Rainey ES beaten in game before cup

On Saturday 16^th January the ’P Keenan Road Surfacing’ sponsored Rainey ES 1^st XV travelled to Belfast to play Grosvenor GS. This was their last game before they entered the Danske Bank Ulster School’s Cup so it was important to put in a good performance.

In wet and cold conditions, Rainey started strongly with Adam Thornton and Connor Stringer both carrying powerfully. Lorcan Quinn and Matthew Smyth used a whole lot of options to try and open the Grosvenor defence. To their credit the home team defended really well with Rainey being frustrated on a number of occasions. As the half progressed Grosvenor’s share of possession and territory improved. Some fine defensive work by Adam Hunter and Matthew Mulholland kept Grosvenor out. As the half drew to a close the game became a battle of attrition with neither team gaining ascendency. Andrew Nevin and Neal Hastings worked hard to get an advantage but it was a forceful break by captain Andrew Brown that led to the break through. Andrew broke a number of tackles and when stopped found Cameron Stewart in support. When Cameron was hauled down short, Lorcan Quinn was on hand to spot and gap and touch down for a try. He converted his own try to make it 7 0. The half ended with no further scoring opportunities.

The second half began with the conditions worsening and this seemed to suit the bigger and heavier Grosvenor side. They adopted a pretty direct route which led to some excellent defending from Andrew Hawe and Matthew Gordon. However, the pressure eventually told and the home side scored to reduce the score to 7 5. The Magherafelt boys were finding it very difficult to get out of their own half and they were also falling foul to a number of refereeing decisions. After losing Matthew Smyth to a bad leg injury, Grosvenor kicked a penalty to edge them in front 8 7.

This seemed to lift the visitors and they went on the attack after Mark Mulholland made a lovely break through the Grosvenor defence. In difficult weather Rainey through caution to the wind and moved the ball. David Atkinson, at scrum half, kept the team on the front foot. When they moved the ball they looked really dangerous, especially Michael Lynn on the right wing who beat his opponent a number of times. With time running out Rainey created a number of try scoring chances with Anton Lupari and Richard Winder going close. However, the winning try eluded them and the final whistle went with Grosvenor winning narrowly. With a little luck in the closing stages they could have won this game.

Although, this was not one of their better performances this season, this game should set them up nicely for this Saturday’s Danske Bank School’s Cup game against RS Armagh.

The ‘Quinn’s Coach Hire’ sponsored 2^nd XV lost a very entertaining game 19 10. The Rainey tries were scored by Nathan Lennox.

This weekend’s fixtures see the Medallion play their re-arranged Danske Bank Medallion Shield game against Regent House. The game is scheduled to be played on Friday 22^nd January at Rainey OBRFC with a 5.15pm kick off. The 1^st XV enter the Danske Bank School’s Cup on Saturday 23^rd January with an away trip to RS Armagh. The kick-off is 10.45am. All support would be very welcome for both games. The U13s and U14s are away to Bangor GS.