Naas RFC 17 City of Armagh RFC 18
Saturday 20 November 2021
Report by Richard Black

Matches against Naas have always been very tight affairs and last Saturday’s game in Naas was no different. It was an under strength City of Armagh team that travelled, with several enforced changes from the previous week. In the front row Jack Treanor came in for Johnny Morton who was ill, and with Philip Fletcher out with a knee problem, Peter Lamb and Paul Mullan were the two props. Alongside Josh McKinley was Sam Glasgow, who came in for his brother John who was permitted to play 20 minutes by the Irish under 20s management. The back row was still missing Nigel Simpson so Ryan O’Neill was at 7, with James Hanna and Neil Faloon making up the combination.
Gerard Treanor started at 9 for the first time this season and Harry Boyd slotted in at outhalf. Chris Colvin and Mathew Hooks formed the midfield partnership with Andrew Willis and Club captain Timmy McNiece on the wings with Kyle Faloon at full back. Jack Sleator and Aaron Whyte were the front row cover with John Glasgow and Ryan Morton on the bench along with Evin Crummie and Alex Johnston.
Armagh lost the toss and played down the slope in very dismal conditions. With 4 minutes on the clock, Peter Osborne, the Naas captain, slotted over a penalty, awarded for James Hanna not rolling away in the tackle. The first quarter remained evenly balanced with Kyle Faloon bravely covering a dangerous kick through by Naas after a pass went astray. On 16 minutes, a missed tackle in the centre of the field allowed Naas to score the game’s opening try when Brian Cloke crossed out wide for an unconverted try and an 8 – 0 lead.
The Armagh lineout was functioning well with McKinley, O’Neill and Hanna all getting a chance to catch and drive. Armagh got back into the game on 20 minutes with excellent hands from the three quarters, putting Andrew Willis into space and the winger crossed in the corner. Faloon missed the conversion but leveled the score on 29 minutes with a successful penalty. Shortly after, Ryan O’Neil was yellow carded for deliberate knock on and Naas kicked to the corner and tried their rolling maul from a lineout. A score looked inevitable but the referee then penalized Naas for obstruction. Armagh got back down the pitch and in first half injury time, Faloon put daylight between the teams with a well struck penalty to edge the visitors ahead.
Half time scoreline, Naas 8 Armagh 11.
Two minutes into the second half, Armagh’s Chris Colvin was penalised for a deliberate knock on and Osborne obliged with a simple kick to tie the match at 11 all. Naas had made the brighter start to the second half and on 50 minutes, regained the lead with another Osborne penalty, 14-11. On 62 minutes Osborne stretched Naas further ahead, 17-11, with another kick and Neil Faloon received a yellow card so for 20 minutes of the game Armagh had to play with 14 men.
From the restart, Naas spilled the ball and Ryan Morton made a good charge, setting up a good attacking position. Kyle Faloon moved the ball to the right wing where Andrew Willis beat the defensive cover to score from 25 metres for his second try of the match. The crucial conversion from Kyle Faloon went in off the post and Armagh now had a slender lead 17-18 with 15 minutes remaining. Faloon then missed a penalty from an identical position but it was City of Armagh who finished the match strongly. A loose pass was collected by Faloon on the half way line and the fullback made a great line break before being tackled 5 metres short of the tryline.
On 76 minutes a Naas player was red carded for a head on tackle on Ryan O’Neill, who after several minutes of attention had to leave the field. Armagh played out the last few minutes of the game in the Naas 22 with Peter Lamb almost getting across for a third try. The final whistle went and City of Armagh had won a crucial game following two defeats.
In terms of individual performances, the front row played the entire 80 minutes, with Jack Treanor throwing well in the lineout and both Mullan and Lamb running good lines. Josh McKinley was immense in the lineout and well supported by Sam Glasgow until he was injured. He was replaced by Ryan Morton who had a great game tackling anything that moved and chasing kick offs. The back row of James Hanna, Ryan O’Neil and Neil Faloon got through a mountain of work and when John Glasgow come on in the last quarter, he carried well. Scrum half Gerard Treanor controlled things well and gave a smart service to Harry Boyd and the outhalf mixed his game very cleverly. Centres, Matthew Hooks and Chris Colvin always posed a threat and their defence was superb. Andrew Willis took his two tries extremely well and Timmy McNeice was sound under the high ball. Kyle Faloon was a handful all day. All in all this was a great team performance and keeps City of Armagh in the top four at the top end of the league table.
Head Coach Chris Parker commented “it was encouraging to see a reaction from the team after our below par performance against Navan. An AIL win on the road can be hard to come by and Forenaughts is a difficult place to earn a victory. We are delighted to come away with the points against a very good Naas side. We look forward now to welcoming Malone to the Palace Grounds this Saturday for an Ulster derby match.”
This Saturday’s match against Malone kicks off and 2.30pm and a big Armagh support will be needed to encourage the team.