Fighting Larne Rugby Club
Agonising defeat in first leg of Hall Cup
by Stephen Johnston
Larne 1st XV travelled to locals Carrickfergus on Saturday to play the first leg of the Hall Cup.
With the Larne men missing a few regulars they still took a good squad of numbers to the game.
Carrick started the brighter of the two with the Larne men not getting to grips with the referees interpretation of what could or could not be done at the breakdown. Within 10 minutes Larne were 6-0 behind. As Carrick dominated the breakdown they were spreading the ball wide stretching the Larne defence and it wasn’t long until they scored under the sticks to go 13-0 in front.
Larne looked the complete opposite of the side that won the Randalstown tournament the week previous. They were second to everything and set piece and handling was poor. However, as the first half progressed they began to put phases together. The pressure finally told and Carrick ill discipline led to a penalty that Phil Andrews slotted over. The Larne men continued to attack the Carrick defence however they were unable to break it down.
At half time coach Kelly made a few changes to bring on fresh legs. Larne started the second half brightly. Ricky McIlheron was beginning to snipe at scrum half creating havoc. New start Chris Moore made barnstorming runs coming off his wing and Matthew Agnew looked composed at full back. Captain McCluggage made a break on the half way line and was tackled by two Carrick players however he got the ball popped off to Colin McKinty who sprinted in untouched for a well finished try under the sticks. Andrews converted.
However the men in red were immediately caught again for ill discipline which the Carrick out half capitalised on by slotting the penalty over to make the score 16-10. With various other changes made by Larne the game became a bit more disjointed with various stoppages. Carrick began to mount more attacks. Craig Gibson and Mark McIlheron were tackling everything that was moving, however a momentary lapse in Larne concentration allowed the Carrick centre to break through untouched for a score. The score was 23-10
With 15 minutes remaining Larne had a lot of work to do. Phil Andrews began to dictate play at outhalf with the Larne backline starting to stretch the Carrick defence. As they moved play upfield they were unlucky not to score on a few occasions, however young Ryan McAllister wriggled over for a score. Andrews converted. With 5 minutes remaining and with the tails up Larne began to create havoc in the Carick defence which was stretching. In the last play of the game outhalf Andrews looked up and saw hooker Stuart Smyth out on the wing unmarked. He hit a beautiful cross field kick which bounced beautifully in to the young hookers hand to cross the white wash for a score. With the score now 23-22, Andrews had a conversion out wide to win the game. He struck the ball beautifully however at the last second the ball moved to the right to strike off the woodwork and bounce back. The referee blew his whistle and the men from Carrick won the game with a very relived look on their faces.
A poor start by the Larne men however they came back in to the game well. Some new faces playing who definitely showed they are in for a shout for 1st XV Rugby. Special mention to Craig Gibson for his work rate around the park and to Phil Andrews for his composure and maturity beyond his years when he stepped in at outhalf. The future is bright at Larne RFC for the season ahead and coach Laurence Kelly will certainly have selection headaches.
Larne Team: J McKinty, C Gibson, C Rea, J McCluggage (Capt), C McKinty, G Jamison, G Wright, E Hunter, R McIlheron, A Mc Bride, B Blair, J Hall, L Brownlees, N Kelso, P Andrews, M McIlheron, G Liddle, R McAllister, M Agnew, I McIlheron, A Carter, C Moore
