LETTERKENNY 16-5 RANDALSTOWN The Randalstown u18s cup campaign ended at the quarter final stage on Saturday past when they lost away to a very strong Letterkenny squad. In a match which was spoiled by the weather conditions.
Randalstown received the kickoff and took the ball into contact. Ball retention had been the coaches message before the game and the visitors recycled possession very well against a much larger and physical pack which was much changed from their previous encounter at the start of the season.
Playing into a severe gale it was not a day which suited Randalstown’s exciting runners, and a few handling errors allowed Letterkenny to play the game deep in the Randalstown half. The men in red and white tackled like demons as Letterkenny began to control the ball. Eventually the incessant pressure saw the home home team slip under the posts for a 7-0 lead. Both sides were ferocious at the breakdown with bodies being put in harms way at every ruck, however two long range penalties from the boot of the Letterkenny outhalf gave the home side a 13-0 lead.
The second half saw Randalstown dominate Letterkenny at the breakdown and the pace and intensity which the visitors attempted to play at had the desired effect of tiring out the home side. In the scrum, the front row of McLaughlin, Hampton and Worsley had gained the upper hand on their much larger opponents, and this caused several stoppages as the home team attempted to regroup and shore up their creaking scrum by bringing on an equally large replacement front row.
Midway through the second half Randalstown left wing Joshua Henry made a 60m break down the touch line. As he kicked the ball past the last defender he was blatantly obstructed resulting in a yellow card but no penalty try. Justice was done several minutes later when tight head prop Ben Worsley drove over the line with half of Letterkenny on his back. This was richly deserved for an outstanding player who has only joined the club at the start of the season. With time running out and Randalstown chasing the game it was Letterkenny who scored the last points of the match to win 16-5.
The coaches are delighted to have had such a great group of players to work with this year. This is quite a young squad with the majority returning to play u18s next season. We do have several players moving onto university or to play seniors rugby next season, and to them we wish every success and hope they have enjoyed their time with Randalstown Youth.
Thank you to the parents and supporters who have followed on our travels this season. The u18s still have a 7s tournament to play in on the 1st May and the club prize day to attend on the 2nd May so watch this space for details!!
Randalstown U16s v Ballymena U16s 2nds – Ulster Plate Quarter Final
Ballymena travelled to Neillsbrook with a strong squad of twenty players for this ‘Plate’ quarter final. They quickly showed their intent scoring a try in the corner after some four minutes. This made the Randalstown lads strive for the equalising score which came some three minutes later. Patrick Mitchell crashing over below the uprights after three successive Randalstown penalties. Eoin Letters duly converted to put the Town into the lead. 
The Randalstown lads then pressed for another score only to be let down by poor handling and a dogged Ballymena defence. One such error led to another fine Ballymena try, their wingers sprinting in from forty plus metres. This gave Ballymena added impetus but the Randalstown defence held firm and trailed by just three points at half time,
Randalstown 7 Ballymena 10
Facing a strong breeze in the second half a wayward kick found one of the biggest Ballymena forwards who gratefully accepted it and sprinted through the defence to extend their lead. Another Ballymena try followed to leave the score 7-20. This was the spark which ignited a so far lethargic Randalstown team and they began playing the rugby they were capable of, Curtis Gay charging over the line in the corner for a fine try after great work from the forwards.
Ballymena then began to lose their discipline and the Randalstown lads sensed they could still have a big say in the outcome. Curtis Gay charged over again after great work from the Randalstown pack to further reduce the deficit to three points with ‘Man of the Match’ Eoin Letters slotting over a very difficult kick to further reduce the margin to a single point.
The last few minutes were tense to say the least and with a few decisions not going their way Randalstown came out second best by the narrowest of margins. Final score was Randalstown 19 Ballymena 2nds 20
Heart can be taken from the performance in the last fifteen minutes though the first half display meant that it was going to be a difficult second period.
Curtis Gay (Captain), Luke Kirkwood, Andrew Stewart, Patrick Mitchell, Conor Doran, Sean O’Rawe, Scott McClay, Danny Webb, Eoin Letters, Ryan Magill, Luke Carey, Daniel Cullen, Stephen Logan, Peter Longwell, James Murphy. Coaches – Nigel Gilbert and Thomas Devlin
Randalstown Rugby Club – Youth Rugby Under 14 Team
Ballynahinch U14 vs Randalstown U14
11th April 2015
Randalstown’s Under 14 youth team travelled to Ballynahinch to play their Under 14s for their Under 14 Plate Quarter Final match on a cold, windy but bright spring morning. The match started a few minutes late while the home team waited for players to arrive.
First Half
Randalstown received the kick off in windy conditions and immediately set about the task of breaking down the home side defense. The strong cross wind was marginally in Randalstowns’ favour and their backs took full advantage with a box kick by scrum half Oran Gilbert forcing play into the home side twenty two. Randalstown got possession of the ball and the forwards went through a series of phases with some effective carries by Swann, McDonald, McCavana and Correia, the last of which was finished off with Dominic O’Connor scoring Randalstown’s first try. The difficult conversion into the cross wind was missed by Stefhan Gabbidon-Lyttle.
Play restarted and Ballynahinch were not to be beaten that easily. After a number of arguably harsh penalties conceded by the Randalstown forwards for infringements at the rucks, the home side were able to score a try of their own which was converted.
Randalstown restarted and went back to their forwards for the next try. Their scrum was solid securing all their own scrums and stealing two opposition scrums, against a significantly larger pack, which delighted the Randalstown forwards coach. Special mention here must go to Fionn Johnston at tighthead who performed admirably against a loosehead prop literally twice his size and who bored at every opportunity but still adapted and dominated on every set-piece. From a position on the five yard line Dominic O’Connor, positioned at first receiver outside Cullen, barged his way over the line to score his second try. The difficult conversion from the same position as the first try was missed by Stephan Gabbidon-Lyttle.
Play continued and the visitors again played their way into the home side half. With some delightful offloading through the backs, managed by a wonderful half-back partnership of Gilbert & Cullen, the ball fed through McGee, went out to winger Matthew Luke who stretched his legs down the wing, fending off several would-be tacklers, to score an impressive effort in the corner. With the wind now at his back Stefhan Gabbidon-Lyttle converted the try from out wide just inside the touch line.
The first half ended with the forwards securing some excellent quality possession giving Cullen some time and space to put his 3/4line into some space which McGee and Gabbidon-Lyttle certainly relished. Following some lovely wrap-arounds which involved McGee barging his way through his opposite number, space was created for wingers Johnson and Luke to bring livewire fullback Cormac Devlin into the attack. Devlin’s pace and strength proved a real asset in both attack and defence as the match progressed.
The first half ended 17 – 7 to Randalstown.
Second Half
From the restart Ballynahinch came out fighting using their much larger forwards to good effect. The visitor’s struggled to bring down the big forwards, certainly hindered by some questionable penalties given to the home side at the breakdown but it must be said the branch referee gave as much to each side and his refereeing style, talking to the players at all times, certainly contributed to what was turning into one of the most entertaining, if stressful for coaches and parents, matches seen all season. The home side took full advantage scoring two tries in quick succession towards the end of the half. The conversions were missed and the score was now tied at seventeen all with four minutes to go.
Randalstown had to step up and take the play to Ballynahinch if they were not to let the match slip away. So began the battle of the breakdown between both packs with McAllister in particular proving a particular nuisance to the Ballynahinch side playing right on the edge to snaffle back possession on several occasions to relieve pressure and give good quality ball to Gilbert and Cullen. Lock O’Neill also came into his own in the 2nd period especially with some ferocious tackles, essentially defending penalties by himself and tackling everything in a Ballynahinch jersey that moved. After a break by the backs the visitors were awarded a penalty just inside the home side twenty two. Scrum half Oran Gilbert took a quick tap penalty and ran the ball out to the backs who were stopped just short of the five yard line but play was called back because the home side had not retreated ten yards. Oran Gilbert took charge and intelligently opted to kick the penalty and take the lead with just minutes left on the clock, all the more impressive given the nature of the swirling wind and the pressure of the kick.
Ballynahinch now needed a try to win and used their larger pack in phase after phase of forward play to take play to the visitor five yard line. There then followed a fantastic defensive effort by Randalstown. The home side used their large forwards to batter the defensive line. The referee gave a number of penalties to the home side who restarted play with tap and go to their forwards but were unable to break through. Eventually the home side tried to go wide, inspiring some heroic tackling from Cullen, Gabbidon-Lyttle and a particularly spectacular last-ditch tackle from Matthew Luke but offloaded once too often to a player near the touch line and Randalstown were able to force the ball carrier out of play and into touch.
Real credit must go to the leadership group of Cullen as captain, McDonald as pack leader, McCavana bossing the scrums and scrum-half Gilbert who under severe pressure in the second half with marginal refereeing decisions going against them, refused to hit the panic button and instead rallied their entire side to inspire what can only be described as a titanic defensive effort on their own line to secure the win. The calm under pressure and wise words to inspire those around them really shows the development of this group of players who continue to achieve wins against the odds despite being low in numbers, all the while playing some of the best rugby at this age grade in Ulster.
The match finished 20 – 17 to Randalstown.
MAN OF THE MATCH goes to the whole team. The coaches were particularly pleased with the scrums, the way the team as a whole took on a much bigger pack, soaked up all the pressure came out on top.
Randalstown Under 14 Team – Peter Cullen, Brandon McAllister, Oran Gilbert, Eoin McDonald, Cormac Devlin, Con McGee, Joel McCavana, Dominic O’Connor, Jack Johnson, Ross Swann, Ciaran O’Neill, Miguel Correia, Stefhan Gabbidon-Lyttle, Fionn Johnston and Matthew Luke.
Coaches – John Kennedy, Sean O’Connor, Aine Doran, Garry Irwin and Ivan Millar
