Larne 3rds in fine form v Randalstown

Facing off against a sizeable pack it the Glynn men would have a challenge playing a forwards game, but the determination to prove they were up to the task was evident right from the kick off from all 15.

Randalstown received the kick off and immediately received huge hits from Larne forwards holding them back in their own half. As the visitors turned over the ball and launched their own attack the home side showed great strength in defence and allowed Larne precious few yards and very nearly turning the ball over with strong counter rucking.

Larne held on and slowly advanced towards the try line before opening the scoring with Knox slotting over a penalty for 3.

Randalstown soon repaid the favour in kind and levelled the score. Both sides tried using the pack to crash the ball through the defence but with each seeing evenly matched it took a cross field kick to set up the platform leading to one of Larne’s first scores crashing the ball over from a overthrown Randalstown line-out.

The visitors added another 2 tries before the break, including a superb score from winger Bell who chipped the full back and chased the ball to score under the posts.

The second half started brightly for Larne with a few players repositioned and bar a few moments of complacency they seemed to dominate the rest of the game.

N. Kelso, G. Gaw and J. McGeachy using brute strength to attack the center and A. Darragh and Knox slipping inside tackles to gain valuable yards combined with the rumbling power of the forwards in the maul and the air superiority of S. McDowell in the line-out all combined to give Larne five unanswered tries before the end of the game.

J. Bell almost added another fantastic try to his man of the match performance, running from his own 22 before being brought down 10m from the line.

Gaw could have increased the visiting try tally as well as he crossed the white wash after another cross field kick but the referee ruled him to have knocked the ball on rather than having downward pressure.

Larne rounded out the game with 47 points to Randalstown’s 3.

A very encouraging performance from the Larne side, building well on the previous weeks win. Although it’s still very early on in the season and there are still many improvements to come it’s an extremely positive start to the season.

Larne: A. Ferguson, B. Meikle, C. Oakley, M. Knox, J. McNee, S. McDowell, K. Rea, G. Liddle, A. Darragh, G. Knox, G. Gaw, J. McGeachy, N. Kelso, J. Bell, B. Blair, G. Hardy, A. McNeill, M. Cooke