Larne secure bonus point against Academy

McAlister and Burns were the men of the moment as they scored three tries a piece at the weekend. From the outset the Glynn men took a firm grasp on the game and set the pace for the day. McAlister bagged his three tries within the first ten minutes of the game after solid work from the pack at lineout, setting up well worked mauls for the back rower to fall over the line. The backs figures they had to get in on the action and it was not long until Garrett took a quick tap penalty to evade a few would-be defenders to cross the line and secure the bonus point try. Larne had raced into a 26-0 lead after Andrews had slotted a few extras with his accurate left boot.
Academy tried to fight back but never threatened the home sides’ line, a few missed shots at goal did little to boost their hopes of a comeback. The relentless home team began to tire out the visitors and the game started to open up for the backs. McIlheron and Thomas were causing havoc up the middle and out wide allowing Burns to find himself in space on a number of occasions. It did not take long for the full back to get his rewards as his pace saw him glide clear of the Academy defence.

The half time break seemed to favour the Academy team as they came out looking rejuvenated and ready for action. Their experience front row start to put a bit of pressure on the young Larne front five which they had not been doing in the first half. It was clear that there was going to be a bit more of a contest for the remaining 40 minutes. End to end rugby left both teams breathing heavy and opening up the field for the pace men to exploit the space. Burns again did this to great effect and extended the Larne lead closely followed by Andrews crossing after a neat chip over the top. As the home side took the foot off the gas it allowed Academy to cross the line after they sucked the hosts in and moved the ball wide for their pacey winger to cross in the corner. They were then awarded a penalty try after getting the nudge on at a scrum on the Larne 5m line. As the game was already out of sight the Larne men had to ensure that they did not allow Academy to secure a bonus point after scoring their third try, both teams still had a lot to play for. Fortunately, the Larne defence held out, the back row of Hunter, Jamison and Cole tackled everything that moved and forced turn over ball on a number of occasions to allow for McBride and Burns to cross the line respectively.

Final score Larne 57 – 19 Academy.