1st XV win by a point at Greystones!! |
INSTONIANS BEAT GREYSTONES 29 – 28 WITH A BONUS POINT IN OPENING MATCH IN AIL DIV 2A On Saturday 5 October 2024 Instonians travelled to Dr Hickey Park to play Greystones and renew acquaintances off the pitch at an excellent pre match lunch where President Anne Bowes and her team made the travelling Instonians party so welcome. As the clock ticked round towards kick off there was a strong wind blowing diagonally down the pitch for the players and coaching staff on both sides to consider in this last match of the 1st block of 3 before a week off next week. It looked at least a 20-point wind but time would tell. 14:30 – Greystones 0 – Instonians 0 Greystones kicked off with the strong wind and immediately showed that they were well used to this wind with a great long kick diagonally towards touch the left touchline on the clubhouse side. Instonians right wing Simon McMaster took to the air to field the ball but lost the ball into touch. Quick thinking from the Greystones chasers saw them take a quick line out with Instonians slow to react for what looked like the opening score within seconds of the match starting. Unfortunately for them the ball had not travelled 5 metres and Instonians got out a very early reprieve. From the resulting scrum to Instonians 15 metres in from touch captain David Whitten picked up from the back of a solid scrum and made ground up the blindside before finding centre Mark Keane who then found winger Simon McMaster who was tackled into touch on the Instonians 22. 14:32 – Greystones 7 – Instonians 0 Greystones won their line out well and moved the ball to their 10 who put in a lovely chip over the onrushing Instonian backline defence and one of their centres won the race to ground the ball before it went over the dead ball line. The conversion was added, and Greystones had the dream start. 14:35 – Greystones 10 – Instonians 0 Greystones tails were up, and they went straight back on the attack from the kickoff and after great continuity between forwards and backs they tested the Instonians defence and won a penalty at the breakdown just inside the Instonians 10 metre line and in front of the posts. It sailed high and handsome between the uprights and only 5 minutes in Instonians knew they were in a game. 14:43 – Greystones 10 – Instonians 0 Instonians responded well and kept the ball in hand into the wind to go through multiple phases and importantly advancing up the pitch with strong runners using both sides of the pitch. Eventually a clever deft grubber kick by fullback Bradley McNamara was fumbled by Greystones to give Instonians a scrum on the Greystones 22 on the left touchline and a chance to use their powerful scrum. After a reset a very good Instonians scrum won a penalty which young out half Josh Eagleson kicked for touch 15 metres from the line into the wind. Instonians won the line out and moved the ball infield using strong runners off the 9 to keep it tight and advance up to 5 metres from the Greystones line. When they tried to put some width on the attack they were turned over and Greystones used the wind to send the ball into the Instonian half. Instonians immediately ran the ball back and after 2 successive penalties against Greystones for high tackles the ref spoke to the Greystones captain and Instonians had a line out on the Greystones 22 on the left. It was hard to tell if the throw was for the middle or the back as the strong wind took the ball crooked to give Greystones a scrum 15 metres in from touch. 14:49 – Greystones 15 – Instonians 0 Greystones moved the ball well and took play up to half way where this time Instonians were penalised for a high tackle and the ref spoke to the offender Instonians hooker Neil Saulters. With the strong wind Greystones may have considered the kick at goal but instead found touch 15 metres from the Instonians line looking more than just 3 points. When Instonians rose in the middle to steal the line out and kicked the ball into the wind to just outside their 22 they might have thought the immediate danger had passed but Greystones ran the ball back up the blind side and when one of their strong runners in the pack got the ball he just ran straight through the Instonian defence to score near the corner. The conversion was missed but Greystones were now 3 scores ahead and still had a quarter of the match with the strong wind. 14:50 – Greystones 18 – Instonians 0 It got worse for Instonians as they were penalised at the breakdown as they ran back the kickoff. This time Greystones chose to kick at goal from just inside the Instonians half in front of the posts and the ball sailed between the sticks with the wind. 14:58 – Greystones 18 – Instonians 5 Instonians needed to dig deep now to stop this game getting out of reach and they put together a good spell of ball retention to take play into the Greystones half where they were handed a lifeline with a Greystones player given a yellow card for a neck roll. Could they use this man advantage to good effect? When you have a player like Bradley McNamara in your backline then you always have a chance of creating something from nothing and this is exactly what he did. Gathering another searching Greystones kick for territory, he set off on the counterattack and his fast feet saw him somehow elude several onrushing defenders to break free up the left-hand side of the pitch. He found left wing Hugo Ellerby in support who in turn found Mark Keane and he gave a perfectly timed pass back to Bradley who had looped round to the wing to take the pass and run round 15 metres to try to make the conversion easier. A simply superb score. The conversion was still not easy into the wind and Josh put the ball just wide of the posts. Instonians were on the board though and still had the extra man to see if they could narrow the gap even further. 15:06 – Greystones 18 – Instonians 12 Despite being a man down Greystones continued to use the strong wind advantage to play the game in Instonians half and only very good Instonian defence kept their line in check. With an extra man however Instonians started to apply some pressure themselves into the wind and started to turn the penalty count around during this spell. The line out was still not functioning in the wind and there seemed a reluctance to throw to the front, perhaps feeing it was being well marked there. It was from a line out however that Instonians kick started the next crucial score as Marty Voster won a Greystones line out on their 22 and the ball was moved infield with strong runners testing the Greystones defence right up to their line. Scrum half Ruari O’Farrell then looked up and spotted that Mark Keane had run across to the blind side and drew the defender to give Mark the scoring pass. Mark ran round to make the conversion easier for Josh who converted this time and Instonians had made full use of the Greystones yellow card by scoring twice and bringing the deficit down to just 6 points into a strong wind. 15:12 – Greystones 21 – Instonians 12 Instonians were now in the mood and with captain David Whitten leading by example were stringing together well controlled phases of play but just on half time they were penalised at the breakdown under their own posts. Greystones had no hesitation in kicking for goal this time and the touch judges’ flags were raised and a pulsating 1st half of rugby came to an end. HALF TIME –Greystones 21 – Instonians 12 Despite the last penalty Greystones will have been very disappointed with only a 9-point lead having been 18 points ahead and they now had to play into the strong wind. Instonians for their part will have been relieved to get the 2 scores when they had a man advantage and with the strong wind now at their backs the plan no doubt would have been to “play it down there” and force Greystones to run from deep. And for this reporter it was great to see mini rugby being played at half time and no doubt these young kids will have been enjoying the game they were watching and they were keen to show the good crowd in the stand and up the touchlines their own skills. At half time Instonians brought on Andrew McGrath for his 1st appearance of the AIL season having been injured in an Ulster league match back at the start of September. Mark Mairs showed his flexibility by moving into the 2nd row allowing Andrew to slot in at 6. 15:18 – Greystones 21 – Instonians 12 Josh used the wind to kick long and Greystones immediately showed that they were well used to the conditions by immediately keeping the ball in hand with good support on either side of the pitch. Instonians defence was good however and they were putting in some big hits particularly their new back row of Max Preston, David Whitten and Andrew McGrath and as ever Schalk Van Der Merwe. 15:25 – Greystones 21 – Instonians 19 Then when Instonians got their hands on the ball just outside the Greystones 22, Mark Mairs saw a gap close to the ruck and took off towards the posts. It looked a certain score, but a great cover tackle hauled him back right on the line. The ball was recycled however and after pounding on the Greystones line Instonians were awarded a penalty which Josh kicked for a lineout 5 metres out. Moments later Andrew McGrath was the man at the back of the driving maul to score in the corner. Mark Keane then held the ball upright for Josh to land a superb conversion from the right had touchline. The wrong side of the pitch for a right foot kicker but expertly judged to curl over the posts in this wind. At this stage I think most of the crowd expected Instonians to use the wind advantage to win comfortably with the bonus point and boosting their points difference. This spirited Greystones side however had not read the script. 15:36 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 19 Greystones then produced an example of how to play into the wind by keeping the ball in hand , good support runners giving the 9 options left and right to attack. Despite the wind advantage, Instonians were having to make a lot of tackles and the penalty count was back in their Greystones favour. They continued to keep the temp high by taking tap penalties and from one such passage of play they went deep into the Instonian 22 and remained patient to hammer away at the Instonian line and eventually get over just to the left of the posts to the delight of the players, coaches and home support. The extras were added, and Greystones had restored their 9-point lead. 15:40 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 26 Greystones were up for this and again ran the ball back at Instonians into the wind. Instonians were making a lot of good tackles and eventually were rewarded with a penalty at the breakdown on the halfway line. Josh made a great touch find on the right 10 metres out and a great driving maul saw Neil Saulters score in the corner. An identical superb touchline conversion was made by Josh and Instonians were now surely big favourites again with a quarter of the game left , only 2 points behind and the strong wind still on their favour. Greystones again had other ideas and manfully took the game to Instonians into the wind. They were again winning the penalty count at the breakdown and Instonians seemed to be lacking discipline. Their captain David Whitten was spoken to by the ref. Instonians still had the upper hand at scrum time but there were not that many as Greystones handling was very good. 15:48 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 26 Then another big moment in the game as Instonian scrum half Ruari O’Farrell was yellow carded for a deliberate knock on in defence inside his own 22 and Greystones had the man advantage for the majority of the remainder of the match. Conor McGrath came on at 9 and Glen Falloon was the unfortunate man to be sacrificed particularly as he had not been on that long on the wing. A huge moment in the game now as Greystones kicked for a line out just 5 metres from the line. Score now and with the extra man they would be very hard to beat. The character of this Instonian side came to the fore as their defence of both the initial driving maul and then the spin off infield was superb and the celebration when the ref awarded them the scrum was loud both on and off the pitch. They followed this with a magnificent scrum which won them a scrum penalty and a chance to clear their lines to between their 22 and 10 metre line. 15:56 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 26 Yet again however Instonians lost their line out in the middle allowing Greystones to run back at them. Good Instonian defence thwarted the attack and Instonians won a relieving penalty at the breakdown. 15:57 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 26 Josh found touch on halfway but again Instonians lost the line out in the middle and Greystones ran the ball back again into the Instonian half only to lose the ball forward in a tackle. Before Instonians took the scrum however Ruari O’Farrell came back on after the 10 minutes in the bin and Conor McGrath gave way to allow wing Glen Falloon back on for the remaining minutes of this absorbing match. 16:01 – Greystones 28 – Instonians 29 The 1st attempt at the scrum had to be reset and this time another huge Instonian scrum gave them a penalty on halfway. There could not have been that much time left but as captain David Whitten seemed about to ask Josh to kick for another line out young Josh Eagleson said that despite the penalty being over close to the touchline that he thought he could get it and just like last season away to Ballynahinch in the Senior Cup quarter final, Josh absolutely nailed this clutch kick as it went high and handsome between the posts. What composure from this young man and for the 1st time in the match Instonians were ahead and it depended on the ref how much injury time there was still left. It turned out not very much as when Greystones attacked from the next kick off with ball in hand, the Instonian defence held firm and when the ball was lost forward in the tackle the ref blew the final whistle. FULL TIME – Greystones 28 – Instonians 29 Let’s be very clear here, Greystones did not deserve to lose this match and only 1 point from their efforts does not match the effort, commitment and skill they showed. Instonians, however, showed their great character yet again to somehow find a way. This was yet again another showcase for AIL rugby with the result in doubt until the last whistle. MOM is easy today and it has to be match winner young Josh Eagleson at out-half. Two superb touchline conversions from the wrong side of the pitch and a clutch penalty from the halfway line on the left hand side to snatch the match at the end. The step up in leagues is evidenced by the fact that despite having 3 bonus point wins from 3, Instonians are in 4th place going into the 1st break. Also, on this performance it will not be long until Greystones get their first win of the campaign and start climbing the table. A week off for everyone now and then Navan are next up for Instonians at Shaws Bridge on Saturday 19 October. The mantra is as per previous league campaigns, “one game at a time”. See you all there. |