Instonians U17’s made the trip down to Larne on a beautiful sunny day. It was as well that the kick-off had been put off to 12-30 pm because Instonians were asleep for the first ten minutes! Playing with a strong breeze and the sun in their favour Larne were able to exert some pressure. Inst were strangely slow to react and looked like they could struggle.
Images – Ben Davis Off-Loads, Luke Watson Scores
Then suddenly Instonians clicked into gear – passes began to stick, the pace quickened and tackles were made with venom. This led to an excellent try at the posts by Jonny Spratt after 18 minutes. We then had quick fire tries from Ben Davis (20 minute) and Luke Watson (22 minutes). Inst were now completely in control and Larne began to wilt. Every breakdown was contested and Instonians frequently came away with the ball. They were full value for their 15-0 lead at half-time.
The second half started with a bang. Larne failed to clear from the kick-off and the, ever alert, Adam Spratt raced clear from a maul to score in the corner.
Inst’s ferocious tackling, good support play and hard running led to hard running led to three more tries – two from out-half Jonathon Shivers and another from a barging running from second row Robbie Alexander. Overall this was an excellent performance after a sluggish start. Even when the substitutes came on the rhythm was maintained. Michael Melville on the left wing played a blinder and the back row of captain Brendan McKenna, Adam Spratt and Hayden Nightingale were everywhere. Instonians ran out 39-0 winners.
