Larne 1st XV off to winning Gordon West start by Stephen Johnston
Larne RFC 1st XV kicked off their season with an impressive 12-48 victory away to Lurgan in the group stages of the Gordon West Cup.
Playing into a stiff breeze in the first half the Larne men did well to control majority of possession. However, a few harsh penalties allowed Lurgan to take an early lead against the run of play. This only fuelled the Larne men and some great lines of running from Scott Montgomery putting the team in good field position.
Having sucked the Lurgan backs in it gave the opportunity to Phil Andrews to float a wide pass to Chris Moore to score the first of his two tries on his debut for the 1st XV.
This was the break Larne needed to get things moving in their direction. Gary Mills soon crashed over for the first of his three tries on what was an impressive return to the team after a year away. Good defence particularly from Jamison and Wright prevented the Lurgan men from crossing the line.
Score at half time was 15-9 to Larne with Lurgan well and truly in the game. With plenty left in the tank going into the second half Larne shifted up a few gears and proved too much for the opposition.
With the pack being dominant in the scrum it gave Larne plenty of ball to work from. Tries soon followed from Garrett, Rea and Montgomery. The final score ended up 48-12 but plenty to work on going into next week.
A tough game away to Holywood in the first of the league fixtures will be one of the biggest tests of the season and hopefully the side can get off to a winning start in the league campaign also.
Larne 1sts: C. Rea, C. Gibson, S. McWhirter, J. Cole, C. McKinty, G. Jamison, G. Wright, E. Hunter, R. McIlheron, P. Andrews, C. Moore, G. Mills, A. McBride, S. Montgomery, R. Garrett
Larne beat Randalstown in first win of the season by Stephen Johnston
Larne 3rds entertained Randalstown 3rds at home and the home side ran out 17-7 winners at full time.
Try scorers were Jordan Burns and Steven McAllister. Conversions and a penalty by John O’Toole. The game was evenly matched but Larne’s strong defence held up and won the game.
Larne 3rds: J. BUTLER, B. MEIKLE (C), D. McCANN, G. AGNEW, P. REID, Z. BARTLEY, R. ADAIR, D. HAGAN, J. O’TOOLE, S. MARSHALL, W. MARKS, S. McALLISTER, J. BURNS, J. SHIRLEY, A. BRENNAN, A. McNEILL
Larne 2nds rue bad start by Stephen Johnston
Larne 2nd XV lost 17-31 in a creditable performance against Bangor 2nds on Saturday 21st September.
The opening stages of the game were well contested with both sides playing hard rugby.
Larne had the chance to go in front with a penalty through Carter, but was pushed wide and the Bangor backs counter attacking dangerously following the miss.
Bangor were first onto the board with a strong maul from the lineout proving to be a strong part of their game and scored a try through the number 8. The conversion leading the score 0-7.
Larne lost some composure and conceded 3 more tries to take Bangor into a 0-26 advantage. Hard running by Rhys Thomas lifted Larne’s head by strong running through the Bangor defence and powered over the try line. Half time score 5-26.
Matthew Agnew started the second half strongly through precise kicking and strong passing to get Larne on the front foot. Heads were held high when a quick lineout was taken inside the Bangor 22 and vast experienced Derek Lough, surged over the try line to inspire the fight back into Larne’s will.
It was end to end action in the last quarter of the game when Bangor scored another try, but from Larne’s restarting kick, Mark McIlheron won the ball back on Larne’s side and Steven McDowell split through the defence and some very fancy footwork got onto the scoreboard and a conversion from Agnew.
Within the last 10 minutes Larne were on the front foot and punished the Bangor side with 2 efforts in the corner, but went astray that would have prospected their hopes and a closer game, leaving the score at the final whistle 17-31 to Bangor.
Team: A. Ferguson, S. Smyth, D. Lough, S. McDowell, G. Liddle, L. Cameron, R. McAlister, Mark McIlheron, M. Agnew, G. Knox (c), N. Kelso, R. Thomas, Ian McIlheron, A. Carter
