At Blaris last Saturday the Corus sponsored Lisburn 1st XV played one of their best games of rugby of the season so far in beating a young, high flying Grosvenor team comprehensively by the margin of 37 points to 15 and in doing so, picked up a valuable bonus point in their Qualifying League tie. Grosvenor started like the proverbial whirlwind gaining quick possession and spreading the ball wide on every occasion but they came up against a determined Lisburn defence and were rebuffed on every occasion. For ten minutes they charged at the Lisburn defensive line to no avail but were then awarded two very kickable penalties in the space of a few minutes and while missing the first one, the second was successful in putting the visitors into a 0-3 lead.
Click Here for slideshow of 231 pictures from Grosvenor v Lisburn – CLICK HERE – pictures courtesy of tom Porter Photography, e: tomporter52@btinternet.com for high resolution
Lisburn then started to impose their own game and with their backs looking very dangerous on the run, it wasn’t long before the scores came. New signing Simon Rea looked a real find and on 15 minutes he gained possession to dash down the right wing to beat the defence in the corner. The difficult conversion from the touchline was kicked with composure by outhalf and backs coach Mark Crothers. Five minutes later he increased the lead to 10-3 with another penalty. The backs were now getting a plentiful supply of quick ball from their hard working forwards, bearing out the old adage that forwards decide who wins the game and the backs by how much. Quick ball through the hands to right wing Simon Gardner saw the speedster dash through the cover for the next Lisburn try and the Crothers conversion made it 17-3. This setback seemed to launch another huge effort from the young Grosvenor team and with their Number 8 in the vanguard they launched another series of attacks. Five minutes from the interval whistle they were rewarded for their efforts with a try from their left winger in the corner bringing the score to 17-8 but that man Crothers increased the margin to 12 points again with another fine penalty to bring up the half time score to 20 points to 8.
The second half commenced with another Crothers penalty and it looked as if the visitors’ effort at running the ball was not going to be enough to rescue the game for them. Grosvenor had arrived in Qualifying League 2 on the back of two excellent seasons where they had won promotion two years in a row. Qualifying League 2 is a different kettle of fish with some very experienced and competitive teams in it and their free running game will take some time to settle. However, as their team gains age and experience they will undoubtedly be a team to be reckoned with. Lisburn now turned their mind to the question of bonus points and realising that they needed two more tries to realise their ambitions, they started to attack more and more. The Lisburn pack were still laying on a good supply of possession and with Captain Chris Kidd leading by example and urging on his troops, the experienced Graham Lee and Andy Hamilton leading by example in the lineout, younger players like Tommy Thompson and Alan Hughes were proving a real thorn in the flesh to the visitors.
With just three minutes remaining Lisburn had almost given up hope of the bonus but nevertheless a try arrived in the shape of quick hand to centre Andrew Gibb who went in for the score 30 points to 8. In a hectic last few minutes Grosvenor came back to get an overlap try in the corner 30-15. In the last minute of the game Lisburn got possession on the Grosvenor 22 metre line and winger Richard Kindred split the visitors defence wide open with a speedy surge, shrugged off the final tackle to score under the posts. Crothers converted the last two tries and Lisburn were home and dry by 37 points to 15 and another five league points in the bank. Next Saturday they travel to Omagh where the opposition will be very much tougher and a good game is in prospect. The2nds have a free date while the 3rds travel to Academy 2s and the 4ths are at home to Malone 5s.
