St Patrick’s day seems to have produced high quality rugby on this island only, and the spectacle served up by a Strabane side, full of confidence, was one of the best club displays this reporter has had the pleasure to witness.
Strabane travelled down to derry aware that YM had last weekend beaten our title rivals ophir 19-0, and that ym were a potential banana skin on our league march.
Missing 2 outstanding players in loosehead prop and skipper jimmy hamilton and open-side cricky hamilton, due to a family bereavement, this game was an important test of club resources, that was eventually passed with aplomb.
In beautiful conditions, Strabane kicked off to ym and immediately set about attacking the home line. The first try was produced from steady pressure all over the pitch producing quick ball that was spread along the line for smiler millar to show up where a good 7 should to score in the right corner (conversion missed). This opening score settled the visitors and we could see that our backs were clearly superior and in a mood to show it. That said the next score came from more battering from the pack at the home line which produced a 5 m scrum. From a solid platform, greg Mitchell was next to unstoppable for a converted score. The next try was a superb individual effort from full back dean mccarter. Fielding a desperate clearing kick about the ym 10m line and close to our left hand touch-line, he proceeded to step and gas the chasing defenders, swerved around the advancing pack and streaked up the line past the home supporters for a solo effort from the top drawer. How he found the space amongst the bulk of the defence in a confined area is nearly unbelievable. The scoring for the half was completed when hooker gary smyth took another well earned try with a great line burst out amongst the backs that was converted to leave the half time score 0-24.
It has long been a Strabane flaw of easing up when they think the game is won, but coach willy gibson set small targets for everyone in the team talk and this produced a great attitude in the next 40 minutes.
YM came out to fight their way back into the game, and for the first 10 minutes of the second half they disrupted well, but it was only plugging the leak, and when Geoff mealliff burned up the wing to score, the dam burst.
The game opened up and Strabane were able to generate the quick ball all backlines crave. From a loose kick, greg Mitchell showed his class and vision by refusing the mark and unleashing smiler on the rampage out of the 22. It was then a lesson in passing and support as the ball went through 8 pairs of hands to finally finish under the YM posts in the grasp of mccarter for a very tasty brace. YM did then mount their only foray into the Strabane 22 and bludgeoned the visiting defence with their big pack, but Strabane showed their mettle and refused to give an inch. From the eventual turnover, Strabane again cut loose, and stand in skipper adam cummings showed great pace and stamina from the second row to crawl over the line with a string of defenders lying in his wake.
In the midst of another stunning break, young Mealiff was illegally floored by the pugnacious number 4, who received a well earned yellow card. Strabane continued their tactic of kicking penalties to the corner, where andy sayers capped a fine lineout performance with another great take, and the ball was spread wide for Geoff Mealiff to claim the try he was illegally denied. Davy rankin capped another top class performance from outhalf by converting 3 of these scores to leave the final tally 50- nil to Strabane.
The score is by no means flattering to Strabane as the quality of their play fully deserved this reward. The forwards owned the lineout, stole a few scrums and dominated the home pack to give the backs the kind of ball they need. The backs responded with a display of the highest quality. Rankin’s and brain allen’s passing was pin-point accurate, stevy campbell continually created space by drawing the defenders to him and timing his pass to perfection and the wingers were released to wreak havoc. To then have the dangerous dean mccarter backing this line up with deadly strikes and illuminating breaks, the backs are now full of confidence. If Strabane can maintain this form for another month, the prospects are tantalising.
