Carrick dominant against Dee
The Carrick 1st XV continued their unbeaten run in the League with a bonus point 29 points to 6 victory over Donaghadee away at Donaldson Park on Saturday 16 January. After a first quarter in which the home side had the better of the territorial battle, Carrick, with a dominant scrum, took control and were completely on top in the second half. In addition to their scrum, dominance, Carrick had a secure line-out, got the better of the break-down contest and defended superbly when called upon to do so. Not for the first time this winter, the game was played in wet underfoot conditions which made open handling rugby difficult. Carrick though adapted much the better and, in the second half in particular, their kicking game was was superior with Luke Whittal, Conor Cambridge, Ryan Bailey and Aaron McKinney all contributing. Conor Cambridge had a great game at scrum half both with the boot and in his general game management but again, in the conditions, the forwards were the called upon to do most of the work. Ryan McGonigle once again carried powerfully but Andy Kinkaid and Chris Rodgers were not far behind in yards made. Captain Ross Marsden was heavily involved both in defence and attack and was a major influence at the break-down as was his brother Neil when he was on the field in the first half. Michael Black followed his excellent debut performance at scrum-half last week with a very good game at full-back while wingers Peter Simpson and Brian Alexander kicked and chased effectively. Major credit must go to the front row of David McKeen, Neil Hanna, Johnny Mcilwaine(first half) and Robbie Williams(second half), and their second row colleagues, for the success of the scrum; by the end of the game being awarded a scrum had become a nightmare for Donaghadee!
The first quarter of the game was closely contested and Donaghadee, playing with the slope in their favour, managed to ensure that Carrick played in their own half for much of the time. Carrick did take the lead after seven minutes with a Luke Whittal penalty but the home side got back on level terms five minutes later with a penalty of their own. They took the lead a couple of minutes later with another penalty and at the end of the first quarter came close to scoring when Carrick were forced to carry over following a well placed kick. However, Carrick made a complete mess of the Donaghadee scrum 5 and Luke Whittal put in an excellent clearing kick. From this point on, the visitors began to take control and, following a series of attacking moves around the thirty minute mark, Aaron McKinney was held up over the line; at the ensuing 5 metre scrum Donaghadee were marched backwards, and conceded a penalty try when they dived in to try to prevent the push-over try. Luke Whittal added the conversion points to give Carrick the lead by 10 points to 6. The home side then mounted what was to be their last threatening attack of the game with a catch and drive from a line-out following a penalty but the Carrick defence was solid, the ball was turned over and Aaron McKinney put in an excellent clearance kick. Carrick then mounted an attack of their own through Ryan McGonigle off the back of a scrum but the move broke down and the referee blew for half-time with the visitors leading by 10 points to 6.
The second half was one of virtually complete Carrick dominance. They had a couple of early chances but it was not until the tenth minute of the half that they extended their lead. Following a penalty kick to touch just inside the Donaghadee 22, the ball was moved in-field from the line-out and Chris Rodgers put in a strong charge, going through a couple of tackles, before feeding Ryan McGonigle who also shrugged off a couple of would-be tacklers to score. Luke Whittal again added the conversion points to give Carrick a 17 points to 6 lead. The visitors continued to dominate in almost all facets of play but did not add to their score until the thirty-fifth minute of the half. They were awarded a penalty close to the Donaghadee line and opted for the scrum but this time were able to get the ball over the line without interference and scrum-half Conor Cambridge dived in to score the try. Luke Whittal converted to extend the lead to 24 points to 6. Then, in the fifth minute of injury time, Conor Cambridge capped a fine all-round performance with his second try to give Carrick a winning bonus point. A Carrick attack appeared to have broken down when they turned the ball over but Donaghadee in turn lost control of the ball and Cambridge gathered to race in from the 22. The try was not converted and the final whistle was blown shortly afterwards with Carrick victorious by 29 points to 6.
This was an excellent all round performance by Carrick in which all played their part. If there is any criticism to be made it is that at they did give away too many penalties, something which could have cost them against stronger opposition. They have no game next Saturday and then on 30th January travel to Ballymoney for their next League encounter.
The Carrick team against Donaghadee was:-
M. Black; P. Simpson, R. Bailey, A. McKinney, B. Alexander; L. Whittal, C. Cambridge; D. McKeen, N. Hanna, J. McIlwaine (R. Williams), C. Rodgers, A. Kinkaid, N. Marsden (A. McKeen), R. Marsden (Capt), R. McGonigle.
2nd XV v Grosvenor 2s (away)
It was back to league action for Carrick 2’s this week with a fixture away to Grosvenor 2’s at a wet and soggy Shorts Recreation grounds. This was a must win game as the team tried to get their season back on track after a morale shattering loss to Ballymoney in the cup the previous week.
From the off Carrick looked in a determined and focussed mood, “Old Man” Wilkie’s opening kick-off was chased with vigour and Curtis “the aggressor” Rea forced turnover ball through a superb choke tackle, ably supported by Gareth “Baby Coug” McKeown and the rest of the Carrick pack, that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Carrick’s defence was built on immense first up tackling, Jack “the terrier” Millar, Ross “jack in the box” Crymble, “Baby Coug” and Adam “Wrecking Ball” Gibney were all outstanding in defence.
Carrick’s opening try came after 5 minutes, the turnover ball created from the kick off was retained and moved through many phases, strong running from Jake “big chopper” Porter (self-proclaimed) and Eddie “not me again ref” Pocock setup great attacking positions and when the ball was moved wide for the second time it reached a ‘resting’ big “John Eales” who nonchalantly stepped inside a Grosvenor defender and touched down halfway between touch and the posts. “Wee Sam” calmly slotted the extra 2.
Following this score Grosvenor took their chance to gain territory, a few lapses of discipline (mention no names Pocock will we?) allowed the men in green to secure a lineout on Carrick’s 5 metre line. Up step “John Eales”, not just a place kicker, not just a finisher in the 13 channel, he leapt like a salmon and with one of his big mitts diverted the Grosvenor throw to “the aggressor” who tidied up and allowed the Kenny “the wee general” Topping to clear the Carrick lines. From the ensuing 3 phases of play the referee took great offence to anything that the Grosvenor players said or did, a yellow card for their 9 seen them reduced to 14 men – one of his contributory offences – not putting the ball straight into the scrum – imagine!! Carrick were not deterred by all that, their focus remained on securing good quality ball, running through phases and getting the scoreboard moving again. That they did, when Carrick were awarded a scrum 10 metres from Grosvenor’s line, a solid 8-man effort had Grosvenor retreating and Nathan “G-Man” Greenwood picked from the base and went blind, he found himself with a simple 2 on 1 with Gaz “the terminator” Higgins – the top try scorer in the club outside him and…… you guessed it he dummied and went himself, easily making the line for the opening try of the game. “Wee Sam” added the extra 2.
Carrick made the most of the visitor’s reduction in numbers, shortly after their second score they produced what has to be their team-try of the season to date, a “43” move from the scrum was executed perfectly with the “wees” i.e. Sam & the general between them making 50 metres up the pitch, when space and numbers were limited up the blind the ball was shipped open into the waiting arms of “big chopper” who found himself with a simple 2 on 1 with “the terminator” – the top try scorer in the club outside him and…… you guessed it he too dummied and went himself, making the try line with what has to be said was a very accomplished finish. Wee Sam just missed right with the conversion attempt.
Carrick continued to lay siege on the Grosvenor line for the remainder of the first half, when the ball came into Grosvenor possession big hits would stop them firmly in their tracks, Johnny “look at me I’m a rugby league international” Mooney, “wrecking ball” ,“big chopper”, “the aggressor” and of course “the terrier” who at times was more like a bulldog on steroids with the hits he was making, were all prominent in defence and left the Grosvenor ball carriers wishing the game had been postponed! In laying siege to the line Carrick varied their play well, runners off 9, off 10 and through the middle all made inroads and it wasn’t just forwards, one such abrasive run saw Marcus “Boom Boom” Brush come off his wing and cut a great hard line which caught the Grosvenor defence off guard and saw him past 3 defenders to score the bonus point try from 20 metres out (which he later claimed was closer to 50 but the replay was conclusive). “Wee Sam” again narrowly missed with the conversion attempt. Half Time: Carrick 24 Grosvenor 0
Carrick were urged to produce more of the same in the second half and in patches they did however spells of indiscipline, the odd missed tackle and a spirited display by Grosvenor contributed to a tougher more hard fought 40 minutes after the break. With the referee appearing to do his best to even up the game, he made a 180 degree turn and come down hard on the slightest Carrick misdemeanour. When “not me again ref” slipped off his feet at a breakdown, albeit from an offside position the ref harshly awarded a penalty, when 2 minutes later the same player was adjudged to have not rolled away in a ruck the ref, who may have read previous match reports and was aware of “Pocock’s” reputation for playing on the razor wire between on and offside had no hesitation in giving “not me again ref” a “yes you again blondie, now take a break for 10 minutes” yellow card. Carrick however were undeterred by the reduction in numbers and indeed while down to 14 they scored again. When Grosvenor were adjudged offside at a ruck “wee Sam” penetrated the Grosvenor half with a well-judged touch finder (the first he’s done that for a while!!). From the ensuing lineout “the aggressor” secured the ball and was driven forward at a rate of knots by 5 of his 6 colleagues, “G-Man” was at the back steering and picking his moment to pounce, that he did to perfection, timing a run through the remainder of the Grosvenor defence to score on the 15m line. “Wee Sam” this time added the extra points.
Carrick continued to push forward and intermittently produced rugby of the quality which they are capable of but at times let themselves down by offloading when it wasn’t on – “jack in the box” or getting alienated from their support and letting the ball die with them at the breakdown, all too often looking for contact when heads up rugby would have seen continuity and progression – “Wee Sam”. To both of these guy’s credit however they did dazzle the opposition in attack “jack in the box’s” full repertoire was again on show with dummies, feigns, pirouettes and dummy kicks all taken by the opposition while “wee Sam” at times looked to be surrounded in a force field that meant the opposition couldn’t lay a finger on him, his dancing feet were in fine rhythm! In pushing forward Carrick’s backs and forwards interlinked well, one such occurrence put the twinkling toes of James “dumper truck” Graham into clear open field, a 20 metre gain was the result and a standby call was made to all paramedics in the area as he tried to recover! Shortly after this the ball was moved wide left and into the hands of the “wrecking ball” who was left in something of a familiar situation… a simple 2 on 1 with Gaz “the terminator” Higgins – the top try scorer in the club outside him but this time…. wait for it…. the pass was made, we in red and black called it lateral, anyone else except the ref called it ridiculously forward but away “the terminator” went, not to be denied his 21st try of the season. “Old Man” this time missing with the conversion attempt after “wee Sam” unselfishly offered him the toughest kick of the day!
At this stage the Grosvenor boys had seen and taken enough, their heads were down and they were waiting on the whistle, from a turnover by a Forever Living Products double team of “the wrecking ball” and “the aggressor” the ball was punted forward into gaping hole in the Grosvenor defence, “wee Sam” showed his pace and his footballing skills to outstrip, then dribble around the fading defenders to pick up then to add insult to injury side step a defender in the in-goal area to score and leave an easy conversion. “John Eales” stepped up in his sparkling new boots to convert but was left looking like a plank as the attempt was pushed wide right. Final Score Carrick 41 Grosvenor 0.
Special mention has to go the “Old Man” whose returning calming influence and ability to bring the best out of his outside backs was clear to be seen, his unselfishness personified when he even let them make his tackles (joke!!!, he was witnessed jumping on at least three peoples backs and did get in the way of or at least slow down some fairly big ball carriers). Mention also to “the terminator” who in his eagerness to chase a “wee Sam” kick failed to notice a considerable ground level change in the pitch and just fell flat on his face with his feet still going at top speed but to his credit still got up and closed his opponent down while the side-lines (including his dad) were in stitches laughing at him! Lest we forget the “flying Scotsman” who allegedly played the last 10 minutes of the game with a hamstring injury that curtailed his pace……. pace I hear you say, exactly, if anything he looked more lively in the closing encounters of the game! Well done also to the other Berry – Kris – “the baby faced assassin” who was terrific in defence and attack all day and to Johnny “look at me I’m a rugby league international” Mooney who acquitted himself well also and made some stinging hits albeit stinging himself!! Skipper “Baby coug” had a great afternoon in set piece and in the loose with at least 3 scrums against the head, 100% in the lineouts and some great interjections in defence and attack. The “wee general” was also outstanding and gave 100% effort throughout even after squealing like a b**ch after a slight case of cramp!!
Carrick Team: Sam Wallace, Marcus Brush, Shaun Hardie, Jake Porter, Gareth Higgins, Karl Wilkinson, Kenny Topping, Nathan Greenwood, Jack Millar, Ross Crymble, David Ferris, Curtis Rea, Eddie Peacock, Gareth McKeown, Adam Gibney, James Graham, Johnny Mooney, Kris Berry
Other results
The 3rd XV game against Ballymoney 3s was called off.
In the Butler Shield, the 4th XV overcame Civil Service 2s by 27-10.
On Saturday mornings the youth section hosted Virginia. The ever-impressive Under 14s beat their opposition 44-0. The Under 16s drew 5 apiece. And the Under 18s got a walk-over in their game.
