Larne Win First Leg of Hawkins Cup

With a good crowd gathering for the occasion, both sides were fired up before the match. From receiving the kick off the home side did not take long to establish some early field position and put pressure on the Carrick line.

An early penalty allowed Andrews to step up to the mark and give a 3-0 lead. There was a welcomed return of second row Steven McReynolds to the Larne pack and he put in an inspired performance both attack and defence.

The home side again exerted more pressure and it was not long before they crossed the whitewash. Patient phase play allowed Larne to get close to the line and McAlister went over in the corner for a close range score.

The Qualifying 2 side then came back into the game, strong carries from their number 8 proved a threat and took more than one man to bring him down on every occasion. Hard work by the back row of Cole, McIlheron and Hunter seen a lot of the Carrick efforts thwarted. Both sides had chances before the half time whistle but nothing more than a few penalties came and Larne went into the break with an advantage of 11-6.

Larne played with the wind in the second half and the plan was to use it to their advantage. From the kick off a good chase by Crampsey saw the ball fumbled and Larne recovered it. They set up some quick ball and worked hard round the corner. A quick change of direction saw a break down the left wing and a neat pass out the back door by Montgomery saw McReynolds go over in the corner.

The game then came to a bit of a deadlock on the Larne line as Carrick dominated the scrum.

Lucky not to concede a penalty try the home side did well not to let the rivals cross the whitewash.

Mills picked up a yellow card for a deliberate knock down near his own line which left his team mates knowing they would have to work that little bit harder to see the match out.

As the ball was cleared down field Carrick set up a counter attack down their left wing. The ball was dropped and Garrett was the first to react to sprint away from 60 meters and dot the ball under the posts. Andrews made the conversion to leave the final score 23-6.

The game was played in great spirits by both sides and we look forward to the return fixture at Woodburn at Christmas.

Team - C. Gibson, R. McAlister, W. Rea, M. Crampsey, S. McReynolds, J. Cole, M. McIlheron, E. Hunter, R. Garrett (c), P. Andrews, S. Montgomery, G. Mills, J. Burns, M. Agnew, J. Hall. Replacements - S. McWhirter, J. Nelson

Fixtures for Saturday 20th September: Larne 1sts v Ophir in Gordon West Cup, Randalstown v Larne 3rds.