City of Armagh RFC 7 Lansdowne RFC 22

Bateman Cup semi-final
January 8th 2022
Report by Evan Morton

On Saturday, City of Armagh welcomed Lansdowne RFC to their first ever match at the Palace grounds. The occasion was the semi-final of the Bateman Cup and the two teams had met in the 2020 semi-final down in Dublin, with the home side narrow victors that day. With dreadful conditions and heavy rain throughout large parts of the match, it was the stronger Division 1A outfit that prevailed 7-22 to progress to the Cup Final where they will meet Munster Cup champions, Young Munster who had a walk-over in the other semi-final.

In front of their biggest crowd of spectators this season, City of Armagh kicked off and won an early penalty after some aerial kicks. Unfortunately conditions saw the lineout not straight and Lansdowne won a scrum penalty to exit their half and the Leinster Cup champions soon exerted pressure on the Armagh defence.
Officiating the match was senior referee George Clancy and Armagh’s indiscipline at the breakdown saw 6 penalties conceded in the opening 15 minutes. Outhalf, Peter Hastie opened the scoring with a kick in front of the posts on the quarter hour mark and a 3 nil lead for Lansdowne.

The southern club continued to dominate possession and dictate play in Armagh territory. A crossfield kick and a chip behind the defence had Armagh on the back foot. Another penalty saw the visitors elect for a scrum and with the Lansdowne pack moving towards the Armagh tryline, referee Clancy awarded a penalty try. The Leinster side now led 0-10 with 22 minutes played. The pattern of play continued through the second quarter with the high tempo of the Lansdowne backline looking to spot a gap in the well-organised Armagh defence. The home side were living on scraps of possession and their box kicks were easily handled by Lansdowne given the difficult conditions. The visitors were penalised for a high tackle on 32 minutes but the normally reliable Kyle Faloon was just wide with his 35 metre kick. The first half came to a close with the heavy rain causing handling errors on both sides and the scoreline at the interval was City of Armagh 0 Lansdowne 10.

The second half commenced with the Dublin side once again on the front foot. Ryan O’Neill had a great turnover on the Armagh 22 making a few hard yards out of defence. Armagh then had a scare when Tim McNeice had a clearance kick charged down and from a 5 metres scrum, Lansdowne’s scrum half, Jack Matthews darted over the line for his side’s second try. The conversion was unsuccessful and Lansdowne had edged further ahead 0-15.

Substitutes, Paul Mullen and Ross Taylor came off the bench and Armagh then had a good attacking spell in the Lansdowne half. With the ball spilled, Lansdowne quickly countered but full back Kyle Faloon took possession and then make a break out of defence to give the Armagh supporters something to cheer about.
On 50 minutes, Harry Boyd kicked a penalty down the line and Armagh had a lineout on the Lansdowne 22.
Josh McKinley, making his 100th All Ireland appearance secured possession and the pack drove forward. A second penalty was then kicked into the corner and the home side then had their best attacking spell of the match with the forwards pick and driving to the tryline. The Lansdowne defence was immense and created a turnover and won a penalty on their 22. A quick tap caught Armagh flat footed and the ball was kicked down the pitch where winger Sean Galvin gathered possession to cross for a converted try. At 0-22, Armagh could have been deflated but the team showed resilience and fought back hard in the final quarter. Coach Parker emptied his bench and Armagh benefited from the fresh blood. On 70 minutes, the Armagh backline launched an attack on halfway which saw Matthew Hooks make a strong break on the left wing.
The replacement winger crossed for a try much to the delight of the home supporters. Kyle Faloon converted and Armagh had their consolation score. In the final minutes they should have had a second try which would have rewarded their valiant efforts. Following a lineout steal, Neil Faloon charged into the 22 and set up final attack. Armagh won a scrum penalty after a Lansdowne crooked lineout and from the driving maul, Ryan O’Neill looked set to score only for the referee to penalise the home side for crossing.
The full time whistle went and Lansdowne were victorious with a 7-22 scoreline.

After the match, Head Coach Chris Parker said his was proud of his team’s efforts. “we put in a huge defensive shift today and as expected, Lansdowne were exceptionally good in attack and clinical in taking their scoring opportunities. We were starved of possession for long periods with Lansdowne dominating territory. I was really pleased with the impetus our bench brought to the game today and the whole squad can be pleased with their performances and how we didn’t let Lansdown run riot. It will be great preparation for our next phase of three AIL matches.”

Next up for City of Armagh is a trip to Dublin this Saturday to play high flying Old Wesley. Following their narrow loss in the home fixture before Christmas, the Orchard County side will be looking to secure a win to keep alive their push for a top four finish this season. Kick off at Donnybrook is at 2.30pm.