Photo courtesy of InTouch Rugby.

The long bus journey meant the Larne men didn’t have their usual pre-match warm up and they started the game in slow fashion which allowed the home side to enjoy some early field position.

It was not long until Donegal took the lead when a soft penalty allowed them an easy shot at goal right in front of the posts. Larne looked a little weary and heavy footed, however, the travelling support were in fine voice and lifted the spirits for the men from the east.

From the restart Donegal gave away a silly penalty for an offside player collecting a knock on, Garrett pointed for the posts and duly converted. The scores were level but it was evident that the Larne men were still not firing on all cylinders. On a number of occasions we were guilty of taking the opposition for granted as the backs tried to run the ball for deep, solo efforts were punished by lack of support.

An error then gave the Donegal captain a chance to go on a rampaging run seeing off a number of would-be defenders. This opened space for the Donegal outside backs to slip into a hole and score under the posts. Donegal led 10-3 half way through the first half.
Larne re-grouped under the posts, a stern talking to from coach Wilson seemed to put the heads in the right place. The set piece began to dominated, solid scrummaging from the front row of Lough, McAlister and Johnston saw not only clean ball on the Larne put in, but a few turnovers come our way.

Aston began to bring the forwards into play as we got some front foot ball, great carries from Hunter and Knox seen the visitors break through on a number of occasions and it was not long before the pressure told.

Garrett added another penalty before tries in quick succession from Aston and McKinty really set the Larne team alight.

Confidence began to grow and fitness was also a large factor as the home side were showing early signs of fatigue in the first half.

From here on in Larne had the lions share of possession, played some great rugby to reward the travelling supporters and give them something to cheer for. McKinty ran another superb line to score his second of the day along with Burns showing great pace to get on the score sheet before half time. Garrett added all the conversions to leave the half time score 10 – 34.

The break only seemed to favour Larne and they came out of the traps like fifteen greyhounds after a hare at Drumbo. Everyone wanted a piece of the action but did well to retain shape and play the game on our own terms. Thomas and Mills reeked havoc with rampaging runs through the centre and up the wing.

As more gaps began to open Aston started to control the game and bring in runners off his shoulder. Thomas soon picked up his first of the day and the second half followed again by McKinty to complete his hat trick. Garrett again added the extras to maintain the 100% record for the day, soon to follow with his own try but unfortunately could not convert.

Cameron set off on a run, making his début for the 1st, to set up Thomas’ second of the afternoon and unfortunate to pick up a broken nose for his efforts which saw the end to his game. Clearly in the scoring form, straight from kick off, the ball was spread wide and Thomas again went over under the sticks to also complete his hat trick for the afternoon.

The Donegal captain informed the ref that they would play ten more minutes, but as Burns collected from kick off and went the length of the pitch to complete his brace they decided to call it a day. Conversions added the final score end at 10 – 74.

A well deserved victory for the Larne team after a slow start and they will look to continue this form next week against Belfast High School Former Pupils in the Gordon West Cup.