This weeks scores 19th Nov
Grosvenor 1st 18. Lisburn 1st 30
Lisburn 2nds 52. Instonians 3rd 3
Lisburn 3s 5. Belfast harlequins 3s 49
Lisburn U13 20 Ophir U13 0
Lisburn U15 38 Ophir U15 7
Lisburn U17 12 Limavady U17 22
REPORTS:
Lisburn turn Corner against Grosvenor
Grosvenor 18 – Lisburn 30
The Tata Steel sponsored Lisburn 1st XV turned the corner in this important Qualifying League match against rivals Grosvenor at Stormont last Saturday. In a game of high intensity and strong running from both teams it was a great advertisement for the game of rugby played in excellent weather conditions. With just two minutes on the clock, outhalf Crowe opened the score for Lisburn with a great penalty from the ten metre line but this was the prelude to a lengthy period of pressure from the hosts as they ran the ball at every opportunity through their youthful, strong running backline. Their mobile pack supplied them with a plentiful supply of go forward ball and it is fair to say that at this stage of the game they had about 70% of the possession. Lisburn were made to tackle like demons and somehow kept their line intact until the 20th minute when a neat break by the Grosvenor centre pairing paved the way for the first try of the game under the Lisburn posts. Lisburn came back shortly afterwards with another Crowe penalty to narrow the gap to 7-6 as the game entered the second quarter.
Lisburn’s back row of Curry, Hendron and Mark were earning their corn in the defensive stakes at this stage but occasional breaks by the speedy Grosvenor backs had the hearts of the visiting support fluttering regularly. On one occasion they were through over the line but were unceremoniously dumped over the dead ball line before they could touch the ball down – a narrow escape at a vital stage of the game. However, hard and all as Grosvenor tried they were unable to get any more points on the board, despite their continuous pressure and territorial advantage. Lisburn were now coming to terms with the game and starting to create their own opportunities. Just before the half time whistle, on a rare visit to the opposition 22, Lisburn at last got what their hard work deserved. A couple of great drives from the pack saw the ball transferred out the line and full back Owen Hillary came in to split the defence and get a superb try. This put Lisburn into a 7-11 lead and raised their heads for a big effort in the second half.
Within three minutes of the restart Lisburn pulled another special out of their bag of tricks. A couple of great drives from the pack with excellent ball retention saw outhalf Crowe make a smart break and with an offload to Derek Kindred, the big centre was in for the second Lisburn try. Crowe converted to make the score 7-18. Grosvenor immediately came back with an opportunist drop goal by their young enterprising centre but at this stage Lisburn were starting to dictate the game more with their pack starting to lay on better ball. Scott Hughes on the wing and Owen Hillary at fullback had a great joust of interpassing to creat space for Crowe who went in for the third try and the outhalf converted to bring up 10-25. Grosvenor were not finished yet however and when Number 8 Mark was yellow carded for an offside infringement, the resultant penalty made it 13-25 with fifteen minutes left to play.
Lisburn now started to think about a fourth try and a bonus point and the Lisburn pack were starting to dominate more up front. A fantastic surge by prop Phil Jefferson was halted just inches short of the Grosvenor line but big second row Alan Hughes, as befits his fitness levels, was up fast to take the ball on and score. Lisburn were now in a 13-30 unassailable lead and with the bonus point secure. Mark returned from the bin only for Lisburn to lose Owen Hillary with a head bump but they were able to close out the game, despite a late Grosvenor try. The final score of 18-30 to Lisburn reflected a great win for the visitors, albeit most of the good work being done in the second half after Grosvenor had dominated the opening period. The win , together with all the bonus points which they have accumulated by narrowly losing far too many of their early season fixtures, sets them up nicely for a crack at Omagh next Saturday. Omagh have been going well in the league and Lisburn know that they must produce another big performance to stay in the hunt against them on their own turf.
Lisburn 2s Take the Honours
Instonians 3rd XV 3 – Lisburn 2nd XV 51
On Wednesday last the Tata Steel sponsored Lisburn 2nd XV gained an exhilarating win over their Junior League 2 opponents Instonians 3s under the floodlights at the Cooke Sportsgrounds and in so doing got themselves back into contention for a shot at the league title. In very wet conditions they applied themselves to the task under the compelling leadership of their Captain Matt Brown and within three minutes they had made their intentions clear with Brown leading the charge into Instonians territory for the opening try. The home team responded within minutes with a simple penalty in front of the posts and the game then settled down into a mostly mid-field joust between the packs as they tried to come to terms with the conditions. However, the visitors backs were playing very adventurous rugby, even in the heavy rain, and the last ten minutes of the half saw 22 unanswered points added to the Lisburn total through tries from centre, David Harkness, who breached the line with a great run, a second from Number 8, Stewart Pringle, when he broke inside the cover, and finally from winger, Chris Nimmon, after he had latched onto the end of some fantastic fingertip passing by the inside backs. Outhalf, Ryan Hill, converted two of the tries and also kicked a penalty to bring up the half time score of 27 points to 3.
The writing was on the wall for Instonians at this stage and the 2s started the second half again in good form. With the pack laying on a great supply of ball in both scrum and lineout through the youthful efforts of Edgar, Foxfeld, Hodkinson and Armstrong and supplemented by the experience and hard edge of the back row of Thompson, McCourt and Pringle, the Lisburn backline started to cut loose and in what a manner. A break by Harkness within three minutes of the re-start saw him put winger Kenny Millen in for a try with a lovely inside pass to make the score 32-3. The final quarter of the games saw a further trio of scintillating tries from Lisburn. Firstly, a clean cut through by outhalf Hill near his own line saw him draw in the defence and then pass to centre Harkness who ran the length of the pitch to score under the posts. Harkness was at it again five minutes later when he broke into space and then won the race to the line in a lung bursting run. The final score was another great individual effort from winger Kenny Millen when he got possession on the halfway line and then ran through the broken field avoiding numerous tackles to score under the posts. Hill converted two of the tries to wrap up the win with a fine total of 51 points, including 8 tries. Apart from the try scorers, the backs as a unit had a great day out and none more so than fullback Owen Hillary who regularly made superb breaks with his exciting running. Andrew Gibb in the centre signalled his return from New Zealand with a very influential game alongside his partner in chief David Harkness who celebrated with a hat trick of scores. A good day at the office for this ever improving team.
