Gillen inspires Thirds to shine

Monaghan II......................19

CITY of Derry Thirds displayed some excellent free flowing rugby at Judges Road on Saturday with nine tries sealing a memorable victory.

Monaghan came to Derry with a strong side looking to overturn the big defeat in Monaghan earlier in the season. But on this performance Derry would have been a match for any team at this level.

Derry thirds are sitting in second place in Junior 5 and if they consolidate this position it is their intention to get promoted into Junior 4. This will present itself as another bench mark to assess the standard of rugby being played throughout the club.

There is huge commitment by everyone involved with the B squad to improve the level of rugby being played whilst striving to be successful. It is also an opportunity for the vastly experienced players to pass on their knowledge and expertise to a young side whosE average age is under thirty; this is a vast improvement on the average age of the Fourth XV.

Saturday’s game was dominated entirely by the forwards. The pack led the assault on Monaghan who arrived late, and Derry took full advantage by scoring two quick tries, capitalizing on a disorganised and shell shocked Monaghan team.

Richard Gillen the 37 year old prop forward will remember this day for a long time. Some prop forwards go through an entire career without scoring a single try. Richard managed the unthinkable, a hat-trick of tries in a single game.

Prop forwards in their nature are caring and considerate individuals which provides the back bone of every team’s success, Richard is no exception and his tireless efforts were duly rewarded on Saturday. A tremendous achievement for any player, but even more so coming from a position better known for its dark arts, than try scoring.

There were six other tries including one from the captain other but these pale in comparison to Richard’s mighty fine performance. Derry III’s welcome Londondery YMCA II’s to Judges Road this coming Saturday so record that game on TV and get out supporting your local teams.