Pythons Begin Season With Away Home Win!
Due to the ongoing cricket season and some old timer belting out some songs at Shorts, Grosvenor were forced to move their home fixture to Banbridge. Grosvenor 3rds took to the pitch to play their first league match following promotion to Junior 4 in baking sunshine. It was evident from the early exchanges that Banbridge were not going to be a roll over, Bridge were able to gain good ground by using their big ball carriers around the fringes of the breakdown. They forced a penalty under the posts and took a 3 point lead. Grosvenor steadied themselves and started to exert pressure straight from the kick off and following a few strong carries from the pack had their own penalty in front of the posts to even things up. The remainder of the first half was a tense affair with Bridge retaining the ball well but struggling to break the Grosvenor defensive line and Grosvenor wasting possession with kicks going out on the full and a series of knock ons. Half Time 3-3.
Grosvenor collected themselves at half-time and came out firing and within minutes Patches made a lovely inside step to open up space in the Bridge 22 and then had the pace & acceleration to finish under the posts. Converted Grosvenor up 10-3. Following a number of phases in the Bridge 22, a well executed back move sucked in the Bridge defence before releasing DJ in the corner to widen the margin to 17-3.
Bridge then upped their game and battered at the Grosvenor defensive line, Bridge where pushing at the goal line for several minutes and we looked to have held out when we were rewarded with a 5 meter scrum. Somehow we managed to lose the 5 meter scrum against the head and their bulky 10 barged over for a try between the post. Converted 17-10. Bridge continued to push but decided to settle for a penalty following several Grosvenor infridgements 17-13.
The game was poised for a tight finish but Grosvenors fitness started to shine though and spent the remaining of the game in the Bridge half. An opportunity seemed to have gone begging when we were awarded a penalty in front of the posts just for a quick tap to be taken which came to nothing. Fortunately we were not punished for it and got another penalty soon after which was converted. Soon after the impressive Curtis Heron scored a push over try following a number of good phases of play. Final Score 25-13.
In the second half we started to show glimpses of our attacking flair. Simon Beattie had a great debut performance in centre and also had to fill in at 10 when Patches got injured. Man of the match goes to Curtis Heron this week who had several breaks, bumping several tackles and even beating the opposing winger on his outside (are you sure he’s a prop?)
Next Game: 15/9 Carrick Away
Bucks Brought Crashing to Earth
Having scored over 80 points last week the 4th XV were reminded of just how tough minor rugby can be. Ballyclare and Ballymena may have left the minor leagues but Quins 4s only lost to Ballyclare in the McCambley Cup final last season by 2 points and their class, organisation and ability shone through in this tough battle at a sweltering Deramore.
The Bucks began the day with 3 debutante school leavers on the field with a further debutane waiting on the bench. Without a recognised lineout operator in the team and Ben Morrison making his debut in the backrow things were always going to be tough and the 36-6 half time score was a pretty fair reflection of how the game went. Quins were bigger, faster and generally better throughout the entire half scoring plenty of tries which reflected their domination. Young Isaac, playing 7, was a beacon of resistance against an overwhelming opposition.
The second half started and the concern was that things might need to be called off early due to the free scoring abilities of Quins. However the young and inexperienced Bucks side were to prove a much bigger thorn in the side of the Quins in this period. 20 minutes of territorial and possession domination was unfortunately not replicated on the score board. Wave after wave of Grosvenor thrusts were repelled by a mightily resilient Quins defence.
As the second half wore on without a score the Grosvenor heads began to droop and Quins scampered over for a trio of late tries to make the score an imposing 57-6.
A generally difficult day at the office for the Bucks when anything from the game would have been a bonus. The main thing gained was 4 new Stags but we now know the task ahead for another long season. Larne away next week is always a tough ask but with the addition of a few key players a better performance should be a given.
MOTM this week must go to our skipper. Smut never stops working for the team. He really does lead the team by example, even if sometimes he doesnt really tell anyone else what he’s planning to do.
Jugwatch – the boys were left disappointed (yet again by Quins) as no beer was produced.
