Having already claimed one of the automatic promotion places,Rainey Old Boys turned on the style to beat a good Armagh side 34-8 at The Palace Grounds, two late tries giving them the bonus point which keeps them six points clear of Barnhall who overwhelmed Boyne earlier in the afternoon.But,while 2 B title is now assured,they will want to maintain their undefeated record when relegation threatened Clonakilty come to Hatrick Park next week.
On a beautiful day,Rainey produced their best performance for quite a while to put themselves in a winning position before going on to complete the job.The bonus point was more than they could have hoped for,but was well merited.It took some great tackling and good decision making to contain the home side,while they were able to turn territory into points with some clinical finishing.The replacements made an impact when it mattered,Armagh’s consolation try coming in time added on – CLICK HERE for the shots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Armagh looked the part in the opening minutes when they might well have scored.Rainey twice gave the ball away after crossing halfway,but full-back O’Connor settled their nerves with a penalty after fifteen minutes.Three minutes later,the travelling Rainey support had a classic try to savour.A long kick from out-half Martin was chased down well,earning a scrum from which No.8 Dawson fed scrum-half Simpson who went wide before weaving his way through to send supporting flanker Shiels in at the posts..
Harbinson forced a timely turnover when Armagh threatened and then,following a mess up at the base of a scrum,O’Connor fired out a long pass to Clarke who raced down the wing with O’Connor arriving in support.He was halted ten yards short,but earned a penalty which was missed.Two minutes later,however,a penalty to the corner and a well-executed catch and drive produced a try for prop O’Kane who was a massive influence on the day.O’Connor converted.Back came Armagh,but the Mc Murray brothers in the centre stood up to the task,although Jody was yellow carded.Armagh opted for a scrum,but Rainey doubled their efforts to hold out with Shiels putting his body on the line
A loose pass put Rainey under pressure,but O’Connor lifted the seige with a lovely break deep into the Armagh half.The Rainey defence remained resolute and they bounced straight back after Armagh kicked a penalty.Armagh’s failure to take the drop-out presented Rainey with a penalty which O’Connor kicked to make it 20-3.O’Kane was then sin-binned as Armagh tried all they knew to create an opening,but Rainey again dug deep to allow Martin to clear.
A great break up the middle from Dawson forced a close range penalty which was missed,but Armagh had a man yellow carded for transgressing.As Rainey gradually emptied their bench,they used turnover ball well with a little chip from Martin causing Armagh to scamper back and kill the ball.The kick was missed,but with O’Kane back to rally the troops,the Armagh line took a battering with Burns eventually going in at the posts.Rainey were now thinking of an unlikely bonus point with eight minutes remaining and a penalty to the corner enabled the pack to rumble up to the goal line for Stewart to plunge over and make it a day to remember for his club.Wing Lester scored in the last minute for Armagh who played their part in a great game of rugby.
TEAM : M.O’Connor,A.Campbell,D.Mc Murray,J.Mc Murray,A.Clarke,G.Martin,S.Simpson,R.Hall,S.Sufferin,N.O’Kane,T.Barker,P.Boyle,M.Shiels,A.Harbinson,D.Dawson.
REPLACEMENTS : S.Rutledge ( Hall 40 ) P.Stewart ( Boyle 49 )M.Pyper ( J.Mc Murray 65 ) T.Burns ( Harbinson 70 ) K.Donaghy ( Sufferin 72 )
UNDERAGE SUCCESS
Rainey had three sides competing in the Ulster Carpets cup quarter-finals.The Under 15’s lost 52-10 in Monaghan.The Under 13’s won 17-15 in Monaghan and travel to Dromore who beat Lurgan 47-10 at Pollock Park.At Under 17 level,Rainey had an excellent 34-8 victory over Instonians at Shaw’s Bridge.They also travel to Dromore who defeated Coleraine 37-5.The other semi-finalists are Ballymena and Carrick.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Members should note that the A.G.M. will be on Thursday,25 April at 8.00 p.m.
CLUB DINNER
Bookings for this event will be taken in the coming weeks.Friday,10May is the date.
DIVISION 2 B results : Boyne 17-63 Barnhall Instonians 8-43 Suttonians Navan 27-17 Connemara Nenagh 50-19 Ards Skerries 32-26 Sligo
