City of Armagh RFC 13. Old Wesley RFC 40

Saturday 16th November 2019
Report by Evan Morton

City of Armagh suffered a second successive defeat in the All Ireland League on Saturday when Dublin side, Old Wesley outscored the home side by 40 points to 13. The visitors dominated the match from start to finish and maintained their unbeaten run in Division 1B.

Armagh received the kick off but Old Wesley were immediately on the front foot and an early penalty was kicked deep into the Armagh 22. The visitors set up a driving maul from the lineout and hooker Ben Burns broke off to score the game’s opening try with just five minutes on the clock.
Armagh looked to set up some phases but Wesley’s fast line speed prevented any momentum. Indeed it was the visitors who almost scored a second try on 10 minutes but the referee ruled that the final pass was forward. The home side looked to exit from their 22 but failed to find touch and Wesley counter attacked. Armagh did steal the visitor’s lineout but a poor box kick invited more pressure from the visitors.
With 20 minutes on the clock, Old Wesley won a scrum penalty and set up another attacking lineout. This time an overthrow let Armagh off the hook and the home side looked to put some attacking phases together. A knock on out wide saw Wesley back into their stride as they patiently held on to possession and went through multiple phases, keeping the game at a high tempo.
On 35 minutes, the Wesley pressure was turned into points when outhalf Tom Kiersey received the ball on the Armagh 22 and stepped past two defenders to score to the right of the posts. Rory Stynes converted to give the visitors a deserved 12-0 lead.
From the restart, Armagh recovered a loose Wesley pass and set up their best attack of the game.
Wesley conceded a penalty and Cormac Fox got the home side on the scoreboard at 3-12.
From the restart, Armagh’s Whitten and Hanna made good ground into Wesley territory but another handling error saw Wesley finish the half on the offensive as the whistle went for halftime.

Immediately from the restart, Armagh were awarded a penalty for dangerous play and Fox reduced the gap on the scoreboard to 6-12. A few minutes later the home side won a scrum penalty and a high tackle was also penalised, as at last, the home side had momentum to threaten the Wesley defence. Another handling error ended Armagh’s good work and the initiative was handed back to the visitors.
Wesley kicked a penalty down the line and won a second penalty at the lineout. Kiersey kicked into the corner and a well-executed catch and drive saw hooker Burns score his second try of the match.
Stynes converted and with 55 minutes gone, the gap between the sides was now two scores at 6-19.
Ten minutes later Old Wesley scored a carbon copy try and remarkably Burns touched down for his hat-trick of tries. Stynes conversion had Wesley out of sight at 6-26. Armagh’s kicking game was completely inaccurate with hard won possession being repeatedly handed back to the opposition.

Disappointingly, Armagh conceded two further tries in the final 10 minutes. Outhalf Kiersey claimed his brace following a break of 60 metres straight from Armagh’s restart. Substitute Josh Miller converted for 6-33. Armagh looked for a consolation score with 5 minutes remaining but a wild pass went astray and Wesley kicked the ball 70 metres up the pitch to score their sixth and final try.
Miller got his second conversion and 6-40 on the scoreboard was grim for the home supporters.
In injury time, Shea O’Brien did cross for a consolation score for Fox to convert and the final whistle brought a miserable second half to an end for the home side with a final scoreline of 13-40.

This was City of Armagh’s heaviest defeat for several seasons and the collapse over the final thirty minutes gave the Armagh coaching staff plenty to ponder in the coming weeks. The team now takes a week’s rest before a daunting trip to Cork to face top of the table, Highfield RFC.