Good away victory for Larne men

In atrocious weather conditions the Larne side knew that the tie could be a potential banana skin as the potential for flowing rugby was limited.

However, this didn’t seem to bother the Larne men who from the onset ran the ball at every opportunity. The back row of Wright, McCluggage and Hunter were prevalent from the onset breaking the gain line, though final passes and lack of support couldn’t allow the men in red to cross the whitewash.

Ill discipline allowed Monaghan off the hook and their outhalf used his large boot to clear the lines. Monaghan then made a break and were heading for the line only to be stopped by superb defence from Jordan Burns.

As Monaghan kept the pressure on they were awarded a penalty which they converted for 3 nil lead. Frustration crept in to the Larne side and the aggravation was leading to errors. However, a fortuitous handling error allowed Aaron McBride to break through from a kick through to pounce on the ball over the line. McBride converted.

The Larne mens tails were now up. As they continued to attack a neat move off the back of the scrum saw McIlheron make a break who popped to Garrett who sprinted off making sure he wasn’t caught in case he got his shirt dirty, for a piece of individual brilliance. Larne went in to half time 12-3 in front.

At the start of the second half Larne knew they had to get on the score sheet first. It was at this stage they grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. The Larne lineout was working well and Crampsey was becoming a commanding presence in the loose. As Monaghan cleared their lines, Larne’s big wingers Thomas and Mills ran the ball back like rampaging bullocks put out to fresh spring grass.

They were a constant threat breaking gain line after gain line. Garrett at full back was striking the ball cleanly and keeping Monaghan deep in their half. Larne got on the score sheet through McAlister after Larne clamped themselves in the home sides 22 after a good driving maul from a lineout.

As gaps appeared Larne were rampaging up the muddy pitch. As they spun the ball wide loose head prop Chris Rea was standing at the outside centre position. The man from Carnalbanagh took off like a whippet to race in for a well taken score. As the Monaghan heads began to drop Larne began to dominate upfront and after a series of scrums McIlheron put Rhys Thomas in for a well deserved try in the corner.

With ten minutes remaining Larne kept the home side deep in their half with McBride controlling things with the boot. As the pressure mounted young prop Sam McWhirter burst through a few tacklers to score. McBride converted.

As the game continued the conditions worsened and the final few minutes became littered with handling errors. Larne ran out winners 39-3.

A much improved performance from that against Lurgan a fortnight ago. Lots of positives and lots of things to work on. However, the team look forward to go in to next weeks Towns Cup game against Omagh just to see where they are at as a team this season.

Larne Team 1-15 C Rea, R McAlister, S McWhirter, J Cole, M Crampsey, J McCluggage, G Wright, E Hunter, R McIlheron, A McBride, R Thomas, S Montgomery, J Burns, G Mills, R Garrett