There was no shortage of drama for the patrons who made their way to watch Virginia 1st XV as they welcomed Civil Service NI to Deerpark on Saturday on a wet and windy day. This was the 2nd time these teams have met this season with Service winning the reverse fixture 39 – 5 five weeks previous. Virginia still without a win in qualifying league 4 started the game very positively. After receiving the kick off Virginia set it up a kicked downfield, from the resulting lineout, on the away teams 10 metre line, the home teams forwards managed to get their hands on the ball with some excellent lineout play from Brian Murtagh. The ramor men retained possession and through the backs moved towards the visitors 22, some strong running lines from number 8 Fintain O Reilly and Hooker Sam McQuade forced Civil Service to concede a penalty inside their own 22. Virginia Captain Werner Pienaar opted to go for the posts however the tight angle and windy conditions meant the kick from fullback Daniel McNamee was pushed just to the right of the posts.
Virginia remained on top and it wasn’t long before they were back in the Belfast men’s 22 again. Some more strong running from Virginia forwards prop Thomas Owens and 2nd row Wesley Martin led to quick hands from the Centres Ben Gilmore and John McCabe and winger Tony McLaughlin thought he was over in the corner, however the referee brought the play back for a forward pass in the move a decision a few of the Virginia players and supporters wouldn’t have minded being referred to the TV match official. The remainder of the first half was evenly contested with defences coming out on top in a tough bruising encounter. Civil service did apply some pressure with a few minutes left till the break however some good defence from the men in black and some particularly good scrums kept the try line safe. However the visitors were awarded a penalty in which captain Ben Scott decided to go for the posts. Once again conditions came into play and the kick was brought by the wind to the left of the posts.
Half Time Virginia 0 – 0 Civil Service
The home side who were now wind assisted for the 2nd half felt confident from their play so far that they could go on and win the game. However Civil Service had other ideas and started the 2nd half well with some good tactical kicks which were dealt with well by Daniel McNamee and winger Paul Daly. However as the first half proved scores were going to come at a premium and when Civil service missed a long range shot at goal in the 20th minute it looked like it may have been a stalemate.
Nobody could have envisaged the drama that was to come in the final ¼ of the game. Virginia began to get on top and were pushing their opponents back into their own half with time running out it increasingly looked like a one score game. Virginia outhalf Christopher Tully had two drops at goal both going wide of the posts. With 10 minutes left Civil Service Had possession on their own 22 and tried to clear their lines, Virginias tenacious number 7 Enda Brady blocked the ball down and as it bounced towards the Service try line he managed to get his hands on it and get over the line in what looked like the opening try of the game. Once again the referee, who was fair and consistent throughout, decided not to award the try on the grounds the ball was knocked on. From the resulting scrum Civil Service worked their way up past half way and were awarded a penalty for not rolling away. Some ill discipline from Virginia led to the loss of ten yards and Service decided to have a kick at goal with 3 minutes remaining. The kick started straight but began to fade as it approached the goals and dropped just wide of the posts the home team thought they were out of jail however some less than steady hands led to a knock on and 5 metre scrum to Civil Service. Virginia forwards gave a massive push and an under pressure service pack were forced to give away a penalty which scrum half Cian Wogan took quickly and ran 40 metre down field. The support from the Virginia players got there and they retained possession.
After some scrappy rucks the referee awarded Virginia the put in to a scrum and announced it was the last play of the game. On the half way line and the game a 0-0 the home side knew it was going to take something special from here. Another good scrum led to clean ball for the backs who crashed it up through centre Ben Gilmore. The forwards secured the ball and took it forward with some strong running and good hands from front rower Garry Daly. After a number of phases Virginia were awarded a penalty on the Service 22, 10 metres from the left hand side of the field. Captain Werner Pienaar once again signalled for the posts in what was to be the last kick of the game. Christopher Tully took the kick which looked to be going over but was fading fast as it dropped towards the posts no one knew where it would end up, at the very last second it dropped and bounced off the crossbar. As some stood in shock watching winger Tony McLaughlin who had raced after the kick managed to catch it as it came of the bar, Virginia players managed to secure the ball and popped it out to Fintain Reilly who was stopped yards from the line. Scrum half Wogan whipped the pass out to outhalf Tully who kicked a dropgoal and sparked mass celebrations from the Virginia players and supporters.
Civil Service who had been so close to winning the game were extremely gracious in defeat. Virginia will be happy to finally get a win under their belts and will have felt they should have won without so much drama.
