Enniskillen 1st XV 26 Dromore 1st XV 24

Enniskillen 1st XV clinched a nail biting win over visiting Dromore last Saturday in a dramatic fixture of memorable highs and forgettable lows. The visitors ran in two early scores in a regrettable habit of late for the 1st XV, only to fight their way back with some powerful forward play and a couple of excellent backline manoeuvres, eventually scoring with minutes on the clock to take the fixture.

The Skins forwards were gaining big yards in the early stages through the Rutledge brothers in particular but an early penalty to Dromore for offside at a box kick had Skins deep in their own half defending a line out, eventually conceding. A clever kick in behind following the restart had Skins yet again inside their 22' and the compounding error of a knock on yielded a Dromore scrum 15 metres out. Despite a superb shove from the Skins pack led by the front row of Thornton, Keenan and Graham, Dromore somehow got the ball away to the backline who scored in the corner for a disastrous first eight minutes, 0-14 down.

Skins responded instantly to make their way down to the Dromore half, again dominating the collisions, finding gaps in defence and playing all the rugby, then after winning a penalty on the opposition 22' the ball was mistakenly kicked dead to let Dromore off the hook. Dromore went on the assault yet again and only for a Matthew Graham turnover things were looking bleak. Skins got their attack flying now and Daire Hill made a break in midfield to bring play well into the Dromore half just as a cloud burst overhead and the downpour began. Following a knock on Skins began a series of scrums just outside the Dromore 5 metre line, earning repeated penalties with their dominance before James Carleton cross from number eight to get them on the scoreboard, converted by Hill, 7-14.

Shortly afterwards Skins were back on the attack, some nice interplay between the forwards had Johnston Martin through a gap and the ball went wide where another penalty claimed had Skins applying pressure once again through the scrum. After some short range carries from the pack the ball went to Hill on the blind side who popped the ball beautifully to James Balfour on the wing for his first try at 1XV rugby, unconverted 12-14.

Dromore reclaimed the lead shortly afterwards with a penalty shot at goal to go 12-17 up into the end of the half.

The first 10 of the second half were played mainly in trading blows in the middle of the pitch but Skins were badly caught down numbers for a Dromore counter attack and in the scramble O'Shea got a yellow card for a tackle deemed illegal by the ref, putting Skins down to 14. The resultant penalty had Dromore battering the Skins line with the maul for a score, Jack Rutledge also seeing a yellow card for his efforts to stop their progress. Down to thirteen men and lagging 12-24 Skins were certainly up against it.

The forwards dug deep, however and weathered the storm well, keeping the ball tight at all opportunities. The scrum and lineout maul proving a solid base for them and captain James Carleton lead by example, clawing for every yard in contact. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Skins were irrepressible in contact, the forwards steamrolling the defence and Matty Dane at scrum half keeping the tempo up as they approached the try line. A Dromore turnover at the ruck ended what looked like an inevitable score but Skins kept the visitors pinned in their half nonetheless and eventually regained possession. Then, in what looked like a move straight off the training park, the pall went the width of the pitch, forwards linking with backs, to find Sam Balfour who showed his pace for a great finish, Skins trailing only 19-24.

The two teams traded blows mostly in the middle of the pitch as the clock ran down and chances of Skins getting the required score dwindled. The scrum remained dominant now with the experienced Warrington at prop and an important penalty gave Skins a foothold; hopes were dashed however with an intercept in midfield from the Dromore out half that looked set for a score, only for the hard work of Foster to track back and make the tackle, but Skins now all the way back in their own half with minutes left. A crucial lineout steal from Carleton gave the home side a chance and the pack worked incredibly hard to retain possessions every man made astounding yards with ball in hand as the visitors tired; the Rutledges, Timoney and Carleton carrying proceedings to just outside the 22’ where Foster almost slipped through. The carries continued and eventually Neil Rutledge crossed for an unforgettable team effort, an important conversion by Hill to take the lead 26-24.

To add to the drama there was one more play from the restart and a resultant penalty gave Dromore a chance to take the victory but thankfully for Skins the kick fell short to end the contest. It was incredible resilience from the young side who had a lot of adversity throughout, but they will again rue the early scores conceded and seek to start games with the same sort of form they showed in impressive bursts during the game. This Saturday the 1st XV head to Grosvenor hoping to keep their excellent away record going strong.