Rainey ES 1st XV defeat Limavady GS under lights
On Friday 23rd October the ’P Keenan Road Surfacing’ sponsored Rainey ES 1st XV played Limavady GS under floodlights at Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club. Rainey made an excellent start to the game, scoring a try from their first attack. A well-rehearsed move resulted in Richard Winder scoring in the corner. This gave Rainey a 5 – 0 lead. Rainey kept the pressure on Limavady but found it difficult to break down the visitors defence. Adam Currie and Anton Lupari both went close but could not force their way over. Some excellent defending by the Limavady players frustrated the home side. On a number of occasions Rainey were just stopped short and Andrew Nevin and Mark Mulholland were both unfortunate not to score. On the stroke of half time Rainey increased their lead to 8-0 when Lorcan Quinn converted a penalty.
The second half saw Rainey continue to attack the Limavady line. The early pressure was now beginning to tell on the visiting defenders. Cameron Stewart who had made a number of strong runs in the first half burst through a number of tackles to score under the posts. Lorcan Quinn converted to make it 15-0. This score gave the Magherafelt boys a lift they put some excellent phases of play together. Matthew Gordon and Wallace Bruce both carried the ball well setting up field position. From one of these positions Michael Lynn made good ground on the wing. When the ball was recycled Lorcan Quinn showed great vision when he spotted the gap and shimmied his way to the line to score Rainey’s third try. He converted his own try to extend the lead to 22-0. Rainey were now well on top and the Limavady tacklers were tiring. Andrew Hawe burst through a number of tacklers to make excellent ground. When Rainey were awarded a line out close to the line Neal Hastings displayed fine awareness when he caught the ball and dived over to score Rainey’s fourth try. This made the score 27-0
Limavady now cleared their lines at every opportunity. Any loose kicks gave Matthew Mulholland the chance to counter attack. Matthew showed great footwork, keeping the pressure on the visitors. David Atkinson was extremely unlucky not to score. He showed great pace when he outpaced a number of defenders but a tackle on the try line dislodged the ball as he was about to touch it down. With the last play of the game Rainey probably scored the best try of the game. Almost every player was involved before the ball was given to Matthew Smyth who crossed the line to score. This left the final score 32-0.
This was another fine performance from Rainey and it made it 5 wins in a row. It pleasing to core 5 tries but even more pleasing to keep a clean sheet. Performances like this will develop the confidence of the team.
Rainey rugby would also like to thank Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club for the use of their facilities.
On Monday 19th October Steven McGinnis brought his school Trent College, Nottingham to Rainey. They travelled with their U13 and U14 teams. In the U13 game Rainey won 52 14 with tries from Matthew Dripps (2), Leon Martin (2), Matthew Gibson, Tom Allingham, Anton Bell and Mark Kissick. Daniel Barfoot converted 6 conversions. This result rounded up a great start to the season with 6 wins out of 7 games. The also beat their English visitors winning 38 15. The try scorers were Jonathan Davis (2), Ross Speers (2), Oisin Neeson and Abban McCloy. Ross Speers also kicked 4 conversions. This result also rounded up a great start to the season for the U14s with 6 wins out of 7 games.
On Tuesday 20th October the ‘N and J Diecast and Toys Maghera’ sponsored Medallion returned to winning ways with a 25 5 win over Limavady GS. This was a very impressive performance from the Medallion with tries from Jack Bresland (2), Ciaran Doyle (2) and Karl Warner.
On Friday 23rd October the ‘Quinn’s Coach Hire’ sponsored 2nd XV played Limavady GS under lights at Meadowbank Sports Arena. They recorded another excellent win. They defeated Limavady GS 20 7 with tries from Gregory Conway (2), Adam Thornton and Todd Smyth.
There are no fixtures this Saturday due to the half term break. Everyone at Rainey Rugby would like to wish Anton Lupari well when he attends an IRFU National Talent Camp on Wednesday to Friday.
