U14 XV

Season 2008-2009

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Saturday 4th October

Rainey U14XV - 47 – Clounagh U14XV - 0 

Wet and blustery were the conditions in which Rainey met Clounagh at home on Saturday 4th October From the whistle both teams appeared unsettled and Rainey needed an early try to settle the side down. This came via Jamie Noble who received a diagonal pass from Oisin Quinn and at speed burst through the Clounagh defence to put Rainey 5-0 ahead.  From this, Rainey took the play to Clounagh, keeping them under pressure and pinned back in their own half. The forwards worked well together as did Michael Dawson, Jonathan Kyle and Timothy Maxwell, keeping possession in Rainey’s hands. A good kick from Arran Murphy, chased up by the backs resulted in a knock-on by the full back.  From the resulting scrum, Michael Dawson powered over the line for Rainey’s second try. The forwards continued to win the ball for the backs and with a few minutes left in the first half a good pass from Oisin Quinn to Aran Murphy followed by a dummy pass saw Aran put a third under the posts for Rainey.  Regrettably Michael Nevin sustained a neck injury and had to retire towards the end of the half. The boys went into the break 21-0 up.

From the kick off in the second half Rainey ran at Clounagh with greater strength and confidence. This showed through good moves by the backs who were unlucky not to convert these opportunities. A kick deep into the opposition’s half produced a line-out for Rainey and from this the forwards caught the ball and drove for the line.  Great vision from Oisin, who saw a gap in the defensive line, took the opportunity to go for the try and succeeded. Likewise, Jonny Lees produced the fifth try for Rainey. Gavin Wray showed great power and speed breaking through the Clounagh line and leaving them behind headed for the posts to put his side well into the lead.  Some lovely running by the forwards quickly took Rainey back into the Clounagh half and good quick ball from the forwards caught out the opposition and Stevie Fullerton got his second try of the season.
Good performances came from Jamie Noble and Martin Doris. The forwards also performed well, securing most of the ball for the backs who, in turn, had a good game.

Try Scorers:

Jamie Noble – 1
Michael Dawson – 1
Aran Murphy – 1
Oisin Quinn – 1
Jonny Lees – 1
Gavin Wray – 1
Stevie Fullerton – 1
 
Conversions:
Arran Murphy – 6

M Stewart (4/10/2008)

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Saturday 27th September

Rainey U14XV 46 - Foyle & Londonderry College 0

The game kicked off in lovely autumn sunshine with Rainey finding it difficult to break down a much improved Foyle team. The Rainey forwards did settle into their usual game under the leadership of Michael Dawson with some excellent ruck and maul play. Special mention must be made today to the Rainey front row of Johnny Kyle, Michael Nevin and Mark Lennox who all worked tirelessly in winning some vital ball against the head.
As play continued the backs started to get into their game and after some excellent line moves the first try was scored by Gavin Wray following a strong and unstoppable run for the line. Arran Murphy converted the try and within a short time Odhran McCloy saw a gap in the opposing defence and scored the second try showing great speed and strength. Arran narrowly missed the conversion but made up for this with a try of his own after some intelligent line passing, strong forward play and great continuity play by the whole team.

Half time saw the score  17-0 and  with the absence of Mr Murphy, Dr Peggs gave the boys a challenging talk which seem to fire them up for the second half.

The forwards again dominated the play and this led to Arran scoring and converting his second try of the game. Foyle’s game improved but Jamie Noble was once again excellent; making a few good runs which eventually led to him scoring a well deserved try by breaking some Foyle tackles. Timothy Maxwell had a great game as well as Ryan Gogarty who was brought on when the team was switched around to cover an injury to Odhran. This meant that Diarmuid Devlin was now on the wing and quickly adapted to this position by taking some high kicks from the Foyle team. Martin Doris also performed very well against a strong opponent winger. 
Tries followed from Stephen Fullerton, “super –sub” Gary Monaghan, who was brought on with 3 minutes to go and with his sheer strength and determination to crash over the Foyle line, and Matthew Stewart who weaved his way again through defence for the last try of the game. Aaron converted Gary’s try leaving the final score at 46-.0

This match saw another fantastic display by Oisin Quinn supplying quick ball. However there were a few uncharactistic knock-ons and errors by the team which no doubt will be worked on over the coming weeks at training.
The match today proved to be another tough test but with the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the whole Rainey team, another victory was secured.

Final score 46-0
Scorers
A Murphy 2
S Fullerton 1
O McCloy 1
G Monaghan 1
J Noble 1
M Stewart 1
G Wray 1
Conv - A Murphy 3

J Stewart (28/09/08)

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Saturday 20th September

Rainey U14XV - 54 - Dalriada U14XV - 5

After a very convincing 66-0 win over Dalriada last year, the boys were expecting a similar result. During the early stages it quickly became evident that the opposition had made significant progress within their forward line since the last encounter. As a consequence Rainey were finding it difficult, as both teams seemed to be evenly matched. However the Rainey backs enjoyed more superiority as Odhran McCloy demonstrated his skilful and powerful running from the wing to the centre. This caught the Dalriada backs by surprise, resulting in the first try of the match and therefore broke the deadlock.
A dangerous spear tackle inflicted on Jamie Noble resulted in a penalty to the Rainey. This was shortly followed by a perfectly executed switch from Arran Murphy to first centre Gavin Wray, who used the available space to dodge the fullback and score the second try of the game. A turnover in the Dalriada line out at the Rainey 22 led to fast hands out to the wing and then multiple popped passes between Stephen Fullerton, Odhran McCloy and Gavin Wray, who handed off the opposition to score.
Arran Murphy converted all tries in his usual efficient manner to leave half time score 21-0. A stern half time talk by the coaches motivated the team to play a more competent second half.
Five more tries were scored by Rainey before the final whistle. Gavin scored the first, performing a switch manoeuvre. Arran was next to score an excellent try, stepping his way through the Dalriada defence. Odhran scored a further two, utilising his characteristic weaving down the right wing. Dalriada fought back and managed to get a late consolation try. Gavin scored the eighth and final try of the day following a superb switch move with the talented John Stewart.
In summary, Rainey's first, second and back row forwards demonstrated superb rucking and mauling skills, which were key features of the game. The backs, when given the ball, used it wisely, exploiting gaps which resulted in scores. All squad players used during this fixture maintained the high intensity of the game. Congratulations to Captain Michael Dawson and the U14s in yet another victory for Rainey.
Further congratulations to Dalriada who provided a physical test for the boys and I am sure will continue to make further strides in their rugby development. Finally, a special mention to John Stewart, who battled through the second half with a painful wrist, unaware that it was broken. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Final score 54-5

Scorers
G Wray 4
O McCloy 3
A Murphy 1
Conv - A Murphy 7

 
G Wray (21/09/08)

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Tuesday 16th September

Rainey U14XV - 62 - Coleraine Inst U14XV - 0

Having come off a convincing win on Saturday, a Rainey team brimming with confidence stepped onto the pitch against a Coleraine side, which had lost two key players to their Medallion team. With only 3 points separating the teams last season, the boys were desperate to show what skill they could produce on the pitch.

Although it was a scrappy start, Captain Michael Dawson set the pace of the game with a try showing his strength and ability to come out on top in any situation. The rest of the half saw numerous tries run, rucked and mauled over the line. In addition, the ever consistent Arran Murphy converted with ease, even from very tricky angles.

The second half saw some very interesting substitutions, including Shane Patton, in his first match at No.8 who came on with considerable impact to fill the ever-impressive Dawsy’s boots. Winger Matty Stewart scored after an incredible run from inside the Rainey half, jinking and dodging between the C.A.I. defence to break away and touch down under the posts. A special mention has to go to Gary Monaghan who scored his first try for the team landing in a very muddy puddle. Having played for last years U14 squad, his skills and strength have definitely improved and it is noticeable that he is now a key player within our squad. After the try whilst a mud strewn Gary was celebrating with his team mates, Stephen Fullerton pointed out “No need to get so excited Gary.”

Overall, the team played brilliantly. The forwards were strong in the scrums and the mauling was excellent. Our front row of Johnny Kyle, Michael Nevin and Mark Lennox put in another tireless and dominant shift. The backs were constantly putting pressure on their opposite numbers in defence and the passing and moves were free flowing and worked almost every time.

Final Score 62 - 0

Scorers

M Dawson - 2
A Murphy - 2
G Wray - 1
M Stewart - 1
T Maxwell - 1
J Lees - 1
G Monaghan - 1
J Noble - 1

Conv - A Murphy - 6




J Noble (16/9/08)

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Saturday 13th September

Rainey U14 - 52 – Regent House U14 – 7

The U 14 squad kicked off the season this morning with a comfortable victory over opponents Regent House. In near perfect conditions, the boys played with flair, controlled aggression and a very high level of skill, the extra training undertaken throughout the summer months paying dividends.

The early exchanges were typical of a first game of the season in the sense that they were somewhat frantic and error strewn however it quickly became obvious that we held the upper hand in the pace, power and organisation departments. Superbly led by Captain Michael Dawson, the forwards dominated in all areas, while the backs ran riot and tore the opposition defence apart when they eventually ‘settled’.

Winger Odhran Mc Cloy was first on the score board with a demonstration of both pace and power. This score was quickly followed by another from Gavin Wray when he jinked through the cover defence to score near the posts. Just before half time ‘Dawsy’ crashed over for our third score following a quick tap penalty by the ever vigilant Oisin Quinn.  Arran Murphy converted one of the first half scores to leave the half time score Rainey 17 – Regent House 0.

The second half got off to a great start when, following great work by the forwards, the ball was fed to  Gavin Wray who showed that he has lost none of his pace or power and burst through to score.  Further scores quickly followed from Matty Stewart, Odhran Mc Cloy (2) and John Stewart, all following excellent interplay between the forward and back units. Worthy of particular mention is a run of over 60 metres by Dawsy which led to Gavin’s try. Arran Murphy kicked superbly, converting all the second half scores. As the half progressed all of the available subs were gradually introduced, each performing admirably.  To their credit Regent House rallied in the closing stages scoring and converting a late try.
Final Score Rainey 52 – Regent House – 7.

A number of injuries and illness meant that a couple of players, namely Gary Monaghan and Ryan Gogarty, had to step in to the breech today and it was very pleasing to note that they were up to it. Both have worked very hard during the summer and have improved immensely. The pack as always laid the foundation for the victory, their skills and physical presence such that it drew favourable comment from a very gracious Regent Coach. As mentioned earlier, the backline seemed a little over keen to begin with and with more peripheral vision, direct lines of running and quicker movement of the ball could have secured even more scores. Nonetheless they became very potent as the game progressed and displayed an ability to employ a range of differing tactics as and when required. In addition, their defensive work was excellent. It is very pleasing to be able to comment that all the subs who entered the fray (6 in total) all demonstrated that we have strength in depth and that there will be healthy contention for starting places.  

Finally many thanks to referee Oisin Quinn who guided the boys through the game and our loyal band of supporters who once again added to the occasion.