Civil Service RFC Youth System Plays 1st U17 I XV Game v Ards RFC U17 I XV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REPORT

First match under their belts by Philip Anderson

Today saw the first match played by a Civil Service U17xv for many years. The visitors were near neighbours Ards.

Marc McClay made his debut, Chris Gardiner made his first appearance of 2013.

Jonny Kennedy captained the side with his usual bravery and enthusiasm, Chris Stone led the pack from the front.

First games are opportunities to try out different things and today was no exception. A number of guys played in new positions and acquitted themselves well. Today was a team performance against a much bigger well drilled side. Ards took a 5 try to nil lead but the home team didn’t give up and were rewarded with a Luke Johnston try in the final minutes, we played until the final whistle. There were lots of positives, and some sore bodies !

Special mention to a few positional changes from last year:
Matthew Rice – a revelation in 2nd row. Jumping and driving.
Ciaran Stone – policed the blind side of the scrum from no.6.
Connor Devenney – ran around the pitch like a cheetah at no.7 (even when one of their guys had him in a questionable neck lock).
Andrew Lilburn, aka George North, on the wing (& a few stitches for his troubles).
Jack McLaughlin – at centre – crunching tackles.
Benjamin Young – full back – brave in contact (particularly when the opposition were awarded a yellow card).
Philip Armour – full back & hooker – multi-talented.

David Snodden, Kyle Cornelius and Mat Wilson came on in the 2nd half and contributed well.

Billy McCreight & Colin Edgar also debuted today as match day coaches with the u17s.

Today also saw the first outing of our new kit – and very fetching it was too. Finally, thank you to the parents for all their support – the players & coaches really do appreciate you cheering the team on.