UBL 28th January 2017
Scorers: Donaghy(1*Try), J McMurray(1*Try), Barker(1*Try), McLean(1*Pen, 3*Conv)
After a long trip to North West Cork with a depleted side,Rainey Old Boys were happy enough to hold on to beat Kanturk 24-16, but their joy will have been tempered by the likelihood of hooker George Fritz being out of action for some time. The brilliant South African had to retire with a shoulder problem late in the fray which threatens to keep him out of some of the biggest games of the season in the coming weeks.
Rainey blew hot and cold throughout this well contested encounter, but,having established a favourable position going into the final quarter, failed to use the contours of the pitch to pin Kanturk in their own 22'. A genuine bonus point opportunity was missed as indiscipline and the concession of too many penalties allowed Kanturk to boss the closing minutes.
The return of the versatile Michael McCusker after a three month absence was a real boost, but, with little front-row cover, Rainey were under some pressure in the tight in the early stages, but coped well thereafter. From the kick-off at Kanturk's Grove Park hilltop ground outside the town, Rainey moved the ball around confidently in the Spring-like conditions. They created some promising situations, but failed to come away with points. Kanturk then enjoyed a spell in the Rainey 22' before the Old Boys squandered a glorious chance when a long pass from Andrew gave them a clear overlap. Finally, after 19 minutes, scrum-half Andrew Donaghy broke the deadlock with a magnificent solo effort. From a scrum 45 yards out, he danced past the immediate home defence into the 22' and then evaded the full-back and closing in wingers to touch down to the left of the posts for a memorable score which McLean converted.
No8 Corrigan was then sin-binned as Rainey failed to press on and indiscipline and dissent cost them three points. Kanturk added another penalty as Rainey made switches galore in a short space of time. A clear chance was lost when wing Burgess hacked into the home 22' where the bounce of the ball caused a defender to lose his footing, but Burgess then tripped over the prostrate Kanturk player when he hacked on again up to the goal line. Late in the half, McLean made it 10-6 when Donaghy was tackled without the ball.
By half-time,the wind had got up and the temperature had dropped alarmingly, giving the homesters the conditions they are familiar with. Rainey attacked down the slope to create several perfect field positions, but were not good enough to convert pressure into points. The Kanturk pack was penalised twice for collapsing and must have been on a penalty try warning when, at the third attempt, centre Jody McMurray moved in close to the scrum to take a short pass and score a badly needed try which McLean converted.
The obvious ploy would have been to use the slope into the corner to gain a stranglehold on the game, but a dogged Kanturk pack refused to lie down and showed a greater hunger for the ball than the Rainey eight. Rainey got back to clear when out-half Andrew had a kick charged down, but, when Kanturk countered by moving it acrossfield, they created an overlap and converted for good measure. It was then Rainey's turn to pour on the pressure and just when another attack broke down, Corrigan took the long road round on the counter to race into the 22' before feeding it infield where his support took it on for Barker to score.McLean converted.
With over twenty minutes remaining, Rainey had plenty of time to bank a bonus point, but that chance never arose. Their inability to contest at restarts was a feature of this game and, once again they conceded the opposition an easy three points to give them something to play for. Just as Fritz was going down injured, Donaghy blotted his copybook by being carded for taking an off the ball swipe at an opponent. Kanturk missed the 50 yard shot at goal and Rainey were happy to see out time with three players operating out of position.
TEAM : S.McLean, J.Burgess, J.McMurray, D.McMurray, O.Quinn, R.Andrew, A.Donaghy, F.Quinn, G.Fritz, K.Donaghy. R.McCusker, J.McCusker, T.Barker, J.Lees, D.Corrigan.
REPLACEMENTS : M.McCusker, M.McClelland, P.Stewart, D.McErlean.