v Larne (H) 2009-10

Donaghadee 1st XV 55-0 Larne 1st XV (23/01/2010, Towns Cup 1st Round)

Donaghadee Rugby Club has always been fond of the Ulster Provincial Towns’ Cup. Saturday 23rd January saw the club's first round tie against Larne RFC, and the Down club was pleased to host a pre-game lunch at Donaldson Park. Present were quite a few guests from organisations such as the seaside town’s RNLI station, its Rotary Club, the Cricket Club and a number of the club’s generous sponsors. All present were also very pleased to see in good health Maurice Bunting, a man who had been a stalwart on the Donaghadee team that contested the Towns’ Cup final at Ravenhill in 1963 and who is still a staunch fan. The special guest at the lunch on Saturday was Moira Russell, one of Donaghadee’s most loyal supporters through the last five (or is it six?) decades. After an excellent lunch Club Chairman David Monson and President Bill Boomer reckon they were specially honoured to have Moira there and presented her with a basket of flowers to a standing ovation. The Larne President Willie Nelson thanked Donaghadee for their hospitality and hoped that all present would shortly be treated to a good game of rugby football.

When Larne kicked off towards the town they had an almost instant opportunity to take an early lead when a couple of nervous mistakes saw the ball rolling over the Donaghadee line, with players of both sides in hot pursuit. Fortunately the Dee’s scrum-half Bobby Harper was there with enough toe-end to put the ball safely in the hedge a millisecond before Larne’s right winger could dive on it. At this stage neither team was to know that this was to be the nearest Larne were to get to a score that day.

Most of those present were aware of the visitors’ lofty position in Section 3 of the Qualifying League, and many well remembered a number of tight games between the two sides in seasons not far back. Did this near-miss serve as a wake-up call to the home side? Certainly the spectators were soon to be treated with a succession of totally dominant scrummage play by the Donaghadee eight and some accurate and skilful line-out possession. Over-haste by Donaghadee did give Larne a somewhat against the tide penalty shot early on, but their scrum-half Garrett missed.

In the thirteenth minute Donaghadee were awarded a scrum close to the Larne line. Having already sussed that their opposing eight were struggling a bit, the red and green men put in a little bit extra. First, the Dee three-quarters showed how well they could mount a co-ordinated attack. Player-Coach Ian Martindale got quick ball from Paul Blewitt, feinted to give a pop-ball inside and then threw a huge pass out to Rory Garnham on the left wing. The rapidly-improving flyer almost made the Larne line, but was well tackled and a scrum went to Larne. However, a big effort from Donaghadee’s eight stole the ball and their controlled possession gave Richard Martindale an easy pick up. He quickly fed his supporting flanker Richard Miller who first loped over the line to open the scoring and then quickly added the two more to put seven welcome points on the board.

The many spectators with eyes that could penetrate the arcane depths of the scrummage were already recognising a big discrepancy in the front fives of the two packs. The Donaghadee front row of Chris Schofield, Gareth Gordon and Chris Good have shown all season how much strength and technique they have, and the engine-room of Davy Thompson and Kyle Morrow were giving them all the power they needed behind them to have Larne under some pressure even this early.

The pressure on the visitors by now was so inexorable that their main tactic when they did gain possession was to kick the ball into Donaghadee territory, but full-back Billy Allen always had time to run the ball out or hoist his return high enough for himself and the other backs to put the forest of Dee forwards’ shirts on-side and once again tussle for possession. It is probably worth saying at this point that one or two at the game were commenting on how important it is in such circumstances for the other members of the back three to be alert for a counter-kick into the area just vacated by the full-back.

However, now the sweet smell of success was bringing out the very best in Donaghadee’s attack play. The backs tried a few runs to get their engines running and looked ready to put on a display. But it was the forwards who stole the limelight from them. They simply owned the ball for a while, then channelled it back to Richard Martindale who had a go at the line out wide, and looked like he was in for a score, but the Larne defence held. The forwards quickly re-cycled the ball to Bobby Harper who gave quickly to Blewitt and instantly on to Ian Martindale. The big man, showing that he is back to full health and strength, did a little ‘show and go’ and stormed through the gap this created for a stirring score. The missed conversion meant that Donaghadee’s lead was now 12-0.

Hungry for more points, Donaghadee now employed their impressive line-out skills. A pin-point throw-in by Gareth Gordon found Miller at the apex of his jump and he fed to the driving Davy Thompson. The forwards looked to be over the line, but not quite; Harper nearly sniped one, but got held up; and a Larne forward came in too hastily from the side leaving the referee no option but to penalise him. The kick at goal looked the easy option, but the spectators could see that Donaghadee were readying themselves for something special. Forwards Coach Jimmy McCoy would give nothing away but the anticipation level rose anyway. Without divulging any secrets to any stray readers of this report, who may have connections with clubs the Dee has still to play in their many league and cup games that must still be completed, Donaghadee’s forwards and backs performed a skilful pas-de-quinze that eventually confused the defenders totally and it was Thompson who went under the crossbar. Naturally Miller slotted the kick and the margin was 19-0.

Forwards always get a little jealous when their backs sometimes steal the glory, after their often unseen graft. It seemed that they collectively wanted to be seen to be the superior pack. The next time Donaghadee got a scrum ten metres from the Larne line their forwards gave their fans a treat. Schofield, Gordon and Good got their efficiency angles right, the back five put on the extra pressure and the Donaghadee battle-wagon rumbled linewards. As soon as No. 8 Martindale saw the whitewash appear between the feet of Thompson and Morrow he released his bind, picked up the ball and set it down for an impressive try that Millar used to take the total to 26-0 as the first half ended.

“More of the same!” must have been the gist of Chris Good’s half-time talk, because the echo of the restart whistle had hardly died away when the pack smuggled and drove forward with total control and allowed their captain the honour of the touch down. The 31-0 scoreline seemed to suggest it was time to give the capable substitutes Paul Hamilton and Patrick Quinn a run. Gareth Gordon and Chris Hamilton had both played very well, but with so many games looming the substitutions were almost essential for squad development.

By this stage Larne were understandably looking a bit dejected. It was not that they were playing badly, but that they had met a Donaghadee side firing on all cylinders, and defence against this machine was difficult indeed. At this stage it seemed like every scrum, ruck or maul would result in Donaghadee possession. In quick succession Rory Garnham, Gavin Gordon, Patrick Quinn and Andrew Findlater got good attacking runs in amongst some lovely Donaghadee back play. Paradoxically it was a solo effort that brought the home side its next reward, when Millar suddenly got possession, shrugged himself free of encumbrance and waltzed over to take the team total now to 38-0.

In a mostly one-sided game such as this was, there inevitably comes a time when all concerned begin to lose interest, so obvious seems the result. The Donaghadee backs and forwards did combine well for Ian Martindale and Andrew Findlater to score fine tries. As the referee began to think time was up, a rare Larne attack put the ball up to Ian Martindale on his own line. The player-coach looked to put the ball in touch, but instead took off - seemingly intent on going all the way. By half-way he found solid support and the momentum kept up. As the Larne line came close the ball found its way back to Martindale, close to 100 metres from where he caught it. He gave to Millar and he strolled over for his third try, before kicking the conversion to take the final score to 55-0. Almost immediately the referee decided time was up, and within a few minutes the Donaghadee players were able to contemplate their Towns’ Cup second round match, away to Coleraine next Saturday (see below).

Donaghadee 1st XV: (15-9) Billy Allen, Andrew Findlater, Gavin Gordon, Ian Martindale, Rory Garnham, Paul Blewitt, Bobby Harper; (1-8) Chris Schofield, Gareth Gordon, Chris Good (C), Davy Thompson, Kyle Morrow, Richard Millar, Chris Hamilton, Richard Martindale. Replacements: Paul Hamilton, Patrick Quinn.

As said above the Donaghadee 1st XV are away to Coleraine, for round 2 of the Provincial Towns’ Cup. Many reading this will well remember the last time Donaghadee played the County Londonderry club in the cup. Yes it really was nearly twenty years ago, but the point is that thanks to the great support the boys enjoyed that year they won the game and went on to that year’s Ravenhill final. It is no more than an hour away, the road is a good one and you know you want to! Kick-Off is 2.30pm.