Enniskillen RFC were the visitors to Cromore Road on Saturday, where they took on a University of Ulster, Coleraine side looking to bounce back from defeat at Omagh last week. It was the home side who took maximum points from the encounter, winning 20:15 in a hard fought match.
It was Enniskillen who applied the early pressure from the kick off and worked their way up to the UUC line with a series of forward movements. They capitalised on slack defending by picking off the back of the ruck and crashing over the line to get the first points of the day. The conversion was missed leaving the score at 5:0.
UUC responded to the early pressure by setting up phases of play in the Enniskillen half, and from a lineout won my Michael Dunleavy the ball was spread across the field for Sam Hall to score in the corner and level the score. UUC continued to apply pressure on Enniskillen and were awarded with a penalty for ill-discipline at the breakdown. However the penalty was missed leaving the score at 5:5.
Both sides strengthened their defence however after some slick movement by the UUC backs, Alan Whitcroft got into position for the drop goal and successfully added 3 more points to the students’ total. Frustration followed for Enniskillen when the students were awarded another penalty allowing Whitcroft to add two more points, leaving the score at 11:5 in favour of the home side at half time.
Enniskillen started the second half just like the first and went over for a try after finding gaps in the UUC defensive line. The conversion was missed. This reduced the score margin to 11:10. The students began to press to add another try to their total however strong defence from Enniskillen forced Whitcroft to again make the quick decision to line up for a drop goal. This took the score to 14:10 in favour of UUC.
Further ill discipline by Enniskillen allowed Whitcroft to add to his total again with a long range penalty effort to make the score 17:10. Enniskillen responded well after this last mistake and rumbled towards the UUC line with a maul off a lineout and were awarded with a try for their efforts. The kicker missed the conversion leaving the score at 17:15. Whitcroft then completed the scoring with a penalty in front of the posts for an offside at the breakdown and this left the final score at 20:15 in favour of the home side.
Next week UUC welcome neighbours Coleraine RFC to Cromore Road for a highly anticipated Junior Cup game. This will be the first time the two sides have met in a competitive game, and promises to be a great game of rugby. The game kicks off at 2.30pm at The University Campus at Cromore Road, Sports Pavilion. All supporters and spectators are welcome.
Notes to the Editor:
Photo captions
DSCN0600 – UUC hold tight against Skins scrum
DSCN0598 – UUC’s Matt Hill lines up a tackle
DSCN0618- UUC put pressure on Skins at the try line
DSCN0599- UUC attempt to drive Skins away from the line
