After a week of rain the Newry pitch held up well under pressure from two heavy packs.
Newry kicked off playing towards the clubhouse. Good pressure from the Newry back row lead to Holywood errors. Both teams where guilty of sloppy kicking not capitalising on penalty’s. Captain Connor Marshall drove the attacking side back well leading to a turn over scrum on the away 22. From the resulting scrum Rhys Botha managed to set Marty Cunningham off for a try in the corner. Having missed two penalty’s previous Botha managed to slot over the hardest kick of the day. With Newry heads high and a 5 – 0 lead, Newry where confident in their attack allowing Holywood very little in the way of chances. From a sloppy Newry lineout Holywood where able to reach the Newry try line only to be held up by Gareth Madden and Marshall.
In the dying minutes of the first half Newry where able to mount one more attack allowing the forwards and backs to work well together. Some driving runs from James Warren and Neil Robertson allowed scrumhalf Ryan Grant to off load to a rampaging Botha who using a dummy run from Cunningham to slip in for a try. Conversion missed
Half time 12 – 0
The second half stared with Newry under a lot of pressure. The Holywood pack obviously took some words from their coach to heart and keep Newry pinned back. Great tackling from Andrew Marshall and Richard Gordon kept Holywood at bay. The rest of the second half was error strewn and only allowed Newry to get back into the game. Newry managed to miss a further three penalty’s opting for the posts to try and replace their miss firing lineout. With five minutes left Newry managed to drive a scrum to the try line to allow Andre Stanley to touch down a try. Many say the try should not have been given for truck and trailer but with Andrew adamant the referee awarded a try to the Newry side. Once again the kick was missed. With the clock ticking down a high ball from Holywood put Darren Marshall under pressure for the first time in the game. With a rush of blood to the head Darren lashed out with a vicious elbow. Unfortunately Marshall was caught and subsequently sinbinned for his rush of blood to the head. Hollywood where also reduced to fourteen men for retaliation, which was a harsh call after Marshall’s vicious elbow.
With that Newry won the first game against Holywood since promotion into Qualifying 3. It has to be said that Newry where great to watch but lacked the killer instinct when needed.
A.Stanley, C.Stewart, N.Robertson, R.Gordon, C.McNally, C.Marshall, A.Marshall, J.Warren, R.Grant, M.Cunningham, G.Madden, P.Wentworth, A.Fisher, D.Marshall
on Saturday · Report
Adam Fisher Darren, Darren, Darren!
12 hours ago · Report
Newry Rugby Club Newry 1st XV 19 v Holywood 1st XV 0
Newry began the game strong with the Newry back row putting pressure on Holywood leading to numerous errors. It would only take twenty minutes for Newry to attack Holywoods scrum resulting in a turn over scrum on the away 22. From the attacking scrum Rhys Botha set Marty Cunningham through the defence for a try in the corner. Having missed two penalty’s previous Botha managed to slot over the hardest kick of the day. With Newry heads high and a 5 – 0 lead, confidence showed in their attack allowing Holywood very little in the way of chances. In the later stages of the first half Newry mounted one finally attack, knowing a try would sink Holywoods hearts, with driving runs from James Warren and Neil Robertson scrumhalf Ryan Grant off-loaded to a rampaging Botha who using a dummy run from Cunningham to slip in for a try.
The second half stared with Newry under a lot of pressure. The Holywood pack obviously took some words from their coach to heart and keep Newry pinned back. Great tackling from Andrew Marshall and Richard Gordon kept Holywood at bay. The rest of the second half was error strewn and only allowed Newry to get back into the game. Newry managed to miss a further three penalty’s opting for the posts to try and replace their miss firing lineout. With five minutes left Newry managed to drive a scrum to the try line to allow Andre Stanley to touch down a try. Many say the try should not have been given for truck and trailer but with Andrew adamant the referee awarded a try to the Newry side. With the clock ticking down a high ball from Holywood put Darren Marshall under pressure for the first time in the game. With a rush of blood to the head Darren lashed out with a vicious elbow. Unfortunately Marshall was caught and subsequently sin-binned for his rush of blood to the head. Hollywood where also reduced to fourteen men for retaliation, which was a harsh call after Marshall’s vicious elbow.
With that Newry won the first game against Holywood since promotion into Qualifying 3. It has to be said that Newry where great to watch but lacked the killer instinct when needed.
A.Stanley, C.Stewart, N.Robertson, R.Gordon, C.McNally, C.Marshall, A.Marshall, J.Warren, R.Grant, R. Botha, M.Cunningham, G.Madden, P.Wentworth, A.Fisher, D.Marshall
Newry 2nd XV 6 – Holywood 2nd XV 12
With a large number of the regular Second XV unavailable last Saturday Newry fielded their thirds for an away league fixture in Holywood. The match was played in ideal conditions and was a reasonably sporting affair with both teams seeking to take advantage of the conditions to play some entertaining running rugby.
The Newry team certainly had a novel look to it with a returning Joe McIldowney back in his role as centre, a rapidly improving John Collins in second row and veteran forward Donal Farrell stepping out in the unlikely position of scrum-half. Newry started off the better of the two teams and had territorial advantage in the first quarter of the match. Some astute positional kicking from out-half kept the home team pinned in their own 22 for a long time but despite sustained pressure on the Holywood line good defensive work kept them at bay. It was Holywood who drew first blood with an unconverted try shortly before half time. They touched down in the corner after a well worked backs move which caught the Newry cover unawares and which brought some sharp words from the Newry Coach Alan Best. The chastened visitors responded with a penalty before the half-time whistle to leave matters finely poised for the second half. Thereafter the match ebbed and flowed as both teams struggled for dominance. Full back Sean O’Maitiu produced his finest display for a long time with some great try saving tackles to keep the Newry line intact until Newry edged in front with another penalty with about ten minutes remaining on the clock. Everything seemed set fair for a first away win of the season until a series of calamitous, unconnected errors gifted the Belfast team a try under the Newry posts with a minute remaining on the clock. That turned out to be the final score, much to the joy of the home team and it left the Newry men disconsolate and empty handed. In a post match interview Coach Best expressed a mixture of disappointment and pride that his team had come so close to winning but had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. “This team is improving rapidly and the contribution of our thirds players today was immense. We have a great future ahead of us!” was the Coaches final upbeat comments on the days proceedings.
Team: C. O’Neill, D. Reilly, C. Best, D. Tolan, J. Collins, L. Hansen, C. Horan, P. Haughy, D. Farrell, J. O’Kane, D. Clarke, D. Armstrong, J. McIldowney, S. Larkin, S. O’Maitiu
Fixtures 6-11-2010
Newry 2nd XV at home v Monaghan 2nd XV 2.30pm Kick Off
Newry 3rd XV away to Armagh.
