
Down High U13 38-0 Larne Grammar U13
The Down High U13 team welcomed Larne to their pitches on a warm and sunny Saturday morning. They were wary of the previous week’s loss, but determined to have a different outcome on their home ground. Down won the toss and kicked off to the other team. Within the first 5 minutes Down had a scrum and number 8, Reece Hagan, picked up the ball running to the right and carried the ball over the Larne line to score the first try. The Down team gained confidence from this and continued to play well. From a ruck at the left side the backs spread the ball all the way to the right winger, Andrew McCoubrey, who carried it the last few yards and earned another try for DHS.
After that Christy Lindsay added a good try where he carried the ball right between the posts, to give our kicker, Greg Hutley an easy kick. Greg decided to take the kick quickly, and drop kicked it. To his horror the ball bounced off the crossbar, and dropped. Other than that Greg kicked well including two touchline conversions. The Down Captain, Stuart Campbell, scored another try bringing the score up to 24-0 at half time.
Down picked up where they left off in the first half and quick tries by Hutley and Lindsay inflicted more pain on Larne. However credit must go to the County Antrim side who suddenly burst into life. They attacked with crashballs and spread it wide to the wings, but DHS tackled well and held them off. At one point one of their biggest players carried it through the tackles and over the try line. Luckily the defence got enough people below him and the ball was held up. They kept their possession until a loose ball was dropped and 0ut-half Conner Gibson dived on the ball and won it for the DHS squad. Down High cleared their lines and held on to the final whistle.
The final score turned out to be 38-0 and it was important to the Down High U13 squad in this match to keep a clean sheet and not concede any points.
Man of the match: Andrew McCoubrey
The Down High U13 team welcomed Larne to their pitches on a warm and sunny Saturday morning. They were wary of the previous week’s loss, but determined to have a different outcome on their home ground. Down won the toss and kicked off to the other team. Within the first 5 minutes Down had a scrum and number 8, Reece Hagan, picked up the ball running to the right and carried the ball over the Larne line to score the first try. The Down team gained confidence from this and continued to play well. From a ruck at the left side the backs spread the ball all the way to the right winger, Andrew McCoubrey, who carried it the last few yards and earned another try for DHS.
After that Christy Lindsay added a good try where he carried the ball right between the posts, to give our kicker, Greg Hutley an easy kick. Greg decided to take the kick quickly, and drop kicked it. To his horror the ball bounced off the crossbar, and dropped. Other than that Greg kicked well including two touchline conversions. The Down Captain, Stuart Campbell, scored another try bringing the score up to 24-0 at half time.
Down picked up where they left off in the first half and quick tries by Hutley and Lindsay inflicted more pain on Larne. However credit must go to the County Antrim side who suddenly burst into life. They attacked with crashballs and spread it wide to the wings, but DHS tackled well and held them off. At one point one of their biggest players carried it through the tackles and over the try line. Luckily the defence got enough people below him and the ball was held up. They kept their possession until a loose ball was dropped and 0ut-half Conner Gibson dived on the ball and won it for the DHS squad. Down High cleared their lines and held on to the final whistle.
The final score turned out to be 38-0 and it was important to the Down High U13 squad in this match to keep a clean sheet and not concede any points.
Man of the match: Andrew McCoubrey