Instonians Rugby U17’s 26 V Larne Rugby U17’s 11

Instonians won a hard fought league game against Larne at Shaw’s Bridge under floodlight on Wednesday night (15 th December).
The first half was a scrappy affair with both sides struggling with the cold conditions and the long layoff because of the weather. At half time Instonians led by 9-6 through three Andrew Keane penalties to a drop goal and a penalty by Larne.
Larne opened the second half with a fierce barrage. Instonian indiscipline allowed Larne to set up camp in their 22. A series of forward charges to the line eventually led to a good Larne try.
This appeared to kick Instonians into life as they ran with more determination and managed to hold on to the ball for longer periods. This ended with flanker Ryan Law scoring an unconverted try to restore the lead for Instonians. Further Instonain pressure led to two more tries by captain Brendan McKenna and big second row Robbie Alexander. Ryan Law converted both to give Instonians some breathing space at the end. Both sides knew that they had been in a tough, highly competitive game.