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Friendly Floodlit Match: Instonians IIs 17 - 17 Donaghadee (24/02/00)

"The First Fifteen did not have a game last Saturday. Instead they played a friendly match against Instonians IIs at Shaw's Bridge last Thursday evening under floodlights. Because of the present set-up in Ulster rugby football, it is an all-too-rare event these days for a good Qualifying League side to match themselves against the Second Fifteen of a strong Senior club like Instonians. Knowing that most of their opposition were first reserves for an All-Ireland side, and that many had first team experience gave the event a little spice for the Donaghadee players. Not that they were in any sense overawed - they have claimed too many scalps this season for that - but they had little in the way of a form guide for the one-off fixture.

An amazing number of die-hard Donaghadee supporters were at the Cooke ground to cheer the lads on, so many that one of the home spectators asked if there was no decent TV reception in Donaghadee. The evening was very cold, but in every other way was excellent for a good game of rugby.

This is what the spectators got. Donaghadee were dominant in the line-outs but outpaced in the backs, and strong in the mauls, but not so controlled in the rucks. The one area where Donaghadee must have learned a lot was in the way the Instonians backs pounced on the slightest mistakes by the Donaghadee team. If a ball was dropped, or a kick went wayward, as soon as the first Inst player reached the ball not only he but about three or four of his teammates as well were away at pace.

Donaghadee, and the teams they play in the Qualifying League do not do this. To an ignorant scribe it would seem that such expedition is the result of playing at least some of one's games at a higher level. Had it happened only once it would perhaps have been unnoticed, but it occurred every time there was a Donaghadee error.

Of course Instonians made their errors too. It was just that these were not instantly punished in the same way. Donaghadee had their good attacks too, with forwards Duff, Martin and English all looking strong. But it usually came with a degree of predictability - well enough initiated and executed, but with no surprise. It looked like the difference between an organised infantry advance and a dawn raid while the enemy was still only half awake. Both are important, but all attacks should generate a wee bit of panic to help carry it off.

To carry the military analogy a little further, it could be said that the Instonians light cavalry backs were a bit better than Donaghadee's, who never really got going, but that Donaghadee's "poor bloody infantry" forwards were more than a match for their counterparts.

The Donaghadee tries were scored by Scott English and Aaron Martin either side of half time and were both converted by Paul Blewitt. He also added three points with a drop goal in the first half. Instonians scored three turnover tries and converted one to leave the spoils shared at no side with both teams on 17 points."