In what was a rearranged fixture Armagh overcame a brave Instonian\u2019s team to gain 4 valuable league points. There was some doubt as to whether the game could take place as the frost and snow made the pitch very treacherous and conditions were not helped with zero temperatures making handling the ball very difficult indeed.<\/p>\n
Before the game there was a minute\u2019s silence in honour of squad player Adam Hegarty who tragically died in December. The Armagh players were determined to honour his memory. Indeed it was very difficult for some of the players who grew up playing rugby with Adam, as they were playing their first game since 6th<\/sup>December.<\/p>\n \u00a0An excellent crowd attended in what was a highly anticipated game. Only one release from Ulster meant that James McCormack slotted into the middle of the front row with Paul Mullen coming back from injury. Thomas Dougan was away with the Irish Under 20s so James Anderson came in as number 8.<\/p>\n \u00a0The backline had a few players missing in that Glen Faloon, Ross Taylor and Rocky Olsen were all out with injuries, so Mathew Hooks slotted back into the centre with Timmy M\u2019Niece and Luke Mc Call came on to the wing. The 4-2 split in the substitutes allowed Phil Fletcher to chalk up more AIL appearances with Jonny Morton, Ryan Morton and Finn Fenhert in the forwards and Mathew Monaghan and Danny Guy in the backs.<\/p>\n The game kicked off 15 minutes late as the seconds were finishing their game also with Instonians on the first pitch. Immediately strong scrummaging from Mullen gave Armagh an early penalty and O\u2019Kane slotted over a good penalty after 2 minutes. It was all Armagh in the first half and they continually kept the pressure on Inst.\u00a0 The Instonian\u2019s scrum was under pressure and their lineout malfunctioned on occasions.<\/p>\n O\u2019Kane doubled Armagh\u2019s lead with a well struck penalty just inside the halfway line, with him also putting in some long clearance kicks. In the main the Inst defence held firm being able to hold up the Armagh maul over the try line to force goal line\u00a0 drop outs. The Armagh pressure was finally awarded when Paul Mullen barged his way over after a series of drives to score near the posts. Owen converted to give Armagh a 13-0 lead after 34 minutes. Moments later Armagh suffered a blow when Paul Mullen damaged his left leg and had to be escorted off. Phil Fletcher came on to win another scrum penalty, to leave the half time score still 13-0 in Armagh\u2019s favour. In what was a well-controlled half Armagh dictated play and could have had further scores. Their discipline was good however and they gave away few penalties.<\/p>\n \u00a0A great legitimate hit by Josh McKinley set the tone for the second half and O\u2019Kane kept his 100% record with kicks when he slotted over another penalty to increase Armagh\u2019s lead to 16 points. Instonians then raised their tempo and when their second row, Lee slipped trough a gap, he was able to link up with the dangerous Bradley McNamara who squeezed in for a try in the corner. Eagleson missed the difficult conversion.<\/p>\n With Instonians now starting to gain confidence and Armagh starting to fall foul of the referee on occasion, the very dangerous Bevan Prinsloo slipped through the Armagh defence for a converted try to leave the score 16-12 to Armagh. The biggest cheer of the day then came when Timmy McNiece slipped through the Inst rearguard defence and off-loaded to Noah Bell. Noah had still a lot to do from 20 metres out but made the line with 2 or 3 defenders hanging on to him. Matty Monaghan converted as Owen O\u2019Kane was in the sin bin for an earlier technical offence.<\/p>\n \u00a0Instonians were still not finished and scored their third try by winger Hugo Ellerby to leave the home supporters slightly nervous, especially when further injuries mounted up. Great defence by Hooks and Glasgow in particular saw out the final few minutes with Armagh just about deserving their win with their overall performance.<\/p>\n Man of the match was given to Timmy McNiece who broke through the Inst defence on every occasion he got the ball. There were 21 outstanding performances from both sides in a game that will live long in the memory of City of Armagh.<\/p>\n\n\t\t