City of Armagh Youth team’s clean sweep of success 6th Oct 2018 Commitment to squad training played a big part in victories for all three City of Armagh youth teams in action at the Palace Grounds on Saturday when Virginia from Co. Cavan provided a stern test for all teams.

It was a beautiful sunny morning for rugby as the second round of league matches kicked off with spectators looking forward to the action.

The U18 match proved to be a real thriller with end to end action. Despite being one player short, the Armagh team played some scintillating rugby to race into a 26 nil half time lead. A stern team talk from the Virginia coaching team sparked a revival in the second period from the visitors and remarkably they fought back to lead 36-38 with five minutes remaining. The home side called on their fighting spirit and in the final minute, Arran White scored the decisive try to win the match for Armagh 43-38.

Try scorers for Armagh were Steenson, Devlin, Fox and Hannaway in a memorable win.

City of Armagh U16s defeated Virginia 18-0 with another fine performance. With the whole squad getting game time, Philip Nicholl, Lee Nesbitt and Sam Glasgow crossed the white line following a dominant display by the Armagh pack. Strong set piece play and quick hands across the backs allowed Armagh to prevail against a strong Virginia side.

Not to be outdone, City of Armagh U14s also had a thrilling end to end match with Virginia before emerging victorious 44-33. In a very entertaining match with 13 tries, the result hung in the balance right until the last few minutes. Armagh looked the stronger and best drilled team however defensive lapses cost them dearly and Virginia were able to score tries from Armagh mistakes. Adam Redmond and Matthew Morrison scored late tries to seal the match and complete a good day’s work for the City of Armagh youth sides.