Armaghu16 vs Virginia (match report)

On the coldest St Patrick’s day known to memory Armagh took on Virginia in which was a confrontational and physical encounter. The game started off brightly for Armagh in particular as they retained possession and looked very comfortable in the opening minutes.
This was further backed up by a solid and great solo effort from James Crummie off the base of the scrum that put Armagh ahead 5-0. The conversion kick was unsuccessful, however it proved to be a difficult day to kick with the strong wind at the Mid-Ulster arena.

Virginia battled hard to get back into the game and were rightly rewarded as they pressurised Armagh’s defence which has been rarely breached this year. Through slick handling from the backline Virginia scored in the left corner through their dangerous centre partnership which proved to be a good combination all day long for them. This was quickly followed up by a score for Virginia’s right winger off a solid set-piece and slick handling once again. The score was now 10-5 and the next score was vital for either side.

Armagh bounced back on the eve of half time after kicking to the corner and going for a score rather than 3 points. They were rewarded through the score of hooker of RJ McCall who dotted the ball down after a great rolling maul set up. The score at Half time was now 10-10.

In the second half the Armagh boys played with great pride and commitment. However an unusually high penalty count stopped them from gaining some real momentum and Virginia were tough to break down and played some good offloading rugby. Virginia benefited and kicked a penalty to go ahead 13-10 with just over 10 minutes to go. Armagh retained possession well for an extended spell and reaped the reward with a very well taken score from Dylan Fox which set up a grand stand finish with 4 minutes left on the clock.

Armagh received the kick off and dealt with it well. However more drama was apparent when Virginia turned the ball over only to knock on. From the next scrum Armagh were penalised and the penalty kick was opted by Virginia which was sweetly struck to make the score 16-15 with injury time left. Armagh pounced and went hard at Virginia for the remainder but ultimately came up short.

The game went to Virginia who fully deserved their win. The Armagh players played with great courage throughout and should be proud of their performance. This will set the guys up well for the cup campaign and not unlike the league they will enter this competition as strong contenders.