On Saturday (10th of March) Strabane 1st XV faced Donegal town in Donegal. A puddle ridden pitch and a strong ever-changing wind dictated the style of rugby played. The home side put the first points on the board to lead 3-0, after forcing an early penalty for offside close to the Strabane line.
Donegal failed to deal with the restart under a swirling wind resulting in a scrum to Strabane. Strong carrying from the back of the scrum from centre Adam Cummings and 2nd row Simon McSparron earned Strabane good territory in the Donegal 22. After battering at the door for longer than they would have liked, it was veteran prop Mal Finlay who crossed the line close to the posts, the conversion giving Strabane a 7-3 lead playing in to a now gale-force wind.
There were plenty of unforced errors for the remainder of the 1st half as both teams struggled to come to terms with the conditions. Importantly for Strabane, they held the lead at the break 7-3.
Strabane started the 2nd half much brighter and were able to make much better use of the wind than Donegal had before the break. Territory and good possession allowed Strabane to add 2 more tries with Timmy Cummings and Mal Finlay again crossing the line. Kyle Barr added both conversions leaving the final score 21-3. Strabane will welcome the win as they move further away from Donegal Town at the foot of the table.
Meanwhile, the Strabane minis travelled to neighbors Letterkenny to play in a blitz with teams from all over Donegal. All three teams showed a huge improvement from the recent journey to City of Derry, with plenty of tries to go around. Strabane minis organizer Robert Dillon said “The players have come ahead in leaps and bounds. I like to give a big thank you to Letterkenny for inviting us.”
