2010-10-23 / Banbridge / AIL Home :
Derry rack up the points despite Bangor come back
City of Derry 55pts Bangor 29pts
City of Derry Rugby Club continued their winning run on Saturday last when they convincingly defeated Bangor Rugby Club at Judges Road. Derry were 30pts to nil in front and at half time and they had clocked up fifty points within fifteen minutes of the restart but a massive turnaround saw Bangor score five unanswered try’s in a twenty minute period of complete dominance.
Bangor Coach Laurence Kelly said after the game “We were facing oblivion and a real hammering when we were fifty points down. Derry were playing some scintillating rugby and we struggled with the pace of the game. Having come up from the Qualifying League 2 last season we are just finding our feet at this level. The game became disjointed and scrappy in the second half and mistakes were commonplace but we eventually got some decent possession and showed what we can do. I was delighted with the spirit we showed to hang in there and get a bonus point for scoring four try’s. This second half performance by us will give us confidence that we can build on and have a successful season”.
City of Derry were quickly into the stride in beautiful summer like conditions with their pack dominating the early exchanges. The were five minutes gone when from a lineout 10 metres out a clean catch and drive saw hooker Sam McAuley score in the corner. Colin Mitchell continued his try scoring form when on ten minutes he picked up from a scrum 20 metres out and easily scored under the posts to allow Richard McCarter a simple conversion. McCarter showed his class five minutes later when he produced a beautiful side step to beat the Bangor defence a run in from 40 metres and score a seven pointer.
Derry were dominating all aspects of play and owned the ball for long periods with backs and forwards combining beautifully. There were twenty five minutes gone when good forward play by Derry saw Second Row Brian Prue make a break and found centre Ryan Campbell in full flight who released Josh Lewis to score his teams fourth try to secure a bonus point with McCarter converting. Derry finished the half with another forwards try from Sam McAuley and a comfortable thirty one point lead.
Derry replaced Steven Brennan with Mark O’Connor who was coming back from injury and Stephen Duffy came on for Stephen Simms at the break. There were just five minutes gone when Derry had a try that was all about Rudi Moore who was making his debut for Derry, he gained possession from a turnover on his own 22 metre line and made a break bringing his back line into the game and he was on hand to score a converted try by the posts. Mark O’Connor signalled his return to action with a quick brace of try’s on fifteen minutes, the first from a beautiful sidestep and the second from the kickoff after David Houston won possession and McCarter made the break and added the conversion to put his team fifty points up.
The game suddenly swung in Bangor’s favour when mistakes all round and non tackling became the order of the day. Bangor were getting possession at every breakdown and suddenly they gave Derry some of their own medicine and completely dominated the game for the next twenty minutes. Two quick try’s from winger Ian Baxter and substitute Ryan Diver was all that their team needed for an infusion of confidence that saw them dominate all phases of play. Bangor Captain Michael Keenan led by example and with Harry Millar having an outstanding game they both controlled the play and kept Derry on the back foot.
There were twenty five minutes gone when strong running from Bangor backs and forwards released Ian Baxter for a well worked try which Glen Irwin converted. That score was quickly followed by a try from Harry Millar that capped a fine personal performance which gave his team a bonus point, Irwin converted. Bangor’s fifth try come on seventy three minutes and the No 8 Peter Rogers touched down to emphasise his teams back row dominance. Derry eventually got some possession in the Bangor half and replicated their first score with a lineout catch and drive that gave Man of the Match Sam McAuley his hat trick with time running out.
Derry Forwards Coach Mark Nicholl said after the game “We thought we had the game won when we got to fifty points but our forwards must have gone sun bathing and our backs were admiring the Bangor players running through them. We lost focus and respect for the opposition and paid the penalty of letting in five try’s. I know what we will be doing in training for the next couple of weeks and so will the players when they will eventually be making tackles in their sleep. We look forward to a local derby down in Colearine next Saturday and the following week we have a great fixture away to Seapoint Rugby Club in South Dublin in the AIB Junior Al Ireland Cup. They are unbeaten at the top of the Leinster League”.
City of Derry Team: Peter Henderson, Stephen Brennan, Josh Lewis, David, Ryan Campbell, Rudi Moore, Richard McCarter, Andrew Semple, David Houston, Stephen Simms, Colin Mitchell, Bob McKillop, Brian Prue, Sam Duffy, Sam McAuley, David Witherow. Replacements: Stephen Duffy, Mark O’Connor.
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