Down High 15- 12 Grsovenor
Down High Under 13s travelled to Belfast on Monday to take on Grosvenor Grammar School. Having already beaten them in a close contest earlier in the season, the Down boys knew they faced a tough game. On a cold afternoon, Down kicked off and the first ten minutes were littered with mistakes from both teams. Eventually Down managed to control some set piece play and good movement of the ball saw wing Rhys Patterson score in the corner. The conversion was missed. The Dowpatrick boys then started to play some reasonable rugby and were soon on the scoresheet again, thanks to good recycling from the forwards, allowing Ronan Patterson to score another unconverted try. If Down thought this was a signal for the floodgates to open then they were mistaken. Sloppy work from the restart gave Grosvenor territory and possession and although Down put up a solid defence they couldn’t stop the Grosvenor score on the stroke of halftime to leave they score 10-5.
Down knew that if they had ball in hand they could work openings but once again a mistake on the restart gifted Grosvenor a penalty and within a couple of minutes the East Belfast school had scored under the posts and converted to take a 12-10 lead. The Down boys responded by having a period of play inside the Grosvenor half and as a result of the home side infringing at the breakdown, scrum half Dan Browne took a quick tap penalty to put flanker Ronan Patterson in for his second try of the game. The remainder of the match was played in the middle third of the pitch with neither team threatening and it was with great relief that the final whistle sounded to give the Mount Crescent boys a 15-12 victory.
There were a number of positive aspects from the game but satisfaction can be taken that this team can still ground out a victory despite not playing at their best.
Down High Under 13B team also played their Grosvenor counterparts and were victorious with a scoreline of 36-5.
Down High Under 13s travelled to Belfast on Monday to take on Grosvenor Grammar School. Having already beaten them in a close contest earlier in the season, the Down boys knew they faced a tough game. On a cold afternoon, Down kicked off and the first ten minutes were littered with mistakes from both teams. Eventually Down managed to control some set piece play and good movement of the ball saw wing Rhys Patterson score in the corner. The conversion was missed. The Dowpatrick boys then started to play some reasonable rugby and were soon on the scoresheet again, thanks to good recycling from the forwards, allowing Ronan Patterson to score another unconverted try. If Down thought this was a signal for the floodgates to open then they were mistaken. Sloppy work from the restart gave Grosvenor territory and possession and although Down put up a solid defence they couldn’t stop the Grosvenor score on the stroke of halftime to leave they score 10-5.
Down knew that if they had ball in hand they could work openings but once again a mistake on the restart gifted Grosvenor a penalty and within a couple of minutes the East Belfast school had scored under the posts and converted to take a 12-10 lead. The Down boys responded by having a period of play inside the Grosvenor half and as a result of the home side infringing at the breakdown, scrum half Dan Browne took a quick tap penalty to put flanker Ronan Patterson in for his second try of the game. The remainder of the match was played in the middle third of the pitch with neither team threatening and it was with great relief that the final whistle sounded to give the Mount Crescent boys a 15-12 victory.
There were a number of positive aspects from the game but satisfaction can be taken that this team can still ground out a victory despite not playing at their best.
Down High Under 13B team also played their Grosvenor counterparts and were victorious with a scoreline of 36-5.