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VIRGINIA RFC
U16s Make it a Virginia RFC Double in Ulster League Cup Finals
Virginia RFC U16s met City of Armagh RFC in the Ulster League Final in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena, Cookstown last Saturday with many of the players looking to secure their third Championship in four years. Earlier that morning they’d watched their U14 teammates win their final so were determined to emulate their success. The players were met with very unseasonal icy conditions as they attempted to make it a St Patricks Day to remember for the club.
It was Armagh that started the stronger pressing Virginia back into their twenty-two and eventually going over in the corner after some lax Virginia covering. This seemed to wake up the Cavan boys and they soon had Armagh scrambling defensively with Adam Sherriff and Adam Charters varying the attack. Niall Carolan found himself in space and a great dummy and strong run saw him touchdown to level the scores. From the kick off Virginia again pressed, a great run from Paddy Gordon pushed Armagh deep into their own territory, and then great hands from the backs put Conor Nulty into space for an easy run in to give them the lead. Virginia now seemed in the ascendency, but credit to Armagh they were not going to crumble. A penalty into the corner just before the break, and a rolling maul off the line out levelled the score at 10-10 as the half came to a close.
The second half began as a cagey affair. The set piece was working well for Virginia with the front row of John Smyth, Killian Collins and Jamie Osborne again more than holding their own. This solid foundation and an increased tempo by the forwards looked to have put Virginia in a dominant position, and when Michael McKeon-Boyle kicked a penalty to give them a three point lead you felt that with another score they could pull away. Great defensive work by James Farrelly, Robert Lochaden, and the returning David Gibney however kept Armagh away so they resorted to route one through the forwards. As the half wore on Virginia suffered two huge injury blows to props John and Jamie, but their replacements Ryan McGuigan and Thomas Sheridan put in a great performance to keep the opposition at bay. The drama wasn’t over though. With just minutes left on the clock Armagh again forced their way over in the corner to give themselves a two point lead. Virginia needed to dig deep if they were to avoid consecutive final defeats. Callum Finane led the charge with a barnstorming drive up the middle, and in the resulting melee flankers Cai Walker and Adrian Lynch forced a penalty at the breakdown. Michael lined it up and showed nerves of steel as he coolly slotted the ball through the posts for a 16-15 lead. Despite some nervy moments after the restart Virginia held on to secure the title after what turned out to be a titanic battle.
A busy few weeks lies ahead now for the lads with their defence of the Ulster Cup starting next weekend, a trip to France over Easter to an international tournament in Brittany, and then the semi-final of the All Ireland play offs in April. A fantastic victory today, but still plenty to play for before the season ends.
Squad: Jamie Osborne, Killian Collins, John Smyth, Callum Finane, James Farrelly, Adrian Lynch, Cai Walker (Cptn), Michael McKeon-Boyle, Adam Sherriff, Adam Charters, Robert Lochaden. Niall Carolan, Conor Nulty, Paddy Gordon, David Gibney, Thomas Sheridan, Ryan McGuigan, Luke Morris, Mark Gibney, Luke Doyle, Jake White-Duffy, Ciaran Levy-Valensi, Ryan Moloney, John Dolan
Virginia beat Ballynahinch to become Ulster Champions
Virgina travelled to the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown on a bitter cold day, and after winning the the toss decided to play into the wind for the first half.
Ballynahinch were to be first on the scoreboard as they got in for a try in the first five minutes after some slack Virginia defence. They were then forced to soak up wave after wave of Ballynahinch attacks in the first half as the opposition built relentless pressure, competing ferociously at every ruck. A spell of indiscipline cost a Ballynahinch player a yellow card and from there, Virginia made them pay. Darren Kavangh drew in several tacklers but managed to get an offload away and Mathew Buyers capitalised and he hit the line at speed to crash over. Half time and the teams were level at 5-5.
For the second half Virginia made no changes and it was only a few minutes into the half that more Ballynahinch indiscipline got another player sent to the bin. Malachy Walker took the penalty and scored to bring the score to give Virginia a three point lead.
Ballynahinch took charge for parts of the second half as they tried to play themselves back onto the game, but Virginia showed their ability and strength in keeping them out, denying them any momentum.
They used the wind well to keep Ballynahinch in their half, and began to get the better of their opponents. As a result of this Hinch discipline worsened, and this time it was s red card they received, with Malachy slotting the resulting penalty for a six point lead. Diarmuid Donnellan to came on for Virginia to replace Glen McCabe, and they continued to dominate possession Kieran Duffy made some good forward drives, well aided by Gordon Lochaden alongside. Nathan Tobin lookied dangerous, and one of his powerful runs eventually resulted in another penalty, with Malachy opening up the lead to 14-5. Cillian Smith was unlucky not to score a try after great follow up to a kick by Jack Carroll. Virginia we’re now on fire with some attractive running and handling. Eventually a well worked converted try by Man of the Match Malachy Walker brought an end to the Hinch challenge, running out deserved 21-5 winners, and Ulster League Champions.
They begin their quest for a League and Cup double next Saturday when they welcome Ballyclare RFC to the Deerpark in the 1st Round of the Ulster Cup.
Squad: Darren Kavangh, Gordon Lochaden, Eoin Bogan, Matthew Byers, Conan Fitzpatrick, Patrick Sheridan, Glen McCabe, Kieran Duffy, Oscar Erikson, Jack Carroll, Killian Smith, Nathan Tobin, Malachy Walker, Tyrone Tynan, Philip O Dowd, Declan Burns, Rian Stafford, Louis Fidgeon, Harry Leddy, Pauric McCusker, Diarmuid Donnellan, Ben Curren.
