by Inishowen Rugby Club on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 3:28pm ·
The Ulster minor league is split into four regions East 1, East 2, North and South. Three of these leagues have been one horse races for most of the season but in minor league north the title has been fiercely contested right up to the final whistle. Uuc saw their hopes fade little over a month ago and last weeks battle between Armoy and Strabane ended the latter’s interest in the title. Inishowen’s last league game of the season was a rearranged home tie with Strabane, the fixture was played on Friday evening to suit the visitors and so was moved to City of Derry’s ground to make use of the floodlights. A win would guarantee Inishowen a top of the table finish knowing they could be joined by rivals Armoy if they won their double header the next day, if both teams won then a play-off final would be needed to decide the destination of the title.
Inishowen received the kick off and from the start a tone was set with Strabane looking to disrupt rucks and spoil Inishowen ball, the forwards had to meet the opponents head on and give the backs a platform to attack from. Good running from the backline saw an early Inishowen score finished off on the left wing by centre Paul Cassidy with the resulting conversion missed but Inishowen seemed to switch off gifting a soft try to Strabane and an unsuccessful conversion levelled the scores.
Inishowen 5-5 Strabane.
The next score was a real forward effort with a lineout inside the Strabane 22 a maul was set up, Strabane got the initial shove pushing Inishowen backwards before the maul started to creep sideways and finally a good drive saw the forwards drive towards the try line. Number 8 Anthony Cantwell broke from the back of the maul to score right of the posts and the conversion was added.
Inishowen 12-5 Strabane.
From the restart the Strabane number 10 saw Inishowen lined up on his left and ordered his forwards to go right, this move backfired as winger Ritchie Fearon caught the ball and made good ground before off loading to Cassidy who skipped through a couple of tackles to score wide on the left again, conversion unsuccessful.
Inishowen 17-5 Strabane.
Strabane were once again allowed back into the game as soft penalties and a couple of missed tackles let their inside centre score under the posts and the following conversion was scored. A quick talk under the posts left nobody in doubt of what was needed.
Inishowen 17-12 Strabane.
The remainder of the first half was played out with both teams not giving an inch. A rousing halftime team talk was led by Brian Harkin who reminded everybody that we expected a battle and that’s what we were in the middle of, league hopes were on the line and everybody needed to up the effort for the last 40 minutes. Inishowen kicked off the second half and Strabane received the ball, they kept possession and edged towards the Inishowen line. Another soft penalty right in front of the posts gifted Strabane another three points and closed the gap.
Inishowen 17-15 Strabane.
With now only two points between the teams Inishowen had to restart and needed to make sure they were no more penalties. From a Strabane lineout a maul was set up and good work from second row Matt McCrossan saw the ball turned over, Inishowen looked to attack and Strabane were penalised. Paul Cassidy stepped up and kicked a long range effort to stretch the lead.
Inishowen 20-15 Strabane.
When another penalty was awarded shortly afterwards the kicking tee was brought onto the pitch and Cassidy once again stepped up to take the kick to the left of the posts, a banana kick saw the ball head towards touch and bounce over the sideline for a Strabane lineout. Cassidy added another try showing good skill to score on the left wing and a successful conversion stretched the score line.
Inishowen 27-15 Strabane.
Cassidy finished the scoring with his fourth try of the day with an impressive 27 points to his name. Inishowen closed the game out by using the forwards to slow the game down, with little ground being made and rucks being set up side by side captain Neil Gillespie saw a gap and with the Strabane defence sleeping he broke between two rucks and ran half the length of the pitch before being stopped by the fullback. With the support late getting to the breakdown Strabane turned the possession over and shortly afterwards the ref signalled the end of the game. Well done to all involved.
Final score Inishowen 32-15 Strabane .
Title rivals Armoy travelled to Finn Valley on Saturday for the first meeting between the two teams and double league points we’re on offer, a win for Armoy meant they finished the season level on points with Inishowen. A play-off final will now decide who will be crowned champions, date and venue yet to be confirmed but Saturday 21st April is the likely date. This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides and as usual a bruising encounter is expected, a massive effort will be needed against an experienced side looking for the third league title in as many years. Match details will be posted on the Inishowen Rugby Club Facebook page and as usual all supporters are welcome and very much appreciated.
