Virginia 2xv 49 City of Armagh 4th XV 10
Saturday 22nd January 2022
Report by Gareth Graham

City of Armagh 4xv made the long trip to County Cavan to face Virginia on Saturday in the second round of games in the Ulster Regional South league. Following on from their recent run of good form, Armagh were looking for a solid result, however they were not naïve to the potential strength of the Virginia side who had home advantage.
Virginia kicked off and Armagh started very strongly with impressive yards and carries made by the backline pairing of Gareth Graham and Niall McKee, driving Armagh’s attack forward. The strong Virginia pack scored their first try on the 10 minute mark, closely followed by a second well-worked score.
Phil Gillespie suffered a nasty gash to his head and had to go off for a number of minutes to get taped up, allowing Kyle Gallagher to take the field. Thankfully Phil made a full recovery and was able to re-join the action.
The Armagh lineout pairing of thrower Jordan Parr and jumper John Morrow performed very well all day despite a very strong set piece from the Virginia side. Virginia scored a couple of very impressive tries throughout the game, which were near impossible to defend against, most notable some very skilful backline moves that cut the Armagh defence apart.
Armagh came out with determination in the second half and were immediately at the Virginia tryline, following multiple forward carries by the returning Bas Du Toit who was able to punch holes in the Virginia defence. The forwards kept carrying the ball and one final push by Connor Chapman and Pat Renaghan got Armagh peerlessly close to scoring. Rory McCreesh then carved a hard line and took the ball of scrum half Andy Gray to crash over for Armagh’s first try. The conversion was missed by David Loughran.
Jeff Dougan, making a welcome return to Armagh action, slotted in at fullback for the second half and put in a strong performance, with great linkup play between himself and pacey winger, Lewis Hamilton. Lewis was unlucky to not add another try when he was bundled into touch after he made a strong break into the Virginia half.
An impressive kick through by Rory McCreesh then allowed Armagh to press into the Virginia half, where Michael Graham, supported by the hard tackling Timmy Henry was able to turn the ball over and win Armagh a penalty. Scrum half Andy Gray took the penalty quickly and darted towards the corner of the Virginia line, using every ounce of breath in his lungs he was able to hold on and touchdown for Armagh’s second and ultimately final try of the afternoon.
Armagh ended the game with some flair, spreading the ball from side to side of the park between Jeff Dougan and Gareth Graham, putting Armagh into a strong position to end with a score, but it wasn’t to end that way as an intercept by Virginia allowed them to run the length of the pitch to score with the final play of the game putting a harsh look on the scoreboard.
Full time Virginia 49 – Monaghan 10
Armagh Fourths defended well all game but ultimately the strength and experience of the well-drilled Virginia side prevailed. Armagh can hold their heads high for the performance they put on and they never gave up with the limited attacking opportunities they had. The aftermath hospitality from Virginia was second to none and we would like to thank them for this.
The Armagh Brewing Company man of the match was awarded to William Coleman. Throughout the 80 minutes, William made big tackles in the centre and undoubtedly helped to keep out the charging Virginia attacks. William also made a number of try saving tackles in the wide fringes, helping to keep the Virginia scoreline down.
The Fourths now have a well-deserved week off, before recommencing their League campaign on Saturday 5th February with the return fixture in Armagh against Virginia. Armagh will be hoping to get some revenge from this defeat. All support will be most welcome.
Armagh: C Chapman, J Parr, P Gillespie, J Morrow, P Renaghan, T Henry, M Graham, B Du Toit, A Gray, G Graham ©, L Hamilton, N McKee W Coleman, D Loughran, R McCreesh, J Dougan, K Gallagher