'We didn't play to our capabilities'

Editorial Department • Published 19 Jan 2012 13:00 0 Comments

Portora 1st XV 10; Dalriada HS 10;

A late Dalriada try means Portora will have to travel to Ballymoney for a replay in the second round of the Northern Bank School's Cup.

Portora were on the brink of the third round and a home tie against Regent House, but with the referee having signalled the final play of the game, they conceded a try on their left wing. The home fans were relieved to see the conversion fail, but the 10-10 draw means the two teams will have to do it all again this Saturday.

"We were very disappointed to concede a last minute try but I'm not sure we deserved the win to be honest," admitted Damian Dempster, Head of Rugby at the school. "We didn't really play to our capabilities. We defended far too deep for far too long and didn't get our game plan going at all. We didn't get into the flow of the game and didn't put the phases together."

The game started with the visitors making early inroads to the Portora defence, but the pressure was repeatedly repelled by the hard work of home side. For 10 long minutes they kept Dalriada scoreless but eventually full back John Laughlin broke through after they had shifted the ball wide. The conversion was missed but Dalriada had drawn fist blood.

As the first half drew to a close Portora finally started to exert some pressure of their own, and after a succession of line outs, they twice won five metre scrums, but they could not convert their territorial advantage into points as they trailed 5-0 at the break.

In contrast to the first period Portora started the second half on the front foot as they drove deep into the Dalriada 22. The ball was moved quickly to winger Ben Forbes, who sliced through the defence to score under the posts. Scrum half Patrick McCleery completed the conversion to give Portora a 7-5 advantage.

The game then developed into a midfield battle, with both sides struggling to break through two well marshalled defences, but when Portora did manage to progress inside the 22, McCleery converted a penalty to open up a five point advantage.

In a tense finish Portora kicked away possession only for Dalriada to surge back into their 22. The visitors moved the ball wide to Ulster Schools player Jack Magee and he dived over the try line to level the scores.

The teams will meet again this Saturday for the chance to earn a home tie against Regent in round three, and Damian Dempster is confident they can progress. "We really need to be taking the game to Dalriada and I believe we have the players to do that, particularly out wide," he said. "If we can up the tempo of the game then we have the players to win the game for us."

For anyone interested in supporting Portora in the replay, the school has a supporters' bus leaving the school at 8am on Saturday morning.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 19 Jan 12

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