Larne 1st XV off to winning Gordown West start

Playing into a stiff breeze in the first half the Larne men did well to control majority of possession. However, a few harsh penalties allowed Lurgan to take an early lead against the run of play. This only fuelled the Larne men and some great lines of running from Scott Montgomery putting the team in good field position.

Having sucked the Lurgan backs in it gave the opportunity to Phil Andrews to float a wide pass to Chris Moore to score the first of his two tries on his debut for the 1st XV.

This was the break Larne needed to get things moving in their direction. Gary Mills soon crashed over for the first of his three tries on what was an impressive return to the team after a year away. Good defence particularly from Jamison and Wright prevented the Lurgan men from crossing the line.

Score at half time was 15-9 to Larne with Lurgan well and truly in the game. With plenty left in the tank going into the second half Larne shifted up a few gears and proved too much for the opposition.

With the pack being dominant in the scrum it gave Larne plenty of ball to work from. Tries soon followed from Garrett, Rea and Montgomery. The final score ended up 48-12 but plenty to work on going into next week.

A tough game away to Holywood in the first of the league fixtures will be one of the biggest tests of the season and hopefully the side can get off to a winning start in the league campaign also.

Larne 1sts: C. Rea, C. Gibson, S. McWhirter, J. Cole, C. McKinty, G. Jamison, G. Wright, E. Hunter, R. McIlheron, P. Andrews, C. Moore, G. Mills, A. McBride, S. Montgomery, R. Garrett