First Trust Ulster Senior Cup 15th September 2017
Scorers: Quinn(1*Try), McLean(5*Conv), McMurray(2*Try), Harbinson(1*Try), J.McCusker(1*Try), (1*Pen Try)
Rainey continued their winning run with a fantastic display against Queens in the quarterfinal of the Senior Cup. Rainey fielded their strongest team of the season so far with Donaghy, Quinn and O’Neill returning to the backline and Nevin making his first start at hooker adding to the ever-growing squad of young Magherafelt men who’ve gotten the season off to a flyer.
Rainey set the tone right from the off when captain Ronan McCusker regained the kick-off and started an onslaught of attacks on the Queens line. McLean kept control of territory and when offered the opportunity attacked a static Queen’s defence and with a superb offload sent Oisin Quinn in below the posts for the opening score, before adding the conversion.
The next ten minutes was a battle royale, with both defences being well tested. Rainey’s defence held firm despite being penalised on several occasions for indiscipline round the ruck, while Queen’s failed to convert their pressure, with Matty Millar, Ronan and John McCusker destroying the Queens lineout.
Rainey were able to control territory with their dominance at the set-piece and the impressive kicking of Mclean and Bloomfield. Awarded a penalty 5m out, Rainey opted for a scrum and after several attempts and penalties, the ball came scooting out. Mclean picked a pass to the corner, but the last Queen’s defender deliberately slapped the ball down and referee Richard Kerr went straight below the posts for a penalty try. Queens were fortunate to avoid a second yellow at this stage.
The first half finished with some Queens pressure and after Quinn was carded for a high tackle they managed to get on the scoresheet through some good back play
The second half started with a bang and almost resulted in an early try for Queen’s, but some excellent defence forced the turnover. From the resultant phases Queen’s were awarded a penalty which they opted to kick to make the score 14-10.
Rainey responded with 21 unanswered points with some sublime tries coming from both forwards and backs. The front-foot ball presented by the carrying of the McCuskers, Rutledge and Harbinson allowed Rainey to lay siege to the Queen’s try line. Try number 3 came from a good piece of backplay with Mclean and Quinn again involved, before McMurray touched down to the right of the posts leaving defenders lying in his wake with a powerful run.
From the kickoff Ronan McCusker gathered and took off towards the line and after some good carries, Harbinson rumbled over from 10 metres. The conversion made it 28-10. A few youngsters then entered the fray, but Calvin Smyth, Ryan Kearns and Jack Lloyd-Evans showed no drop in intensity or team cohesion.
The next attack produced the try of the game as McLean snapped down the blind, cutting the defence open and with a well-timed pass, McMurray danced round the covering defenders to make it 33-10. McLean was on target once again with the conversion. John McCusker settled the tie with a powerful run to the line. It looked like the game was over at this stage with 10 minutes to play, but Queen’s, to their credit, never gave up and scored 3 tries of their own in this period as the Rainey team stepped off the gas and started to tire.
This well-deserved and convincing win for Rainey and takes them into the semi-final of the Ulster Senior Cup. It’s difficult to pick a man of the match in such an impressive performance. The set-piece was dominant, the half-backs controlled the game and some of the running rugby could have graced any match.
M.O.M.
Matty Millar - hugely impressive work-rate and determination, Matty typifies the current crop of young talent in this squad.