team regulars the team stood up to the test well enough. Man of the match went to Gareth Hillen who returned to his slot in the back row after a few weeks playing in the centre and showed the pack what they’d been missing through his all action display. Close runner up was Angus White who also put in a strong game and bossed the pack from the base of the scrum. An honourable mention goes to Joe Wood who scored the first and last tries of Holywood’s league season – or so he claims! The Annual Club Dinner is this Friday 6th May at Kerr Park. Tickets are available behind the bar for £25 and with Willie Anderson being the guest speaker a good night will be had by one and all. The club wishes 2nd XV captain Andrew “Arg” Gordon all the best in his new career which will doubtless see him travel the world starting with a ferry trip on Friday! Best wishes also go to flying winger Mike Silvester who has been posted back to England. Congratulations go to Gary Stocker who is the Club’s leading try scorer for the year and to Gareth Hillen as the leading points scorer for the team. A special word of welcome goes to kiwi Richard “Sav” Saville who will be joining both cricket and rugby teams in the not too distant future.
