Portora have to hang on at the end

Editorial Department • Published 28 Jan 2010 09:09 0 Comments

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No way through for Portora's Alex Stephens in Portora's Cup win on Saturday.

Portora Royal 1st XV 17; Down HS 1st XV 14;

Portora held off a spirited Down fight back to secure a tie against Ballyclare in the fourth round of the Ulster Schools Cup at Portora Lane on Saturday.

Having failed to concede a point in their opening match of the competition it looked as if the home side would once again keep their opponents off the score sheet with another determined and hard working performance, but with ten minutes remaining Down made inroads into their 17 point deficit, and Portora were relieved the visitor's final penalty kick fell short of the posts.

The wintry and foggy conditions did not prevent Portora from starting brightly, and their early pressure reaped immediate dividends when they touched down for the opening try before 60 seconds had elapsed. After receiving a deep kick-off, the Downpatrick out-half failed to find touch. Portora quickly ran the ball back into their opponents 22 and from the ensuing ruck, scrum-half Rory Gibson chipped ahead. Outside centre James Gormley chased through and tapped the ball under the posts before toucjing down to score. He then stepped up and converted give Portora a seven point lead.

The Portora pack were dominating the scrum and Down's attempts to play through a well organised Portora defence were proving futile. Despite a succession of penalties, they could find no penetration, and it was Portora who added to their score after eleven minutes of the match.

From a scrum fifteen metres in, the Portora backs ran a clever set-piece move which opened a huge hole for scrum half Gibson to dummy and shoot through to score under the posts. Gormley promptly converted to make it 14-0.

Play was continually being stopped for penalties, with Portora the main offenders. The referee produced the first of three yellow cards when Portora's inside centre failed to roll away at the breakdown, but despite their numerical advantage Down repeatedly failed to take advantage.

They clearly had a game plan of taking Portora on with two Ulster representatives in their pack and for 20 minutes they attacked through their forwards, endlessly hitting back down the blind side which the Portora pack ate up for breakfast, smashing the County Down runners backwards.

The boys from Downpatrick eventually conceded this was foolhardy and that the Portora defence appeared to be bullet proof. With Portora one man down in the backs, the Down High School boys never once attacked where they actually had an advantage. The Down out half continued an unhappy day missing both penalty goal attempts.

The second half continued in much the same pattern as the first, with the large and enthusiastic home crowd becoming increasingly vocal towards a referee who continued to penalise the home side. Ten minutes into the half, Portora had another player sin binned, but still the home defence held firm.

Through the outstanding play of flanker Richard Ogle, Portora either got a turnover after each Down attack or gave a way another penalty until eventually on 50 minutes Portora fought their way back into the Down half and received a penalty. Gormley took advantage of this and put the ball over the posts to make it 17-0.

With not much time remaining in the match and a healthy 17 point lead, Portora decided to empty the bench and give all their players some Cup experience. Within a matter of minutes Down High scored, finally deciding to shift the ball through the backs hands after 10 phases through the forwards. Portora had defended for practically the entire match and finally the weight of possession told against them. Down High converted the try to make the score 17-7. Portora then rallied and spent the next few minutes attacking the Downpatrick line from where they should have wrapped up the match with another try.

With only minutes left to play, the referee made his biggest call of the match and awarded a penalty try to Down High, deciding that the Portora replacement full-back had caused interference. This meant an automatic five points to Down High and a conversion kick from under the posts. The Portora player was sent to the sin bin and the kick was successfully taken to narrow the gap to three points.

Down High then received a penalty in the final seconds of the game which would have allowed them to draw the match, but much to the relief of an anxious crowd, the kick fell short and the ball ran over the dead ball line with the referee blowing the whistle for full-time.

The draw for the next round has handed Portora a tough match against recent semi-finalists Ballyclare High School, who thrashed Rainey Endowed 36-3 in the third round. The match will take place on Saturday, February 6.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 28 Jan 10

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