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Est 1865

.Match Reports, 23-01-10

Carrick U15s On The “Money”

Carrickfergus U15s -59 Ballymoney RFC U15s – 0

In this friendly match at a sunny Woodlawn grounds visitors Ballymoney proved no match for an improving Carrickfergus U15s.

The gremlins of injury and availability were in evidence once again with enforced changes in the front row ,back row, halfback and centre.  

Such however is the strength of the squad that players slotted in seamlessly and performed strongly in their adapted positions.

One of the sub-units which remained untouched was the second row where Matthew Wilson keen to go one better than his partner, produced a man of the match performance  to equal that of Iain McMenemins last week

The game as a competition was over as early as twenty minutes in with Carrick scoring in the opening minutes and racking up thirty points before half time.

Carrick held all of the aces in set piece play with a strong scrum and dominant lineout producing a steady stream of ball. It was however in the contact zone that Carrick done the damage driving forcefully in  both rucks and mauls

The home sides offloading game .soon turned out to be too much for Ballymoney who had no answer in defence to the range of pop passes and short and wide Carrick support lines.

Ballymoney had a brief patch in the second half where they actually got some primary possession but this was when Carrick had made more positional and personnel changes and were attempting to change their style of play.

The second half was cut short by mutual agreement between the home & visiting coaches after Carrick arrived on  the cusp of 50 points.

Although there were several well constructed and executed team tries , the try of the match was an individual touch of brilliance by fullback Marcus Jones.

The number 15 fielded the ball on the right on Carricks 10 metre line taking off on a mazy run before skinning three defenders and cutting back to score near the posts.

Johnny Wilson in his first game at scrum half in recent months showed good variety in his game which featured several sniping runs from the base of the scrum.

This was a welcome match for the home side who were grateful for the fact that a sporting Ballymoney XV  travelled to fulfil an away friendly fixture, it also showed the gulf that has now emerged between Carrick and teams that they played last year before entering the premier league.
 
 

Scorers: M Jones 2T 1Con, M Wilson 1Con, J Thompson 1T, J Magill 2T, P Magill 1T, D Robinson 2T, I McMenemin 1,T J Besant 1T

Man of The Match: M Wilson

Team: M Jones C Wilson J Thompson D Robinson A Williams P Magill J Wilson B.Nother R McCullough B Young M Wilson I McMenemin J Magill J Mooney J Besant D Henderson J Warnock C Reid

Carrick U15s On The Road To Virginia.
 
Carrick U15s face a long journey to Virginia Co Cavan for their league playoff quarter final on sat 30th January.
The Deer Park club which was founded in 1977 introduced youth rugby in 2000 and has grown in strength in recent years.
Virginia U15s play in a league which includes Armagh Cavan Lisburn Newry & Lurgan.
The Woodlawn side which has been defeated only once this season and uniquely has beaten every other side in their league are not fazed by travelling and have a strong away record.
A firm approach must be adopted by coaches & players alike in this fixture which now becomes the most important game of the season.
Carrick must build on their ability to perform away from home but nothing can be taken for granted in what is now effectively knockout rugby.
The management & coaches will leave nothing to chance in relation to preperation and expect nothing less than 100 percent from the players.
Training at Woodlawn starts sharp at 7pm on wednesday night,travel arrangements will also be finalised then.

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