On what was a tremendous night for club rugby, City of Armagh first XV won the Stevenson Shield by 40 points to 7 in the local derby Ulster Premiership final against Dungannon. This was the first time that Armagh have played Dungannon in a senior final and despite little publicity from the Ulster Branch, a terrific crowd turned out in awful conditions to support both sides. The car park was full so the club needed the cooperation of the City Hotel to park the overspill of supporters. A lot of the Dungannon players were names familiar to Armagh with Adam Edgar, Matthew Maguire and Alex Johnston featuring, with Johnny Gillespie and Johnny Graham coaching the men from Tyrone.
Dungannon kicked off on a very cold November night when there were doubts that the game would take place. Ground conditions were good though and all was set for a good local derby. Armagh threatened early but a knock on stopped their momentum. After 5 minutes their renowned rolling maul resulted in Finn Fehnert going over for an early score. Kyle Faloon converted. After another penalty, Armagh missed another score when the ball didn’t go to hand. The Palace Grounds’ side, with their forwards always getting over the gainline and presenting captain, Lewis Finlay with good ball, were always dominant. With Rocky Olsen getting so much front foot ball and using his undoubted running skills, the outhalf put Kyle Faloon in for a second try on 16 minutes. Surprisingly Kyle missed the simple conversion. With Dungannon giving away so many penalties and Olsen finding good field position and after an enterprising break from James Anderson, Fehnert got in for his second try after 21 minutes which Faloon converted. It may have seemed that the game was all one way but Dungannon, going very well this season, refused to lie down, with their captain, James McMahon leading from the front, made Armagh defend their line on occasions. In this regard the tackling from Timmy McNeice was magnificent and on many occasions, he flattened his opponents. His carrying was also immense and he clearly showed that he is back to his best form.
With Armagh probing on every occasion, it was no surprise that there was a further score after 30 minutes. This time with the Armagh scrum shunting slightly forward, Olsen made a lovely break on the blind side and put Sam Cunningham in for the home side’s fourth try. Kyle Faloon converted to leave the halftime score City of Armagh 26, Dungannon nil.
While Armagh’s discipline was excellent in the first half, the same cannot be said in the second. In total they gave away 14 penalties and allowed Dungannon a foothold in the game. This was after another try through Dylan Nelson who popped up to score the team’s fifth try after a drive from the pack. Faloon again converted but with the penalty count rising, Dungannon scored a well worked try through David Leyburn another player with Armagh connections.Ben McCaughey converted watched by his father Hugh, the acting Chief Executive of Ulster Rugby. There was very little constructive rugby thereafter, except for an excellent break and try in the corner from Rocky Olsen, again converted by Faloon. Fair play to Dungannon though, as they didn’t stop fighting and the pace of the game slowed somewhat in the last 20 minutes. Injuries also started to occur with Dungannon’s left wing, Alex Kennedy dislocating his shoulder in a tackle from Nelson. We hope he has a speedy recovery.
As the night got colder, so did the tempo of the game and Armagh eventually ran out winners 40-7 with a major trophy now in the bag. Head Coach, Chris Parker was delighted that the players had come through the match with no major injuries. He was able to rest captain Nigel Simpson and fellow back row player Neil Faloon, giving budding back-row player, Andrew Willis 80 minutes. The promising James Anderson also got a useful run out. Props Mullen and Carville ran hard at the opposition with hooker, Fehnert getting rewarded with two tries and replacement Jack Reaney getting valuable game time. The height and bulk of the two Glasgow brothers is an asset to any team and former captain Josh Mc Kinley is playing as well as ever. What a servant he has been to Armagh.
Half backs Lewis Finlay and Rocky Olsen had excellent games. Lewis was stand-in captain again and could be heard all through the match talking and encouraging his team. Rocky undoubtedly has talent and probably had his best game in an Armagh shirt. He was deservedly awarded the Player Of The Match award with his excellent line kicking and distribution. Mathew Hooks, partnering McNeice in the centre, had a couple of fine breaks until he picked up a knock, to be replaced by Ross Taylor. Ross hasn’t been able to play much rugby with his work commitments, but he posed a threat with his abrasive approach to the game. Dylan Nelson and Sam Cunningham didn’t see much of the ball but both got on the scoreboard and at full back Kyle Faloon was as safe as houses under the high ball and always posed a threat to the opposition. There were also cameo appearances from Josh Cunningham and Dylan Poyntz from the bench, both gaining valuable game time. A number of players can be disappointed at not playing first XV rugby, but playing in the AIL needs a bigger squad of 35 players and the more young players train and are exposed to a higher class of rugby the better.
The club appreciated Ulster Branch President, Lawrence Rocke attending the match and presenting the trophy to City of Armagh. Next up for the First XV is a home game against Lansdowne on December 7th.
