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Pre-Season Friendly: Donaghadee 17 - 33 CIYMS (26/08/00)

"WAKE-UP CALL FROM CIYMS

Most of the Donaghadee First Fifteen players watched the underwhelming game between Bangor and Ards last Tuesday in the semi-final of the North Down Cup Competition.  Any complacency which might have crept into their minds after a poor display by both Senior teams was quickly dispelled by the way last Saturday's game against CIYMS went.

The lads from Belmont came to Donaghadee much better prepared and ready to play tough, co-ordinated rugby football.  Almost from the whistle they came hard at the Dee men, and but for a try-saving tackle by Carl O'Neill might have started with a real bang.

Donaghadee rallied and almost scored a try and then did score a penalty when CI were adjudged off-side in front of their own posts and Ricky Reid duly punished them.  From the re-start CI pressed Donaghadee back to their line.  An attempted clearance kick was charged down and a five-metre scrum was awarded and the visitors' No. 8 picked up and went over for a try.  The successful conversion put CI in front by seven points to three.  Unfortunately for Donaghadee this was soon followed by a penalty and the score was suddenly 10-3.

It was apparent that Donaghadee were doing better working the ball upfield through the forwards, and that the CI backs were doing their best work through good running in their backs.  Donaghadee's new half-back partnership of Craig Simmons and Matt Turner were settling in well, Craig looking good close in to the action and Matt showing some fine ball distribution.

Suddenly CIYMS managed to put a long kick right into the Donaghadee corner.  One of the recent changes to Law demands that after such a touch kick the line-out must be taken no closer to the goal line than five metres.  The idea of this is to remove what had become a fairly easy way to score a pushover try from the line-out.  It would seem that five metres may not be enough because CI had little trouble doing just that.  Another fine kick took CI's score to a seemingly dominant 17-3.

To the delight of the home supporters the Donaghadee men did not agree.  They soon produced an aggressive and continuous piece of play which culminated in Matt Turner receiving the ball with the CI defence a bit fragmented and going in under the posts for a very impressive try, which took the score to a more realistic 17-10.

CIYMS began the second half in very determined fashion, adding to their total with two penalty kicks and between these scoring what must be a worrying second pushover try.  Any non-partisan spectator could recognise that the visitors deserved to be in front because of their well-organised and skilful play outgunning the valiant but error-strewn efforts of the home side.  Donaghadee looked keen to come back into the match, but thirty points to ten was a large margin for a team to try to reduce .

Although they conceded another penalty Donaghadee's efforts were rewarded near the end of the game when some good play saw the ball out to Aaron Martin, who made no mistake with the try and Andy Monson added the conversion.