City of Derry Rugby Club returned to winning ways in All Ireland League Division 3 when they defeated Sundays Well in Cork on Saturday last to maintain their second position in the league table two points behind leaders Instonians. Derry had to put on a very late show to grab victory from the jaws of defeat when they found themselves nine points down with just five minutes remaining on the clock. It was said before that this Derry team don’t know when they are beaten and they conjured up two converted trys to seal a famous victory that left their opponents on their knees dejected wondering what happened.
It was a beautiful day for rugby following incessant morning rain in Cork and the Musgrave Park stadium looked an impressive arena and maybe a daunting one for some of the first time visitors. This young Derry team had never played AIL rugby in Munster before and right from the off they were introduced to ten man rugby as only the Munster teams can play it. Sundays Well had a strong scrum which dominate the set piece for most of the game and in out half Danny O’Shea they had a big kicker who just pumped the ball in the air all day, and their kick and chase tactics put real pressure on a hesitant nervous Derry backline.
The early exchanges were tentative from both sides with Derry having the better of field position. The first real pressure came from Well on ten minutes, they had a period of prolonged possession as they drove for the Derry line. The defence from Derry was outstanding, they repelled everything that was thrown at them and forced Sundays Well to kill the ball and from the resulting penalty Andrew Semple relieved the pressure with a good touch find. City of Derry were not allowed any quality possession as Well controlled the ball with their forwards dominating. The Derry scrum was under severe pressure which negated the effectiveness of their back row and deprived the team of descent go forward ball.
Sundays Well narrowly missed a drop at goal attempt on 16 minutes and Richard Peoples missed for Derry with a penalty on 30 minutes. The pressure from the Well scrum gave them another penalty chance after 34 minutes which was missed but two minutes Danny O’Shea gave the Well the lead when he converted another penalty of a 3pts lead. O’Shea added another penalty on the stroke of half time to give Sundays Well a 6pts to nil lead at the break.
The start of the second half saw Sundays Well continue for where they left off before half time, putting Derry under pressure in the loose and dominating at scrum time. The referee was beginning to give more penalties to the Well for scrum infringement by Derry and O’Shea took his teams total to 9pts with another penalty on ten minutes. The amount of scrums in the game was increasing and any possession Derry won was being squandered through inaccuracy in passing and panicky decision making which added to the scrum count. The Derry coach Bevan Lynch brought Rodney Balfour from the subs bench to tight head prop on 20 minutes and Bob McKillop moved to second row to replace Philip Brady.
The Derry scrum finally began to gain parity and with the introduction of David Houston the line out flourished also. There suddenly was urgency in Derry’s play with time ticking away as they were still nine points in arrears. Stephen Ferguson came on for Stephen Simms in the back row and on thirty five minutes Houston won a lineout 30 meters out. There was a powerful forwards drive which soaked in many Well players and when Andrew Semple found full back Peter Henderson coming into the line with William McCleery outside him Derry had the numbers to allow McCleery to score to the left of the post and with Richard Peoples converting, Derry were suddenly right back in the at 9pts to 7pts down with a few minutes of normal time left.
Sundays Well won possession from the kick off and immediately set about running down the clock playing a pick and drive game in the Derry half. Derry were patient and turned over the ball. Richard Peoples who had taken a knock to the leg early in the second half found new reserves and was making big ball carries and giving a lead to his fellow players. The game was four minutes in injury time when Derry got a penalty just inside the Sundays Well half, Semple kicked for touch and when Houston won the line out the forwards produced a runaway drive which Well stopped just short of their line. Derry went on the narrow side and were bundled into touch. Sundays Well kicked for touch and from the resulting lineout Andrew Semple in the blink of an eye had retrieved the ball and took a quick throw in to Simon Logue who mesmerised the opposition in midfield and threw a long pass to Jack Caithness on the left wing who showed great pace to run in from 30 meters to score a memorable try in the corner which Peoples converted from the touch line to give Derry a 14pts to 9pts lead. This was Jack Caithness’s last game for the club as he leaves on Wednesday for a six month world tour but what a remembrance present he left after him.
Sundays Well kicked off for the last play of the game on the sixth minute of injury time, the ball did not go the requisite 10 meters but a Derry man played the ball and knocked on to give the Well possession. Twenty phases of play later and the clock on twelve minutes of injury time Andrew Semple kicked the ball dead and Derry had won a game that looked impossible with five minutes of normal time left. The Derry defence in those last six minutes showed patience and a commitment to one another as bodies were put on the line for the cause irrespective of the consequences. Stephen Ferguson put in some mammoth hits in those dying minutes along with Stephen Corr, Richard Baird and the colossus David Witherow.
This Derry victory keeps them in contention right at the top of AIL Division three. There is a free Saturday this weekend and the next AIL fixture is against Barnhall at Judges Road on Saturday the 27th of November.
City of Derry Team: : David Witherow, Sam McAuley, Bob McKillop, Philip Brady, Tom Patton, Stephen Corr, Stephen Simms, Richard Baird, Andrew Semple, Richard Peoples, William McCleery. David Funston, Simon Logue, Jack Caithness, Peter Henderson. Replacements: Stephen Duffy, Rodney Balfour, David Houston, Stephen Ferguson, Stuart Thompson.
