Andrews scores crucial try as Larne leave it late at Lurgan

Larne took an early lead through a Phil Andrews penalty but it wasn’t long before the home side hit back. A delicate kick from Lurgan’s scrum-half saw their winger dart over the line for the score. This was soon followed by a penalty which was duly converted after a collapsed scrum.

And just before the break, Lurgan’s out-half exploited a gap leaving him with a simple two-on-one with the full-back to make the score 15-3.

Larne re-grouped and came out fighting. They got the response they were looking for when Hunter broke off the back of the scrum, before good hands across the backline put Jordan Burns in at the corner to reduce the deficit to 15-8.

The visitors were gaining territory and an incredible line by Smyth saw him disappear from the defence to put Burns in for his second. Lurgan hit back with a try of their own with only five minutes to spare, but a break by Garrett set up Andrews to round the last defender and score the winning try under the posts. “The team showed a lot of heart to come back from the half-time deficit which is something we haven’t had to do so far this season, it bodes well for a tough run of games over the next few months,” said skipper, Garrett.

Larne II sailed into the quarter-finals of the Crawford Plate with a 52-12 win over Lisburn II at Glynn on Saturday. Ryan Gabby scored a hat-trick of tries in the game.