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27/08/2006 - DONAGHADEE RFC RUGBY NOTES

The first proper game of the new football season is always a bit special; worries about levels of fitness, nervousness about any new players, the potential release of adrenaline pent up over the summer months and the desire to do well. How much more intense is it all when your club has just been promoted to a level last experienced nearly fifty years ago. For young players in Donaghadee this is almost geological time. 1959 is so long ago that even the grey-haired alickadoos in their club were schoolboys. Those heroes who took Donaghadee to top Junior level are largely known only through team photographs and clubhouse tales of greatness. To achieve it again is awesome.

All due respect to other clubs who have striven to rise to Senior status, but everyone in Donaghadee knows how hard and long has been the struggle to get to J1, and how hard it will be to stay there. But first an even better squad of players must come together. The players who succeeded so well last season know that the biggest challenge in the higher league is keeping a large squad of players highly tuned and comfortable at the new level so that in the event of player absences or (whisper it) injuries the first team will always be able to take the field with competence and confidence.

On paper, the last number of weeks has appeared to answer many doubts. Donaghadee’s good reputation as a club has been able to win over some players who were being courted elsewhere, and on training evenings they all showed obvious talent. This of course augured well both for the rising strength of the first team, but will do the Seconds, Thirds and Fourths no harm at all. The promise for the new season was high and over a hundred interested parties were present to see what would happen in the first big contest.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The useful visit to Malone RFC last week gave some hints, but last Saturday’s visit by that club’s Second Fifteen to Donaghadee was always going to be a sterner test for the newish Donaghadee fifteen. Many of the visitors have extensive Senior experience, and all of them are hungry to play in that level. The game looked like it would be a real test. After a very wet night Saturday had dawned bright and fairly windless. The pitch was in the best order this writer has ever seen it, and a spectacle of rugby looked likely.

Donaghadee started well, with forwards getting stuck in and the backs mounting a number of sweeping attacks. In the seventh minute one of these was temporarily relieved by a despairing kick out by Malone, but Donaghadee’s full-back Billy Allen saw that he could just reach it before it bounced. He outflanked the first wave of Malone defence so speedily that it seemed he might even have realised that this was a perfect opportunity for him to signal his intention to take it to the opposition on all proper occasions.

Suddenly it looked very threatening. The rearguard defence was swarming, so Allen cleverly chipped the ball over their heads and backed his own speed in a chase for the Malone goal line. To the disappointment of the Dee men he was just beaten to the touchdown. But Donaghadee were still in the threat zone. With everyone contributing, attack after attack searched for a breach in a resolute defence. It was no real surprise, but a huge delight when a clever switch in the direction of the attack gave the ball to the heavy brigade in the form of Davy Thompson. This fine player needed nothing more, and crashed over out to the left. Paul Blewitt’s goal-kick attempt just fell wide, but it was still a very gratifying start against such a strong team.

A few minutes later Donaghadee scored again. Steven Seymour had been showing well with sound tackling and good hands, but he raised the pulse rates a little by taking a sweet crash ball from Blewitt with determination and pace. The Malone defence was glad to smother this ram-raid, and re-formed for the next attack. Blewitt and Co. ran the exact same move again – but Blewitt only faked the pass and shimmied through the yawning gap his dummy had created. A try under the posts and the following kick taking the score to 12 – 0 was fine reward for such excellent play.

The Malone players clearly decided that enough was enough. Their re-start was the beginning of a long-drawn-out assault on Donaghadee’s gates. Their sustained pressure finally resulted in a well-taken try. This patient ground-gaining approach must have appealed to the visitors, because they soon repeated it. Out of impatience at being unable to halt the inexorable advance, one of the Dee forwards transgressed at the bottom of a ruck.. He was unidentified by the spectators, but well spotted by the referee, who gave Malone a penalty try, and the seven points that came with it brought them to half-time with the scores level 12-all.

The bulk of the second period of the game featured the combined work of the very street-wise Malone forwards that brought good field position too many times for Donaghadee’s comfort. Donaghadee’s backs snuffed out every running attack and the pack performed heroically in denying really quick ball. One hopes that they took enough time to learn a little from the cohesion and purpose the visitors showed. Of course one can appreciate such dour tactics, but it did make for a half whose only real spectator involvement came from a fear that they might eventually get the winning points.

Malone had not come to give Donaghadee encouragement. They strove for the win they felt they deserved; their forwards tried their eye-strings out, but were repeatedly beaten back by the brave Dee defence. It was left to Donaghadee to show that power is good, but speed, skill and ingenuity are also important. The Donaghadee produced a major effort and gained valuable territory. When the forwards were able to recycle the ball extra quickly Blewitt knew what was ‘on’. With a subtle delay of his release he presented a perfect ball to his full back approaching a full speed. Allen’s line of running was straight at the rising Malone pack, but with a superb change of direction he just managed to elude the tackles one felt were inevitable, and went over just to the left, presenting Blewitt with an easy kick to end the game at 19-12 for the Dee.

Many in Donaghadee had anticipated this test with some trepidation for a number of reasons, the chief one being Malone’s high reputation. A narrow defeat would have sent Donaghadee into their first league game next Saturday against Dromore feeling quite satisfied. Defeating Malone will have been a great boost to team and personal confidence, with no danger of complacency given the reputation the mid-Down team carries. This game promises to be an exciting one, and will be a huge welcome to Qualifying One; certainly a game not to miss.

The Malone game was played with the usual early-season substitutions. With apologies to anyone who is missed out because of the dynamics of this, the players who did so well were:
Billy Allen (c), Michael Moore, Simon Crowe, Gordy McBride, Steven Seymour, Graham Scandrett, Paul Blewitt, Garth Bennett, Johnnie Phillips, Andrew Drummond, Packy Greer, Richard Nelson, Dee Herron, Ossie Gordon, Andrew Dunn, Paul Proctor, Norman Bell, Neil McNamara and Andy Weir.

Next week’s kick off time will be the more usual 2.30pm at Donaldson Park. The Donaghadee club welcomes all comers.