Quick tries by Harlequins sets up win against Larne

A slow start for Larne saw them concede 3 early tries to a strong Harlequins offence and lose M. Gilbert to injury, J. McCluggage stepping in to take his place.

This only served to fire up the Larne spirit and had Stuart Johnston carve a path through the Harlequins defense to score beside the posts.

The remainder of the half saw Larne and Harlequins trading tries, with C. Aston going over in the corner after some delightful passing from the backs and J. McCluggage running in under the posts after stepping and handing off several defenders. It also saw J. Shirley leaving the game through injury to be replaced by R. Adair on the stroke of halftime.

The second half started a lot better than the first for Larne, who now had switched on and were fighting hard to level the score. Solid defending from the forwards around the ruck prevented Harlequins from forcing their way through in that area and instead resorted to using the full force of their pack by mauling the ball over the line to open the scoring again.

Larne responded quickly when forward R. Adair found himself out in the back line and sold a dummy to the opposition before dancing round them to score.

As in the first half both teams traded tries again. Larne being awarded a penalty try and S. Marshall scoring under the posts after Harlequins were sold another dummy. This left Larne 7 points behind with 10 minutes left.

Larne set up to attack the 'Quins line in the hopes of punching through using the strength of McCluggage and the speed of Murray and Jason Johnson but in a cruel twist the ball fell loose and was pounced upon but Harlequins who ran it in to score the final try of the game.

Another good performance by the Larne squad despite the score line.

Line-up: J. Butler, B. Meikle, M. Gilbert, Z. Bartley, A. Ferguson, R. Lough, A. Darragh, Stuart Johnston, A. O'Toole, S. Marshall, J. Shirley, Jamie Johnson, A. Murray, S. McAllister, C. Aston, J. McCluggage, R. Adair