Rainey ES defeat Portadown College to win Cup
On Saturday 26th September the ’P Keenan Road Surfacing’ sponsored Rainey ES 1st XV hosted Portadown College. In beautiful conditions both teams contested the annual ‘Vincent Doyle Memorial’ cup. Rainey also welcomed back Anton Lupari from Ulster duty for his first start of the season.
Rainey started the game in a determined fashion, forcing Portadown deep into their own territory. Some strong running by Nathan Lennox and Adam Thornton keep the visiting defence on their toes. Matthew Smyth, starting his first game for the 1st XV was showing great maturity. The variety in his play created a number of scoring opportunities for Rainey. The pressure eventually told when an explosive burst from Richard Winder opened a gap for Anton Lupari to drive for the touchdown. Rainey led 5 – 0. A beautifully fielded kick off and burst by Cameron Stewart put Neal Hastings in space. Neal ran strongly before feeding Mark Mulholland who was just hauled down short of the line. Unfortunately, with a score beckoning Rainey were penalised and Portadown were able to relieve the pressure.
The second score followed shortly when Matthew Smyth smartly switched the play. Matthew Mulholland made a dangerous break down the blind side. Adam Hunter supported intelligently and received the pass to score in the corner. This increased the lead to 10 – 0. Portadown then had a bright period, during which they threatened the Rainey line. The Rainey defence remained strong and disciplined and held out to half time.
In the second half, the local boys started brightly. Fine work from Andrew Nevin and Patrick McGowan gave the Magherafelt boys excellent field position. When the ball was stolen from a Portadown player Neal Hastings found himself in space and sprinted away to cross the line for Rainey’s third try. The local boys were now playing with skill and confidence and were willing to put many training pitch moves into practice. Scrum half David Atkinson was tormenting the visitors around the fringes and he combined well with winger Michael Lynn. Michael showed excellent footwork to beat a number of defenders before feeding the supporting Neal Hastings. Neal continued the move to crash over for the fourth try. Portadown tried to fight back but the Rainey side displayed better composure when threatened by the visitors.
Rainey finished the game with a fifth try. Adam Currie made one of his customary dynamic runs. When Matthew Smyth went for the try he was held up over the line. From the resulting 5m scrum Anton Lupari brushed aside two Portadown tacklers to score his second try.
This was a fine win for Rainey, as Portadown had come into this game unbeaten. It was a good all round performance with everyone playing their part. Work from the training pitch was now being seen on the playing field. This win should give them both belief and confidence.
Two of Vincent Doyle’s nieces presented the cup to Anton Lupari and a pleased Rainey ES 1st XV.
The ‘Quinn’s Coach Hire’ sponsored 2nd XV continued their promising start to the season by defeating Portadown College 34 – 7. A large 2nd XV squad gave many players game time and sscored 6 tries. The try scorers were Todd Smyth (2), Richard Murray, Callum Hutchinson, Alan Goodwin and Stefan Stan. Richard Murray and Gregory kicked conversions.
The ‘N and J Diecast and Toys Maghera’ sponsored Medallion team returned to winning ways defeating a strong Portadown College team 34 – 5. Tries from Bryan Hall (2), Bryn Davies, Karl Warner, David Dripps and Ciaran Doyle set up this excellent win. Karl Warner kicked two conversions.
The ‘N and J Diecast and Toys Maghera’ sponsored Medallion team B team got their first outing of the season. Although they scored four tries from Rory Bradley, Callum Donnelly, Bryn Davies and Zac McMenemy they were defeated 40 – 20. A rusty defence was probably responsible for the scoreline.
The U14s made it 3 wins from 4 with a 47 – 15 victory away to Clounagh JHS. Jonathan Davis with 4 tries, Abban McCloy with 2 tries and Ross Speers with a try helped the team to this impressive result.
The U13s remain unbeaten coming home from Clounagh JHS with a 27 – 7 victory. This has been an outstanding start to the season for the U13 squad. Hard work on the training pitch has paid off. The try scorers were Eoin McGarvey, Matthew Dripps , Joshua Overend and Leon Martin.
This Saturday’s fixtures are against Larne GS. The 1st XV and 2nd XV are away. The Medallion, U14s and U13s are at home with 10.00am kick offs. All support welcome
