Eager Old Boys see off Instonians in thrilling match

Mud bath...Lisburn 2nd XV and Rainey 3rd XV played in difficult conditions last weekend. Lisburn won 15-7. Pic by Gary Barlow

INSTONIANS II 10

Having seen little action in recent weeks, Rainey Old Boys II were chomping at the bit when they met Instonians II under the lights at Meadowbank last Thursday night.

And with both sides intent on keeping the ball in hand on the 3G surface, a fluent game ensued with Rainey winning by a slightly flattering 31-10 margin.

It has been a tough season for the Second XV. Faced with replacing many of last season’s very talented squad, coach Damien Campbell had no option but to turn to some of the inexperienced young players coming through from the youth section of the club and while it has been a steep and, at times, painful learning curve for them, they have worked hard and are now enjoying a less daunting run of fixtures.

Instonians sought to put width on the ball right from the kick-off and went ahead with an early penalty. They missed another opportunity before Rainey’s superior scrummaging helped them to seize the initiative and full-back McLean swept over three sweetly struck penalties to put them 9-3 up.

Late in the half, Rainey went all out for a score in the corner only to be thwarted by the half-time whistle.

As light rain began to fall, Rainey grabbed an important try when two hacks forward saw centre Moran get up for the touchdown. Minutes later, McLean made it 17-3.

Needing the next score, Instonians established a great attacking position, but came away without points and conceded again with ten minutes remaining when flanker Shaw found a gap.

McLean converted and then came to Rainey’s rescue by grounding an Instonians forward who had broken clean through. But the Shaw’s Road side did manage to engineer a well-deserved try shortly afterwards.

Rainey struck again when a long pass was flung out wide to wing PJ O’Neill who went in at the corner. McLean rounded off proceedings with yet another magnificent kick.

FIXTURES

Armagh Ii V Rainey Ii

Ballymoney Ii V Rainey Iii

Rainey Old Boys return to action on February 27 when they face Sunday’s Well in Cork. Dungannon upset the form book by beating Well 20-17 at Stevenson Park last week.

The 200 club latest winners were 1. John Keatley and 2. John Smyth

There is a table quiz on Friday night, beginning at 9pm. All are welcome to a fun night guaranteed.