Armagh1 v Old Belvedere Match Report 19-10-2109

21 Oct 2019 by City of Armagh Rugby Club

City of Armagh RFC 26 Old Belvedere RFC 28

Saturday 19th October 2019
Report by Evan Morton

In perfect Autumnal conditions on Saturday , City of Armagh hosted undefeated Old Belvedere at the Palace Grounds. In a pulsating match, the Dublin side denied Armagh a bonus point win with a dramatic penalty in injury time to snatch the points.

The game began at a high tempo and Belvedere captain, Steve Crosbie made a line break after two minutes, bringing play into Armagh territory. The home side managed to win a turnover and outhalf Cormac Fox cleared the danger. The early pressure came from the visitors and it was soon clear they wanted to play an expansive game. Armagh’s first attack of the match came when winger Shea O’Brien latched on to a box kick from Gerard Treanor. The home side spread the ball with Barry Finn leading the way, but a knock on brought an end to the opportunity.
With 13 minutes on the clock, Armagh were awarded a free kick following a scrum on halfway and quick thinking saw Fox and Chris Colvin combine to send Shea O’Brien away and the young winger ran in from 25 metres for the opening try of the match. The conversion was not on target but Armagh led 5-0, largely against the run of play. Unfortunately Colvin had to leave the field injured and Johnny Pollock came into the game at centre.
Armagh knocked on from the restart and Old Belvedere immediately returned to the attack and put the home side under considerable pressure. The visitors gained their reward when winger James McKeown sent fullback Jack Keating through to score to the left of the posts for Crosbie to convert.
Ahead 5-7, the Dublin side stretched their lead on 20 minutes to 5-10 when Crosbie converted a penalty from 30 metres.
Armagh were penalised for offside from the restart and the slick Old Belvedere backline soon had play deep in Armagh territory. The home side were struggling to get decent possession and were defending their tryline as the Belvedere pack looked to get a second try. Eventually a handling error let Armagh off the hook and a scrum penalty saw Fox put a great clearance kick up to halfway.

From being on the rack in their 22, Armagh then conjured up a terrific try. It was instigated by second row James Hanna breaking through the Belvedere defensive line on halfway. Flanker, Barry Finn made more yards before quick hands fed winger Andrew Willis to cross in the right corner.
An excellent conversion from Fox, edged Armagh ahead 12-10 with 25 minutes played.
Old Belvedere then had a great opportunity to retake the lead when a clever grubber kick behind the Armagh line was kicked ahead but O’Brien rescued the situation for the home team and the danger was cleared.
A lineout on the Armagh 22 gave Belvedere another attacking opportunity and they went to the maul, driving towards the Armagh line. The home side were harshly penalised in front of their posts and Crosbie kicked the points to give Belvedere a single point lead with five minutes to the break.
The home side then had a spell of pressure in the Old Belvedere 22 and the Armagh forwards had a series of pick and drives in front of the Belvedere posts. A penalty to the visitor’s saw a lost opportunity for Armagh and a quick counter attack saw Belvedere break upfield and only a forward pass prevented a certain try in this enthralling game.
The whistle went for halftime and it was Old Belvedere who held the narrowest of leads, 12-13.

The second half commenced with Neil Faloon replacing Barry Finn in the Armagh pack. A couple of early penalties gave Armagh momentum but Fox was wide with an attempt from 35 metres. Despite initial pressure from the home side, errors were creeping into their game and they were punished on 50 minutes when Belvedere won a turnover on their 10 metre line. Fullback Jack Keating showed his electric pace to chip over the Armagh fullback and touch down in the right hand corner. Crosbie then kicked a superb touchline conversion and Belvedere were now ahead 12-20.

Armagh secured possession from the restart through Pollock and Mullen and O’Hagen carried well before the ball was spread swiftly to the right wing where Andrew Willis showed his strength to beat three defenders and cross under the posts for his second try of the match. The conversion by Fox had Armagh back in contention at 19-20 with 53 minutes played.
Old Belvedere showed their attacking prowess yet again and less than five minutes after Armagh’s score, Keating completed his hat-trick of tries, when he found space in the Armagh defence to gather a crossfield kick and touch down. Crosbie’s conversion attempt hit the post but the Leinster side now led 19-25.
The large crowd of supporters were being treated to an outstanding display of entertaining rugby from both teams. The home side raised their efforts yet again and had a couple of chances from attacking lineouts in Belvedere territory. A knock on and a lost lineout saw these chances come to nothing but undeterred, the Orchard County side were still attacking strongly as the game moved into the final quarter.
On 68 minutes, Armagh’s enterprise was rewarded with their fourth and bonus point try. Belvedere were defending desperately against waves of Armagh pressure. Tim McNeice was almost over following a crossfield kick and when the ball was spread wide, Willis was stopped just short of the tryline. Replacement hooker Andrew Smyth however was in support to cross for a try from short range. The crucial conversion was kicked superbly by Cormac Fox and remarkably, City of Armagh had crept into the lead 26-25.

With five minutes remaining the home supporters were optimistic of a dramatic home victory as Armagh continued to attack in Belvedere territory. Keating made a break out of defence but was tackled into touch on half way. The Armagh throw in was not straight and Belvedere sensed they had a final chance to rescue the match. When Armagh won a turnover, they had two minutes to wind down the clock for victory. Unfortunately the team showed naïve tactics by putting in a box kick and Belvedere took possession with delight. A knock on by the visitors seem to end their hopes but following the Armagh scrum, they gained possession one final time and almost inevitably a penalty was awarded at a ruck to the attacking side. Crosbie stepped up and converted the 40 metre kick to win the match for Old Belvedere in injury time in the most dramatic fashion.
The final whistle went and City of Armagh had lost 26-28.

The Armagh coaching team praised the team’s efforts after the match for their tremendous effort and two bonus points was some consolation, however the general consensus was, this was a match City of Armagh had in their sights for a famous victory against a side that has aspirations for 1A rugby next season. Coach Willie Faloon was disappointed with his side’s poor game management in that final five minutes but with 10 points after three games, Armagh have started their league programme well.
The team now takes a week’s rest before two difficult away fixtures. The first of these is at Navan on Saturday November 2nd with Shannon in Limerick to follow on November 9th.

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