Valley run in ten tries as they remain five points clear at the top
Clogher Valley 1st XV 68 Limavady 1st XV 12
CLOGHER Valley maintained their relentless push at the top of Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship Division One with a resounding ten-try win over bottom of the table Limavady on Saturday.
The 68-12 victory made it nine wins out of nine for league leaders Clogher, who sit five points clear of secondplaced Ballyclare in the table at the midway stage of the campaign.
Limavady were not relishing a run-out against the in-form team, especially at the Cran, which is becoming a fortress for the Valley.
The game had only started when David Maxwell crashed over on the left touchline to open the scoring for the home side.
He converted his own try and the Valley led after only three minutes.
And 10 minutes later, the score was doubled.
A Valley scrum on the Limavady 22 was secured, David
Sharkey broke, then popped the ball to Corneel Michem, who burst through to score. Maxwell added the extras, and the Valley were up by 14 points.
A few minutes later a Limavady line-out went amiss, and the Valley pounced from deep in their own half, with Taine Haire scoring in the corner. Maxwell added the conversion from the touchline and the Valley led 21-0.
Increased speed
This shook Limavady into action. They increased their speed to the breakdown and spread the ball wide, matching Valley’s pace around the pitch.
They were rewarded with an unconverted try.
Valley, annoyed with their poor defence, struck back immediately from the restart.
They stole a Limavady ball, spread wide and then back inside to Richard Primrose, who muscled his way over from 10 metres out.
David Maxwell added the conversion, and the Valley had their try bonus point.
Minutes later Adam Boles gathered the ball in his own half, leaving the Limavady flanker in his wake. He cruised past the next defender and managed to wriggle past the full back to score right in the corner.
As half time was beckoning, a kick through from Limavady was collected by Ewan Haire. Stepping his way through some defenders, he released his younger brother Taine, who popped to Adam Boles, then back to Ewan Haire to score. Maxwell added the conversion and the Valley led comfortably 40-5.
Limavady, to their credit, kept going and added another score before the interval to bring the score to 40-12.
The crowd expected the flood gates to open in the second half, but this was not to be the case, although Clogher did manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
12 minutes into the second half, a Valley line-out was secured, the maul drove towards the Limavady line and David Sharkey dived over to score. Maxwell added the conversion.
Five minutes later, Limavady expected the Valley to do a repeat at the line-out, but this time the ball was popped out to the backs and Taine Haire danced his way through the defenders to add to the Valley total.
Maxwell added the conversion and the home side led 54-12.
With confidence in the home side at a high, the team started to throw the ball around, mixing backs with forwards.
A fantastic break from
Corneel Michem was stopped 10 metres out, but Kyle Cobane was on hand to take the pass and burst over for another converted Valley try.
As the match was ending, it was the Valley veteran David Sharkey who had the last word, scoring his second try under the posts.
David Maxwell ended a great kicking display with another two points.
Maxwell topped the scoring with 23 points to his name and picked up Player of The Match.
Ten tries to the Valley gave the home side a comfortable 68-12 win over Limavady.
There were four changes to this Valley side, but such is the depth of the squad that it made no difference.
David Sharkey at number 8, Neil Trotter at scrum half, Corneel Michem at inside centre and Michael Bothwell outside centre all came in but it was service as normal.
Their performance will certainly give Coach Stephen Bothwell a selection headache for this week’s All Ireland Junior Cup clash against Cooke at Shaws Bridge.
Elsewhere Clogher Valley 2nd XV had a narrow 31- 28 win over Grosvenor 2nds, Clogher Valley Women had a 20-10 win over Lurgan, and the U-16 Girls had a comfortable 43-5 win over Ballymoney.
ENNISKILLEN 1st XV suffered defeat to visitors City of Derry last Saturday in a disappointing end to a game where they almost clinched a win.
There were glimpses of excellent play as always from the young side, but inconsistency and inexperience seemed the factors which prevented them from closing out a game where they often appeared dominant in many aspects.
Skins’ Head Coach Stevie Welsh was disappointed not to see the game out after they had put themselves in a winning position in the game.
“We were very disappointed. It was one of those days when we were not at our best, but we thought we might have enough to get by. To be leading in the 80th minute and then lose – it was tough to take,” he said.
That is the league now at the halfway stage for Skins and Welsh is still seeking consistency from his players.
“We are nowhere near where we want to be. I said at the start of the year that the key would be consistency for us, and we haven’t found that yet,” he added.
The league though takes a back seat this week as Skins’ focus switches back the All Ireland Junior Cup, and a quarter final encounter against Tipperary’s Kilfeacle.
“Hopefully, we can use the hurt from last week’s loss to push us on this week.
“I have spoke to a few boys about them, and they would seem to be a typical Munster side, but we will just worry about oursleves, and try and start well and get a performance.
“We would obviously like to progress in the competition,” said Welsh.
On Saturday, a poor receipt of the kick-off from Skins gave City of Derry a foot in the game, but a scrum penalty from Warrington, Keenan and Graham relieved the pressure.
A fantastic maul on the halfway then set Skins up deep in the Derry half, but malfunctions at the line-out thwarted efforts to convert the score.
Skins had no issue defending the Derry side, and were winning the physical battle, but the former Senior side showed their experience with a clever kicking game to build pressure despite some immense carrying from James Carleton to get Skins out of their own half.
Eventually Derry were awarded a penalty in kicking range and took the lead, 0-3.
Skins were found with no cover for another kick-in behind afterwards, and this led to the first try for the visitors, 0-10.
After the restart a Sam Balfour counterattack, followed by some excellent attacking interplay from Jack Rutledge to Michael Rooney and James Carleton, brought play immediately deep inside the opposition 22 with apparent ease; a series of carries ended with Neil Rutledge finishing the score, 7-10.
Skins struggled to get out of their half after the restart and soon were penalised at the breakdown, allowing Derry to extend their lead, 7-13.
Excellent pressure from the restart from Skins forced a penalty in front of the posts immediately afterwards however, and they kept on Derry’s heels, 10-13.
The visitors responded with a penalty following a scrappy clearout from Skins, leaving it 10-16 at the end of the half.
The second half was more of an arm wrestle exchange in the middle of the pitch, but it was Derry who extended their lead after crossing from Skins in midfield, slotting a kick from the 10-metre line to build their lead, 10-19.
It didn’t help matters for Skins as they lost their scrum half Matthew Dane and forced a reshuffle.
Skins were resolute, however, and pressured their restart ferociously to set up a period of attack in the Derry half that ended with Matty Graham crossing the line after a series of carries, converted by Hill to trail 17-19.
A well-placed kick from Daire Hill in behind showed cleverer play from
Skins and their attack continued to be relentless, with carries from Keenan and Rooney bringing play near the line before Hill floated a pass to O’shea on the wing for another try, an excellent strike from Hill to convert and take the lead, 24-19.
Skins looked like they’d found their gear now and were set to see the game out, but as play continued in the middle of the park the Derry winger picked up a loose ball at the ruck and ran 50 metres for a soft score, levelling things at 24-24.
The offside Derry defence gave Skins the required three-point attempt and Hill dutifully slotted the kick to take a 27-24 lead with eight minutes to go.
Skins looked very much in control, albeit carrying from their own half.
A kick to relieve pressure sent the ball past the opposition 10-metre line but the chasing defence were rounded by the Derry winger and the attack flooded through for a wellworked counter, ending in an agonising final play score and a severe blow to Enniskillen, 27-31.