Perennials v Carrick/Larne Invitation XV – 06 October 2013
On an historic day when flags protests were suspended, the East Antrim boroughs of Carrick and Larne became one, the sun shone, the crowds came, unfortunately the Perennials buckled under the pressure and the size of the opposition and came up short on the final score board.
The signs were ominous from the outset, with the Perennials falling behind by 4 tries to nil at the end of just the first quarter.
However a second quarter comeback saw Derek Wilson get things rolling with a dummy pass, shimmy and over for our first try, following a wonderful smother tackle and ball steal by George Neilly. Following some excellent handling the Perennials were stopped just short of the line, but from the subsequent ruck Derek Wilson crossed the line again.
Carrick/Larne then added another one to their tally, before the Perennials got three in a row, with Don Thompson setting up Marcus Cummings for our third try. Don again, this time feeding Michael Higginson to get the fourth, and Derek Wilson rounded off his hat-trick following a good run by Barry Dowling just before the whistle, to leave the half time score 5 tries apiece.
The second half saw Carrick/Larne take the lead despite a magnificent chase back and tackle by Michael McAlister, before the turning point of the game saw Ricky McIlmoyle who was clean through, decided to do a juggling act and knock on for what should have been an equalizer. Carrick/Larne then went straight back up the pitch to stretch their before Don Thompson put our captain Peter Sandford over to keep us in touch. Another couple of tries try by our hosts left the Perennials trailing by 9 tries to 6 as we entered the final quarter.
The final quarter saw fine tries by Neil McConkey and Neil Murphy, however our hosts were to strong overall and the final result was 12 tries to 8 to Carrick/Larne.
A big thank you to match referees Tim Lowry and Simon McDowell and to our hosts for entertaining us to some fine food and beers. We made a £100 donation towards Terry McCracken’s fund raising for the RVH Intensive Care Unit.
The crowds gathered as Stuart Porter then strapped Dougal his friend safely in the back seat and headed home. Click here for picture.
