Down High Under 13s welcomed Grosvenor to the Swamp on Saturday and recorded a fine victory. The game started with the visitors having a prolonged period of possession but Down’s defence stood firm and they repelled any attacks. Once the home side got the hold of the ball they made it count with a fine try from Jonny Graham. He collected the ball at pace just inside his own half and broke the line to score under the posts. Luka Walsh converted. Grosvenor replied straight away as they sucked in the Down defence and took advantage by spreading the ball wide for the winger to score a converted try. This left the halftime score at 7-7.
Down didn’t get out of the blocks in the second half and a missed tackle in midfield cost them dearly as Grosvenor scored to take a 12-7 lead. However Down rallied and with man of the match Charlie Gibson pulling the strings from out half they managed to make their way into the opposition 22 and after a number of phases, flanker Shea Preston crossed for an unconverted try. The next score was going to be vital and Down found themselves on the front foot again and that man Graham was on hand to finish off a fine passage of play to score. Walsh again converted. There was to be one last twist when the Grosvenor winger thought he’d scored a late try but he mistook the 5 metre line for the try line much to the home side’s relief.
This result showed a marked improvement from the corresponding fixture last season and the team deserves full credit for putting into practice what they have learnt in training.
Down didn’t get out of the blocks in the second half and a missed tackle in midfield cost them dearly as Grosvenor scored to take a 12-7 lead. However Down rallied and with man of the match Charlie Gibson pulling the strings from out half they managed to make their way into the opposition 22 and after a number of phases, flanker Shea Preston crossed for an unconverted try. The next score was going to be vital and Down found themselves on the front foot again and that man Graham was on hand to finish off a fine passage of play to score. Walsh again converted. There was to be one last twist when the Grosvenor winger thought he’d scored a late try but he mistook the 5 metre line for the try line much to the home side’s relief.
This result showed a marked improvement from the corresponding fixture last season and the team deserves full credit for putting into practice what they have learnt in training.