Ulster Bank League Division 1B Playoff Final
City of Armagh 32 Nenagh Ormond 22

Saturday 28th April 2018

A large crowd turned out to see a thrilling Division 1B promotion playoff final at the Palace Grounds on Saturday with City of Armagh securing their place in the second tier of Irish club rugby for the first time in their history. Both sides had won the away fixture in their league encounters, with over 50 points being shared in each game, so all was set for a tight affair in this decisive fixture.

It was the visitors who started brightest, gaining slight dominance at the set piece and this resulted in an 8th minute penalty from fullback Clayton Stewart to open the scoring at 0-3. Armagh responded almost immediately when a rolling maul in the Nenagh 22 saw the pack drive over the line for Stuart Hooks to touch down. Outhalf Cormac Fox converted from near the touchline to give Armagh a 7-3 lead. The lead was extended further when after absorbing a period of pressure from Nenagh, the ball was turned over and Armagh broke from deep with both backs and forwards taking play into the Nenagh 22. After a number of phases the ball was spread wide for winger Robbie Faloon to touch down in the corner. Fox made no mistake with the difficult conversion and Armagh were now ahead 14-3 with 25 minutes on the clock.

On 28 minutes Nenagh narrowed the gap to 14-6 with another Stewart penalty and seven minutes later, a penalty try saw the visitors right back in the match at 14-13.
From the restart Nenagh infringed at a breakdown and Fox converted the penalty to stretch Armagh’s lead to 4 points. In the final minute of the first half, Nenagh tried to run the ball from deep but Armagh’s captain Chris Colvin was able to intercept and offload for Robbie Faloon to get his second try of the match. Fox was in superb kicking form and again converted for Armagh to lead 24-13 at the interval.

The second half commenced with Armagh controlling possession and territory and edged further ahead on 43 minutes with a Fox penalty. The young outhalf slotted over another penalty five minutes later and Armagh were now comfortably ahead 30-13. Nenagh however had come back from similar positions to win matches and it was no surprise when they mounted a fight-back. Firstly, Clayton Stewart converted a penalty to bring the score to 30-16 and then a try through skipper John Healy brought Nenagh within a converted try at 30-23.
With ten minutes of the match remaining, the massive home support were nervous as Nenagh threw everything at the home side. Armagh however dug deep and a dogged and resilient defensive display ensured the visitors were penned back in their own half. The pressure exerted from the home team paid off when the referee penalised Nenagh for not releasing.
The clock was in the red by this stage and Cormac Fox kept his 100% record off the tee and sent the ball sailing between the uprights for a personal tally of 18 points on the day.
The referee brought the game to a close with the ten point victory for Armagh sparking huge celebrations at the Palace Grounds.

The Armagh coaching team were full of praise for the entire squad which delivered promotion to 1B next season. As expected, it took an immense performance to overcome a tough Nenagh Ormond side. Willie Faloon commented after the match, “we are all proud of the boys and the effort displayed today was a great credit to the club. Our defensive effort in the final ten minutes was crucial to secure the victory.”

Club President, John Lennon congratulated the coaching team and players for making history in bringing Division One rugby to City of Armagh. “Two successive promotions are exceptional at this level and the dedication and commitment from everyone involved, both on and off the pitch, is a great credit top our Club. This has been an exceptional season and it’s not finished just yet.”

City of Armagh’s final match of the season is the SONI Ulster Premiership League decider, away to Malone on Tuesday night, kicking off at 7.45pm.