3 39 Sat 18th Jan, 14:30
Monaghan 3 – 39 Larne
Good away victory for Larne men
by Stephen Johnston
Larne 1st XV travelled to Monaghan on Sat to continue their Qualifying 3 league campaign. The Larne men knew that a victory was crucial.
In atrocious weather conditions the Larne side knew that the tie could be a potential banana skin as the potential for flowing rugby was limited.
However, this didn’t seem to bother the Larne men who from the onset ran the ball at every opportunity. The back row of Wright, McCluggage and Hunter were prevalent from the onset breaking the gain line, though final passes and lack of support couldn’t allow the men in red to cross the whitewash.
Ill discipline allowed Monaghan off the hook and their outhalf used his large boot to clear the lines. Monaghan then made a break and were heading for the line only to be stopped by superb defence from Jordan Burns.
As Monaghan kept the pressure on they were awarded a penalty which they converted for 3 nil lead. Frustration crept in to the Larne side and the aggravation was leading to errors. However, a fortuitous handling error allowed Aaron McBride to break through from a kick through to pounce on the ball over the line. McBride converted.
The Larne mens tails were now up. As they continued to attack a neat move off the back of the scrum saw McIlheron make a break who popped to Garrett who sprinted off making sure he wasn’t caught in case he got his shirt dirty, for a piece of individual brilliance. Larne went in to half time 12-3 in front.
At the start of the second half Larne knew they had to get on the score sheet first. It was at this stage they grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. The Larne lineout was working well and Crampsey was becoming a commanding presence in the loose. As Monaghan cleared their lines, Larne’s big wingers Thomas and Mills ran the ball back like rampaging bullocks put out to fresh spring grass.
They were a constant threat breaking gain line after gain line. Garrett at full back was striking the ball cleanly and keeping Monaghan deep in their half. Larne got on the score sheet through McAlister after Larne clamped themselves in the home sides 22 after a good driving maul from a lineout.
As gaps appeared Larne were rampaging up the muddy pitch. As they spun the ball wide loose head prop Chris Rea was standing at the outside centre position. The man from Carnalbanagh took off like a whippet to race in for a well taken score. As the Monaghan heads began to drop Larne began to dominate upfront and after a series of scrums McIlheron put Rhys Thomas in for a well deserved try in the corner.
With ten minutes remaining Larne kept the home side deep in their half with McBride controlling things with the boot. As the pressure mounted young prop Sam McWhirter burst through a few tacklers to score. McBride converted.
As the game continued the conditions worsened and the final few minutes became littered with handling errors. Larne ran out winners 39-3.
A much improved performance from that against Lurgan a fortnight ago. Lots of positives and lots of things to work on. However, the team look forward to go in to next weeks Towns Cup game against Omagh just to see where they are at as a team this season.
Larne Team 1-15 C Rea, R McAlister, S McWhirter, J Cole, M Crampsey, J McCluggage, G Wright, E Hunter, R McIlheron, A McBride, R Thomas, S Montgomery, J Burns, G Mills, R Garrett
56 0 Sat 18th Jan, 14:30 Larne 56 – 0 Portadown
2nds back to winning ways with big win over Portadown
by Stephen Johnston
Larne 2nds were the only team in action against Portadown at the rained out Glynn on Saturday 18th January in a thrilling 56-0 win for the home side.
The wet conditions weren’t going to favour any side as both teams looked to take control of the game but Larne established a first score on the board through wide ball that saw Alan Murray score his first of 2 of the day.
Veteran Ricky Adair set up the next score from a charge down kick, he raced up the field using sublime footballing skills and put Houston Saunderson over the whitewash to further Larne’s score.
A delicate chip over the Portadown defence was then fumbled and pounced on by Knox and another score from a quickly tapped penalty for Saunderson to score again.
Confidence was continuously growing from the Larne side and attacking from their own 22, Larne surged up the field once more. Master of puppets Ricky Adair, pulling all of the strings, again led the charge and placed a cross field kick into space for Houston Saunderson to complete his hat trick before the half time whistle sounded.
Half time score 25-0.
Portadown still threatened the Larne defence with several line breaks, but strong covering defence by Agnew and Murray kept them at bay.
A loose pass that went astray was greatly picked up by Stuart Smyth as he raced for the line to score the first points of the half. First conversion of the day made by Saunderson as the wet conditions made it very hard for all kicking.
Despite the poor conditions, superb handling buy the Larne backline led to Alan Murray’s second try of the game closely followed by another double scorer Smyth.
Coming off his wing, Nick Kelso pierced the Portadown defence from a set piece move as he used his brute strength and footwork to score the penultimate try.
Larne’s final try of the game, came through a Portadown attack. As they looked to pass the ball wide opportunist scrum half Bobby Garrett intercepted the ball to race untouched to the try line. With Garrett unable to convert his score, the final whistle blew for a score line of 56-0 to Larne.
Larne’s Man of the Match went to Ricky Adair for superb work rate and performance all round, demonstrating his years of expertise.
Larne: R. Adair, S. Smyth, D.Lough, M. Gilbert, G. Liddle, L. Cameron, G. Jamison, J. McKinty, B. Garrett, M. Agnew, N. Kelso, G. Knox, I. McIlheron, A. Murray, H. Saunderson.
Fixtures for next week: Lurgan v Larne 1sts Towns Cup, Larne 2nds v Clogher Valley
Larne RFC regret to announce the death of John Apsley, one of the magnificent supporters of the club and pass on condolences to the family.
Our thoughts also go out to the McAlister family on hearing sad news within the family.
