Rainey ES impressive form continues v @rsarugby
On Saturday 2nd December the ’P Keenan Road Surfacing’ sponsored Rainey ES 1st XV were on the road again as they travelled to Armagh to face the Royal School. This is traditionally a very tough fixture and would be made even more difficult as the playing conditions were extremely difficult. Rainey won the toss and decided to play with a strong wind in the backs. This proved to be a good decision as Rainey forced Armagh back winning a lineout close to the home side’s line. An excellent lineout take from Neal Hastings, gave the forwards a platform to drive for the Armagh line and Anton Lupari was on hand to touch down. Lorcan Quinn converted a difficult conversion to make it 7-0. Armagh were finding it difficult to make use of any ball and smart kicking from Lorcan Quinn and Matthew Smyth were putting them deep into their own half. From another attacking lineout the Rainey forwards showed their power and again they drove over the line for Anton Lupari to score. This made the score 12-0. Armagh then had a spell were they looked threatening but big tackles from Andrew Nevin and Adam Thornton stopped them in their tracks.
Although handling was difficult in the conditions, Rainey took every opportunity to move the ball. Mark Mulholland made a beautiful break in midfield but the support did not get to him in time to finish it off. Matthew Mulholland showed great awareness when he broke blind. He then floated a perfect pass to Michael Lynn who scored in the corner. The score was now 17-0. A fourth try was to come just before half time. This try resulted in pressure from the forwards close to the Armagh line. Andrew Hawe and Cameron Stewart both broke tackles to just be stopped short. But when the ball was recycled Lorcan Quinn was on hand to squeeze through a gap to score. This left the halftime score 24-0 to Rainey.
In the second half Rainey were expecting a back lash from Armagh but instead they showed great skill and composure as they attacked into the wind. A clever break from Lorcan Quinn took the ball deep into Armagh territory. Matthew Gordon then made a powerful drive for the line but was stopped illegally. From the resultant penalty Lorcan Quinn increased the score to 27-0. Armagh then came back strongly. The commitment of the Rainey side was demonstrated by Richard Winder as he made a super tackle to prevent an Armagh score. This seemed to knock the heart out of the home team as the rest of the game belonged to the Magherafelt boys. A great drive by Wallace Bruce led to the fifth try. Wallace was unfortunate to be stopped just short but Anton Lupari was in support to cross for his third try. The score was now 32-0. A confident Rainey were now prepared to attack at every opportunity. Adam Hunter fielded a kick in his own 22 and went on a run that left a number of defenders in his wake. When the ball was recycled Adam Currie side stepped 3 defenders to touch down to make the score 37-0. With time running out Rainey finished with one more score. After a number of players had handled the ball Cameron Stewart found himself in space and he timed his pass perfectly to put Neal Hastings in at the corner. This finished the game and gave Rainey a 42-0 victory.
This was a fabulous performance that was built on hard work and commitment. The players played at an intensity that Armagh and other recent opponents have found very difficult to live with. The team has set itself high standards which they want to achieve.
The ‘Quinn’s Coach Hire’ sponsored 2nd XV also travelled to RS Armagh and in atrocious conditions lost 10-0.
The ‘N and J Diecast and Toys Maghera’ sponsored Medallion team got a big shock when they played a very focussed RS Armagh team. Armagh played at an intensity that Rainey found it difficult to live with. Armagh ran out 39-5 winners. The Rainey try coming from Adam McCrum.
The U14s played RS Armagh who are one of the strondest sides in Ulster at this age group. They battled hard and gave their best but lost 42-7. Jonathan Davis scored a try and Ross Speers converted.
The U13s put in a fantastic performance to beat RS Armagh 12-0. Matthew Cowan scored 2 tries and Daniel Barfoot converted 1.
There are only 2 fixtures this Saturday at home to Carrickfergus GS. The Medallion and U14s are playing with 10.00am kick offs. All support welcome.
