Coleraine RFC Notes: II XV 15 v Clogher Valley RFC II XV 8

Coleraine 2s maintained their lead at the top of Junior 1 with an excellent win in a tough clash against 3rd in the table, Clogher Valley. Played in hard conditions with a hurricane blowing across the pitch, flowing rugby was at a premium, but Coleraine fought hard and were deserved winners by 3 tries to 1.

With the wind at its strongest in the first half, most of the play was on one side of the pitch and the ball barely got beyond inside centre. Both teams were initially conservative in their play, using forward runners to try and batter down the defence, so little barbarian-style rugby was on offer. When opportunities did arise to break the gain line, unfortunate handling errors from the usually reliable Coleraine backs let them down. Eventually, Clogher scored first, when their heavy forward pack secured a 5m lineout and trundled over the line. The rest of the first half was rather unmemorable because of the endless rucks and mauls, other than when the Clogher number 6 went off with a rather nasty looking arm injury, so Clogher went down to 14 for the rest of the game.

The wind settled a bit in the second half but Coleraine still hadn’t got out of second gear when they conceded a penalty in front of the sticks to extend their lead to 8-0. Soon, the man advantage in the forwards for Coleraine began to show, and good lineout ball served as a platform for a controlled driving maul before prop Aidy Nevin barged his way over from short range to put Coleraine back the game. Paul Shiels unluckily struck the post with the conversion from the touchline. This gave Coleraine the kick start they needed, and 10 minutes later went ahead with a superb try scored by Shiels, who galloped his way fully 80 metres, bamboozling the Clogher full-back on the road to the try line. Coleraine went straight back on the attack with a great run out of defence from open side Greg Neely, who clearly hasn’t lost anything of his speed and aggression after his recent injury. Clogher tried to get back into the game with short forward bursts, however were unable to get their backs going due to solid Coleraine tackling. Coleraine’s third try was scored by winger Nicky Blair who showed a sharp turn of pace to get home from about 15 yards out. Shiels missed the conversion again, but was clearly tired from his earlier efforts. Coleraine finished the game out with a great display in the art of keep-ball, with the forward pack (and a couple of backs as well) holding possession without error before the clock ran down.

A super display from the Coleraine 2s, who have now only lost 2 games all season. The forward pack had a good showing this week, as they played as a unit with good discipline and work rate about the park. Next week is the return to cup action, when they meet CIYMS 2s at home in the second round of the Crawford Cup. A bit of an unknown quantity, but high flying in Junior 2, they will pose a threat but the recent runs of wins for Coleraine will boost their confidence for this game.

Coleraine 2XV: P Shiels, S Callaghan, A Gourley, J McClelland, N Blair, C Gowland, S Caithness, A Stirling, S Evans, A Neven, R Smith, W Chestnutt, H Tate, G Neely, R Caskey