Rainey Endowed lift ‘Topping Cup’

Rainey Endowed 15

Dalriada 7

LAST Saturday Rainey Endowed entertained Dalriada in the annual ‘Topping Cup’ game.

Rainey encouraged by their convincing 48-0 win over Regent House last week were keen to retain the ‘Topping Cup’. Straight from the kick off Rainey went on the attack.

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Oisin Quinn and Gavin Wray made good breaks but were denied by sound Dalriada tackles.

With about 10 minutes on the clock a neat kick by Arran Murphy created the first try. The ball bounced Rainey’s way and center John Stewart followed up to take the ball and dive over the line to give Rainey a 5-0 lead.

From the kick off an attack down the blindside led to Rainey’s second try. Kieran lynch chased a Quinn kick after good work by winger Odhran Mc Cloy. He then showed excellent footwork to score. Murphy converted to give Rainey a deserved 12-0 lead.

For the rest of the half Rainey hammered the Dalriada defence but it stood firm. Samuel Hawe and Mark Kavanagh both worked themselves into good positions and came very close to scoring but the Dalriada defence kept them out.

Half time: Rainey 12 Dalriada 0.

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Dalriada with the slight breeze at their backs came out in the second half on the offensive. For 15 minutes they were on top and stretched the Rainey defence.

In the Rainey pack Jonathan Kyle and Eunan Shaw made endless tackles to keep them out.

However, the pressure eventually told and Dalriada scored a converted try to make it 12-7. This try seemed to be a wake up call for Rainey.

They took the game by the ‘scruff of the neck’ and went back on the attack. Strong runs by Captain Michael Dawson and Jonathan Lees set many of their attacks up.One of these runs led to a penalty which was converted by Murphy to make the score 15-7. Dalriada now under pressure resorted to a kicking game,

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which full back Matthew Stewart dealt with. He was sound at the back and counter attacked when given the opportunity. Up front Michael Nevin and Timmy Maxwell were behind a lot of good work from the Rainey pack as the threatened the Dalriada line frequently.

The game drew to a close with Rainey being denied a third try when a good break by Shaw and support by Quinn was denied by a slightly forward pass.

The final whistle went with Rainey winning 15-7 and retaining the ‘Topping Cup’.

Dalriada made Rainey word very hard for this win. Although Rainey displayed a different style of rugby from last week, they played with real determination and excellent team spirit.

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At the end of the game Rebecca and Sarah Topping presented a happy Rainey Captain Michael Dawson with the ‘Topping Cup’.

In Saturday’s other fixtures the 2nd XV had another super win defeating Dalriada by 40-7.

The try scorers were Andrew Nicholl, Gavin Muldoon, Rigan Sanderson, Cameron Noble, Gary Monaghan and Euan Lennox. Gavin Pollock kicked five conversions.

The 3rd XV travelled to Belfast to play Campbell College and put in a very encouraging performance although losing 22-10.

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The scorers were Thomas Carelton with a try and Callan Bloomer with a conversion and penalty.

The Medallion recorded an impressive win in Dalriada by 21-5. The tries were scored by Lorcan Quinn, Cameron Stewart and Andrew Brown. Matthew Mulholland kicked three conversions.

The U14 who were missing a few regulars lost 38-0.

The U13A team came up against a very strong Dalriada side and although they fought to the final whistle they went down 31-0.

The U13B team on their first outing this year lost 24-5 with Matthew McGurk scoring the Rainey try.

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This Saturday’s fixtures are against Foyle and Londonderry College. The 1stXV and 2ndXV are away from home. The Medallion, U14s and U13s are at home. All kick-offs are at 10.30am. All support would be very welcome.