Legends Christmas Fixture Report: Perennials RFC I XV v Carrickfergus Select Legends I XV: Report

At a bitterly cold Woodlawn, the Perennials maintained there unbeaten record with a hard fought drwa at 6 tries a piece.

A good turnout of players for our Christmas fixture contributed to a highly entertaining match that produced some great flowing and skillful rugby from both sides.
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES v Belfast high School Former Pupils RFC Legends the same pictures that we failed to link to in the last report!
Late cry offs from our captain Michael O’Reilly and vice captain Stewart (I’ve pulled a hamstring) Porter did not deter the Perennials, who started strongly and built up a healthy 4 tries to 1 lead after the first session, with tries from Neil McConkey, new recruit Dawn Thompson, Ulster, Ireland and TV pundit Maurice Field and Peter Sandford.

The Perennials extended their lead in the second session to 6 tries to 2, with Simon Willis and John Rainey crossing the line and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory.

The lack of hot ports before the start of the final session obviously took its toll, as Carrick staged a great comeback adding 4 tries to tie the match.

The game would have been beyond Carrick’s reach had Peter Sandfords pass with a three man overlap not been judged forward by referee David Armstrong. who was some 50 meters from the play ,when he blew for the forward pass. Unrelated to this incident, Davy announced his retirement from referring after the game, as he felt Specsavers, who sponsor the referees, were coming up short in developing extra long sighted lenses to help the mature referee see better from longer distances.

A big thank you to Craig Addley from Carrick for arranging the fixture and the excellent hospitality after.