Rainey Rugby report on the Danske Bank Schools Cup Round 3 game.

Rainey Rugby report on the Danske Bank Schools Cup Round 3 game.

Rainey ES 1st XV 13 Portadown College 1st XV 5 (HT 10 5). Rainey started the game with a great intensity putting Portadown under pressure. After many phases Ciaran Doyle almost scored in the left corner. However excellent ball retention created a second chance for Rainey and this time Ciaran crossed to give Rainey a 5 0 lead. Harry Evans struck the post with the conversion. Portadown then made their own statement when after some clever play they scored in the corner to level the game at 5 5. Not to be out done Rainey playing into a strong breeze continued to attack smartly. Scrum half Ben McCloskey broke blind and fed number 8 Jack Bresland who showed fine hands to put full back Karl Warner in at the corner. This gave Rainey a 10 5 lead. Although both sides attempted to create chances the score remained 10 5 to half time. With the wind at their backs Rainey attacked in the second half but some unforced errors and sound Portadown tackling keep Rainey out. Portadown then enjoyed a lot of the ball without threatening the home line. Important tackling particularly from Adam Thornton and Bryn Davies stopped some promising moves. With the clock ticking down Rainey enjoyed good field position. This pressure eventually told and visitors conceded a penalty which Harry Evans kicked to make it 13 5. This enabled Rainey to close out a full blooded Cup game.
Rainey will now either play Bangor GS or Omagh Academy away on Saturday 3rd February. Please keep the date free.