Regional League: Section 1 19th November 2016

Scorers: Chada(1*Try), Trainor(1*Try), Shaw(1*Try), McGuckin(1*Conv)

In cold,but otherwise fine conditions, Rainey III climbed further up the table with a 17-7 victory over Strabane 2 at Hatrick Park.  Despite the frequent stoppages, silly options and baffling refereeing decisions, it was an enjoyable encounter, played in the right spirit.  The return of John McKenna at No8 after ankle trouble made a real difference to the Rainey pack which worked hard throughout.  They started well, with scrum-half Chada nipping through from a ruck to open the scoring.

With a man rather harshly yellow carded, they put themselves under pressure at times by running ball that should have been kicked and kicking ball which should have been moved.  On the half hour, they earned an offside decision by chasing a high kick down Shaw's wing.  From the lineout, the pack took it on for captain Trainor to get the touchdown.  McGuckin converted.

Two minutes into the second half,Rainey stretched their lead when flanker Brown set off on a diagonal run with his support getting to the breakdown.  They showed what could be achieved by simply moving the ball wide to right-wing Shaw, who had the easy task of dotting it down.  Strabane were awarded a try - it may have been a penalty try for a high tackle - while Rainey again failed to use a clear overlap.  Solid scrummaging and the workrate of Henry and Loane kept Rainey going forward and left-wing McCracken was overhauled just short.

In perhaps their best play of the day, they strung together some lovely passes from their own 22' down the right and back infield where Trainor was flattened by an all-enveloping tackle.  Amazingly, the Rainey player was sin-binned for using his arm to try to defend himself - another example of the new directives from the lawmakers being applied too seriously.