The latest instalment of the typically unrelenting Ulster League campaign saw Rainey travel to Gibson Park to face an inspired Malone side, in peak form and brimming with confidence on the back of their remarkable promotion-winning last season.
FOR ACTION SHOTS FROM CHARLES HENDERSON CLICK HERE
It mustn’t be overlooked that there has been a number of commendable performances from the somewhat new-look Rainey squad, including narrow defeats and hard earned bonus points in the competition that has pitched them against teams in higher A.I.L. divisions in every fixture to date. However, travelling to the Cregagh Road in search of a first win of the campaign, against undefeated opponents now 2 divisions above, seemed like yet another rather daunting task. Indeed it was a task made all the more implausible by the now customary abundance of injuries & unavailability of players which unfortunately has been the story of the season so far.
Again, the Rainey selectors were forced into picking another much-changed and partly inexperienced side, including more debutants, as well as a number of men returning from absences and injury. Then, to make matters more difficult, a last-minute injury meant that James McBride had to be brought into the starting team despite having already played 80 gruelling minutes immediately beforehand in a well-contested and physical 2nd fifteen match. Nevertheless, the Magherafelt men accepted the challenge and embraced the under-dog label for the last time before the A.I.L. begins next weekend, when expectations will be raised, and results become the exclusive objective.
Before the match, both sides came together to honour a minute’s silence in memory of the recent tragic loss of Ulster player Nevin Spence, along with his Father Noel and Brother Graham.
The match started just as the home side expected, and the travelling support feared. The early nerves were particularly apparent as Rainey struggled to quell pressure from the inexorable Malone. With barely 5 minutes gone, a number of well-worked phases resulted in the Malone second row crossing the try line in the corner. 5-0. The chat on the terraces immediately began to murmur possible cricket scores, and while hands were being rubbed amongst the home fans, Rainey captain Neil O’Kane regrouped the troops behind the posts. Spirits were lifted, and from the restart, the Rainey men stepped up to the mark. Stewart, Barker, O’Neill and Dawson made consecutive big hits to remind Malone they were in a game, and within minutes the hard-work paid off when Rainey were awarded a penalty. O’Connor’s boot as reliable as ever, slotting the 40 yard kick from the corner between the sticks with ease. 5-3. Game on.
The match came alive and the next 10 minutes was very evenly matched. Some great running rugby was being stifled by inspired defensive work by both sides. The entirely perfect rugby-playing conditions made way for some slick handling moves in the backs, while both packs continued to slog it out up front. Malone managed to take the score to 8-3 with a well taken penalty from the corner on the 20 minute mark. Then a fantastic break by elusive Malone wing Michael Barker (younger brother of Tim) looked to be a certain score in the corner, but against all the odds Rainey debutant Mark Montgomery showed his lightning pace to get across the pitch and tap a trailing leg to bring the flying winger down a yard before the try-line. The scrambling Rainey defence were able to get back, steal the ball, and clear their line.
Montgomery’s exemplary efforts appeared to be contagious, and for the next 10 minutes or so Rainey played all the rugby. Scrum-half McCluggage was having another effective game in the link role, and despite a lot of pressure at the break-down, his passing remained as consistently accurate and swift as ever. The Rainey runners were piercing holes, and while all the big men were able to make hard-yards around the fringes, O’Connor was thriving off quick ball when he shouted for it, and the Rainey backs soon got going. McBride showed incredible character doing everything asked of him and more, when he could have been forgiven for grinding to a halt going well over 100 minutes of consecutive, intense rugby. The wide men were also getting involved, and overlaps began to be exploited when the midfield were taking advantage of the conditions to shift the ball out and put Malone on the backfoot. A great run by Montgomery on 30 minutes forced the winger to come inside to cover, and the debutant was able to get the ball away to Campbell, who, in typical fashion used his strong running to make 40 yards before being hauled down metres from the line. However, just as Rainey had done 10 minutes before, Malone’s scrambling defence was able to get the ball away. The tide turned yet again when a dropped catch from the clearance led to a Malone scrum near the half-way, which in turn led to a breakaway try from winger Barker between the posts, completely against the run of play. An easy conversion made it 15-3.
The East Belfast men took advantage of their momentum before half-time, and in an illustration of their superior clinical they touched down again minutes later, when their out-half found a gap, chipped Rainey’s debutant fullback Burrows, and win the chase to score a fantastic individual effort. Bizarrely the centre-post conversion was missed to leave the score 20-3. Rainey managed to claw back 3 points just before the interval when O’Connor stroked a penalty over from the half-way line with ease. 20-6 at half-time.
Malone came out of the blocks in the second half with the same intensity as they had in the first, however, this time the Rainey men were able to soak up the pressure, with replacements McDowell, Hall and Boyle all putting in effective shifts in defence. For ten minutes the play was camped inside the away teams 22, but much to the credit of Rainey’s organised defensive line, the home side came away with nothing. Then, in yet another turn of events, Rainey’s patience was rewarded with a counter-attacking break-away, and the very impressive Montgomery went through a gap, drew the full-back in textbook style, and kept a cool head to slip the ball out in a back-hand pass to the supporting Sufferin who breezed over for an easily converted try on 50 minutes.
20-13 quickly became 20-16 when O’Connor capitalised on another penalty, however this appeared to kick Malone into gear. Intensity levels were stepped up and a couple of great breaks from the Malone mid-field eventually got their due-reward when the fullback evaded a number of missed tackles to go over between the posts and the conversion made it 27-16.
As Rainey’s backs began to tire, inexperience started to surface slightly, as well as McBride now playing 140 minutes of rugby, and Malone didn’t take long in exploiting more gaps. On 70 minutes some slick passing put the Malone outside centre in for their 5th of the afternoon, and another easy conversion made it 34-16.
The Rainey men remained as stubborn as ever, and had one last bit of magic left in the tank. O’Connor took advantage of some complacency and read a telegraphed pass like a book to intercept on the 10 metre and sprint in for Rainey’s 3rd try of the game. Perhaps tired legs meant the conversion was uncharacteristically missed, and the scoreboard now read 34-21.
However, the final hoorah went to the home side a few minutes later when some great footwork from their full-back took him over for a try in the corner, and the conversion took the final score to 41-21.
A great game of rugby in perfect conditions will do no harm in Rainey’s somewhat disruptive preparations for the all-important first A.I.L. fixture next Saturday. With a number of fringe players giving very good accounts of themselves, the Rainey coaching team can draw a lot of positives from this match, as well as perhaps unwittingly giving themselves some selection headaches going into the new campaign.
Team: N. O’Kane, S. Sufferin, N. Amos, P. Stewart, T. Barker, T. Burns, C. O’Neill, D. Dawson, A. McCluggage, M. O’Connor, A. Rainey, J. McBride, M. Montgomery, A. Campbell, J. Burrows.
Final Score: Malone 41
Rainey Old Boys 21
Second Fifteen Report
Rainey Old Boys 2nd XV went down 27 – 12 against a very strong Malone 2nd XV side at Gibson Park in the early kick-off. On the day, it was the unprecedented 17 first half penalties Rainey conceded in their own half that made the difference, and ultimately quashed any hopes of an upset.
The game unfortunately barely got going in the first half as Malone were awarded penalty after penalty for infringements at the breakdown. However, Rainey refused to drop their heads and their defence from 1 to 15 remained resilient throughout. Nonetheless, the halftime score was 20-0 to the home side as Malone capitalised on penalty opportunities, which constantly enabled them to pin Rainey back in the corners, as well as take points from the boot. Despite this, particular credit must be given to Rainey’s Richard Hill, Andrew Harbinson, Ian Hutchinson and James McBride who all defended incredibly throughout, whilst outhalf Kenny Irvine continued to keep an attacking threat going when limited opportunities arose.
An effective half-time team talk seemed to gather the Rainey men’s composure, and the second half penalties were massively reduced. A significant amount more possession allowed Rainey’s strong runners to get going, and gaps were found throughout. A snipping run from scrum-half Donaghy took Rainey deep inside the opposition 22 and ultimately led to a number of great forward phases an eventually McKernan touched down on the hour mark.
Not long after a great back bit of back-play led to centres Cassidy and McBride linking well, creating an overlap, and McBride went over in the corner, with team mates to spare outside.
Malone however managed one breakaway try in the second half to add to their 20 first half points, and the final score was 27-12.
