Super Saturday for Dalriada rugby

The 1st XV started their competitive rugby season with a hard fought home win against Grosvenor. Such is the measure of progress and strength of Dalriada rugby that the first XV were without three players who are currently involved with Ulster Schools.

Dalriada opened the scoring through full Back Ewan Strang who accurately slotted the penalty kick to penalise Grosvenor for not rolling away at the ruck. Neither team where able to add anymore points in the first half though Dalriada by running quick ruck ball gained lot of yards through their centres as well as wingers, with Rhys McAuley and Strang unable to capitalise on much of the pressure due to early season errors.

The second half saw the weather deteriorating meaning Dalriada had to move more ball through the forwards.

The home side spent a lot of time in the Grosvenor half, through some strong running from much of the pack, including number 8 David Campbell, second row Stuart Mulholland and flanker Andrew Skelton, but the visitors stayed strong in defence.

Patience by Dalriada eventually paid off as good picks took Dalriada only metres from the try line, quick ball in the ruck allowed second half, scrum half Matthew Dunlop to pick and go blind down the five metre channel and with a simple draw of the sole defender, put new year 12 winger Jonny Allen in the corner for his first senior try by the corner flag giving Dalriada an 8 – 0 lead.

The Home pack finished the match well, constantly driving the opposition back in the scrum, all led by the front row of Sam Kyle, Thomas Proctor and Peter McCully. Dalriada finished the game as 8 – 0 winners, so creating the positive start to the new season. Man of the Match picked by coach James Cleland went to centre Jonny McMullan who did well to play through the match with a leg injury which came through a late off the ball hit early on in the match.

The second XV side was weakened by the unavailability of some senior players which meant that resources were stretched. However, with a number of players returning back to the game after a lay off meant that the side could field a competitive team.

In a free flowing game which ended in a draw 10 each.

With some strong performances Dalriada scored two good tries from Johnny Back and Andrew McWilliams and came close to snatching the win in last minutes. Notable for his efforts was Richard McMaster with some strong running from the back particularly late in the game.

The Medallion side played Grosvener in Belfast with conditions good for quick running rugby and came away with a very notable win. Dalriada didn't get off to a good start, having to defend a lot and little possession.

Within the first 10 minutes Grosvenor passed the ball along the back line, broke tackles and scored in the corner.

The rest of the half was much the same, lots of tackling for Dalriada with a great defensive performance keeping Grosvenor from crossing our line on numerous occasions.

The second half started off much better for Dalriada, retaining the ball for longer and handling the ball with more control. With much improved rucking and ball retention, Dalriada began to get into the game and when Ryan Malcomson at out half created a great switch with Henry Loan, he broke through to score, Peter Dunlop converted.

Straight from the kick off Grosvener got into Dalriada's 22, but with some great defence and counter rucking Dalriada turned the ball over. Through some good handling phases play returned back to the Grosvener 22. Through quick ruck ball around the 5m line, Alex Henry picked up and ran in for to score a great try and with Peter Dunlop converting again the score was now 14-5 leading to a very tense finale.

In the last few minutes sides exchanged attacking and defending phases, but the Ballymoney boys had the greater ability to retain possession and broke back into the Grosvenor 22.

With lots of good scrummaging against a bigger side the ball went loose on the Grosvener side, over the try line and Peter Dunlop as sharp as usual around the base of scrum, dived on the ball for a score, to make it 19-5 in Dalriada's favour. A good game from Dalriada Medallion side and they now look to next week's fixture home against Rainey from 10am.

Dalriada under 14 got off to a flying start with an impressive 47-5 win.

It was Grosvenor who started well with a long period of possession, but Dalriada defended well and held strong.

The scorers were Scott Malcolmson two, Michael Finnerty two, Robert Hunter, Dan Henderson and Scott McCaw, Aaron Sparks six conversions. Dalriada's talented back line ran in seven tries against a spirited Grovesnor side.

Dalriada led by captain Scott Malcomson and man of match Dan Henderson spun the ball at every opportunity showing their pace and ability.

The under 13 side also travelled to Belfast and came away with a superb victory 41-0.

From early on Dalriada were constantly picking up some good Turnover ball. This allowed the Dalriada backline to stretch their legs and seek a score and soon a try in the corner was certain but for a poor final pass.

Dalriada continued to threaten and were rewarded with a well worked score finished by Matthew Kernohan. The next score came 3 minutes later after a weaving run from out half Angus Johnston who finished superbly.

Try converted by M. Kernohan.

The 3rd try came after some good work from the forwards and a No.8 pickup scored by Allen Montgomery. Slick passing and moving the ball wide at every chance was the order of the day from the backline and a well deserved score in the corner for winger Stephen Bingham came just before halftime.

Converted by M. Kernohan.

Grosvenor started the second half strongly with long periods in attack and it was 12 minutes in before Dalriada could add to their tally through an excellent score from wing Louis Warke.

Five minutes later, fullback Jacob Curry came streaking through the middle to score under the posts. Conversion by Matthew McConaghie.

The final score of the day came after strong running and a score in the corner by wing forward Matthew Lockhart. Special mentions to centre Matthew McConaghie for superb passing and prop Aaron Christie for some huge tackles. Final score 0-41. Well done boys!