ULSTER RUGBY PROVINCIAL EAST
ARDS 2XV 26
LARNE 2XV 22
ARDS Rugby Club’s 2nd XV welcomed Larne to Hamilton Park for their first home game of the season.
After registering an away win in their Provincial East opener last week, coach Simon Hamilton was expecting another solid performance this week against a Larne side who have always given Ards teams a good, physical contest.
To combat this, a strong side was selected with Colin McClure, Matthew Patton and Hayden Hamilton earning starts up front with Nathan Bell starting in the back row. In the back line, Ethan Barrett started at out half with an experienced centre pairing of Oren Kisby and Aaron May which were hoping to unleash a dangerous back three of Adam Cooke, Matt McFarland and Ethan Bell.
Ards received the kick off, playing towards Scrabo in the first half. The opening exchanges showed a little rustiness from both sides, unable to hold the ball for consecutive phases. Ards grew into the game, making more dominant carries through skipper Gareth McBurney, Patton and Kisby.
When the opportunity arose, the Ards backline clicked into gear with good hands making ground and only a knock on preventing more ground being made. Larne began to grow into the game, putting their forward pack into gear testing the Ards defensive line which held strong.
Repeated penalties from Larne found Ards inside the visitors’ half. The lineout, with Gray and Edgar controlling operations, saw the maul cause Larne problems and found Ards in the Larne red zone. Good carries from the Ards forwards then allowed Barrett, May and Bell to put Adam Cooke in for a well taken, unconverted try in the corner.
Repeated penalties in the Ards half from the kick off saw Larne spend time with ball in hand. Good defence from Ards enabled them to make inroads through the elusive running of Ethan Bell and May, before a messy Larne lineout somehow saw the ball land in the Larne scrum half’s hand who raced in to score, converted, from the 22.
Ards failed to clean up the restart and Larne camped in their half for a period, trying to get their big forward pack on the front foot. However, Ards protected their defensive line well. A succession of penalties saw Larne have a shot at goal, from which they failed to capitalise. As the half neared its conclusion, repeated penalties from Larne saw Ards camped in the opposition half. Big forward carries from Patton, McBurney and a rampaging Hamilton set the tone.
From a five-metre tap and go penalty, Hayden Hamilton burrowed over to score, skittling Larne’s big forwards out of the way. Converted by Ethan Bell, Ards were 12-7 ahead at the break.
The second half started with Ards settling well with good ball carrying from Ward, Hamilton, McFarland and Kisby and only a lack of finesse in the final pass letting Larne off the hook. After Ards put multiple phases together, quick hands found Matt McFarland in an outside channel who went off on a weaving and then direct run to score under the posts from distance. It was converted by Bell for a 19-7 lead.
More robust defence from Ards saw Larne looking to exploit the wider channels in search of a reply and they were rewarded with an unconverted score out wide.
Ards knew they needed to get an immediate response and were gifted a scrum after more defensive efforts from the forwards.
A knock on from Ards off a lineout led to a Larne scrum, from which a blindside play was picked off by Adam Cooke who ran in untouched from the 22. Bell’s conversion good, Ards’ lead was extended to 26-12.
As the game entered the last 15 minutes Larne began to build pressure in the Ards half, with multiple penalties conceded by the home side. A blindside play from a scrum saw the Larne number eight go over for an unconverted try as they narrowed the gap.
Larne would have the final say and set up a nerve wracking final few minutes with more robust Ards defence forcing the away team to play in the wider channels which brought about another unconverted score.
Ards, although winning the game, did leave try scoring chances which on another day would have been taken. A good week at training this week will set them up for another contest, this time against Academy seconds at Hamilton Park alongside the 1st XV who face the same opponents in an intriguing double header.
Both games kick-off at 2.30pm.
Changing of the guard
ULSTER RUGBY REGIONAL EAST 1
ARDS 3XV 26
LARNE 3XV 0
LAST Saturday was the first outing of the 2024-25 season and also a new era for Ards’ 3rd XV.
Many of the older ‘Black Knights’ have hung up the boots and have been replaced by youth, with only a sprinkling of the more senior players and their experience starting or warming the bench.
Thirds manager for the last eight seasons, Stuart Stevenson, has moved into the position of club chairman and has been ably replaced by club stalwart David Armstrong. A sign of change at Hamilton Park and great to see the young men coming through leading the club into the future.
Ards applied pressure from the start, but some lazy clear-outs saw several penalties go against, with Larne making no headway. David Hunter was supreme in the lineout, leaping like a salmon all day and winning his and opposition ball.
Eventually pressure told with a good pick-up from Lewis English seeing him drive through. A clean out and a change in direction lead to the opening score from hooker Robert Dougan, which was converted by captain Paul Cox.
Larne came back hard and some careless play from Ards saw Larne pressurise the line, but the home defence was resolute and Larne were not getting through the black wall in front of them. A welcome return to an Ards shirt saw Lewis English leading the charge with some impressive tackling.
After some scrappy play, Ards managed to regain composure and with some good lineout ball set up several drives from Davey Reid, who turned in an impressive performance. He was followed by fellow veteran Gary Presho and young blood in Lewis Gordon.
They set up quick ball and Gareth Wilson popped to English on the charge who bulldozed through the Larne defence to score under the posts. Cox converted and Ards increased their lead to 14-0.
The pressure was soon back on the Ards 22, however the men in black were not letting their line be breached and some last ditch tackling saw a turnover as Cox cannoned the ball safely into touch.
Debutant Harry Cowan, playing his first ever game of rugby, scythed through the Larne defence after the restart, showing some dazzling footwork that would not have been out of place on Strictly Come Dancing and only a last-ditch grab at his jersey saw him caught short of a debut try.
The ruck was good and some intricate play saw a cross field kick, which Ross Copeland was able to field. He stepped inside the defender and was able to offload to younger brother Ryan who powered in the corner for try number three of the day.
Ards were now in total control and more pressure saw penalty after penalty awarded for collapsed mauls from lineouts. The referee was reluctant to take further action, so Ards decided to run. Ryan Gawley and Lewis Gordon were powerful up front, breaking the gain-line. Two phases later and Dougan was in under the posts for his brace and the bonus point was secured. Cox converted for 26-0.
For the rest of the game, both teams cancelled each other out, but some noteworthy mentions are due. Josh Browne was outstanding, especially when he selflessly filled in on the wing instead of his usual second row berth. Coach Adam Faloon also made an appearance and showed some majestic manoeuvring through the Larne defence, leaving a trail of missed Larne tackles.
Gary Dempsey rolled back the years as he came on in the second half and was rampaging around the pitch like a player literally half his age.
The game ended with an unfortunate injury to Ross Copeland and we hope for a swift recovery. All in all, a great start to the season for the 3rd XV with a lot of players dusting off the cobwebs in their first game.
New manager David Armstrong deserves a shout out too for banding together a mighty bunch this early on in proceedings. Next up for the thirds is a north Down derby against Bangor in a fortnight’s time.
