Donaghadee RFC 1st XV vs Letterkenny RC 1st XV
62 - 0
Pitchside Reporter - Mark Nicholl

Waking up on Saturday morning you would be forgiven if you thought it was going to be a heavy, wet and murky kind of day for the first league fixture in the season. However, the buzz around the town and sheer force of anticipation of the Dee men drove off the grey and brought out the big ball of fire in the sky!
Under the all-seeing eyes of the Dee management team the 17 men took to the field for a professional and thorough set warmup. The intensity built swiftly and the team came together with a firm and steadfast focus. The team left the field as one unit and returned from a rousing speech by Coach and Captain in the home changing room to take care of business on the field.
And so it began! Under a blue sky and roar from the side-lines, the referee’s whistle signalled the start of the competitive season as the Donaghadee 1st XV took on the challenge brought by the men in black and yellow hoops, the Letterkenny 1st XV.
The LK out half started the game with a kick towards the Dee 22, the ball was kept in play by Dan Lindsey and the hooker displayed a turn of pace that caught the onrushing LK attack out followed by a lovely pass inside to Danny McBride. The full back then chipped the ball over the LK defensive line and the ball was then gathered by Robbie Ingham in open play the Dee back line was then through the LK defence and strong running saw the Dee men cross the try line only to be tackled by the LK defence, the crowd called for the TMO but to no avail, sterling defence from Letterkenny.
The Dee forwards then packed down in a 5m scrum and LK then showed that they had a powerful scrummaging pack as the Dee tight five struggled to gain ascendancy. After a couple of phases of play the ball was turned over by some enterprising play from LK but an unfortunate knock on saw a scrum set piece on the LK 22 close to the High Bangor Road touch line. The Dee pack was anchored by Phil Collins and Adam Torrens, the ball came swiftly down the channel via a clean hook by Dan Lindsay. Player coach Connor Shane McKee protected the 9 and Robbie Ingham delivered a pin point accurate pass to Captain Chris Hamilton on a crash ball. Again the LK defence was making a nuisance of itself and the ball was spilled over the line on the fifth minute of play!
The fifteen Dee men galvanised into a strong defensive unit with the LK side unable to spend any time in the Dee half. On the fifteenth minute with LK in possession the centre was held up in the maul on their five-metre line with Rory Garnham and Jack Matthews showing great upper body strength. From the resultant Dee scrum the pack delivered clean ball under pressure to enable Robbie Ingham to place the ball in the sweet spot for Danny McBride to slice through the LK defence and score the first Dee try of the 17/18 season. The conversion was completed by the inform Mark Cooper with a sweeping right foot.
A couple of minutes later after some quality open field play from LK the Dee defence frustrated the LK attack as they could not get over the half way line, a chip through was charged down by the towering Sam Ingham and picked up by the quick witted Chris Hamilton. The Dee were then on the attack and the hours of pre-season work was in evidence by lovely support play and tactical awareness of the Dee men. Mark Cooper evaded the LK defence on a solo excursion down the left wing only to be bundled in to touch by a last gasp defensive LK effort. The LK line out had it’s pocket picked by a soaring Jack Matthews and the ball was delivered in to the hands of Chris Hamilton who bullied himself over the line only for the LK defence to get a hand to the ball and dislodge it! No try.
The frustration was showing on the Dee Captain’s face and this manifested as a quite determination to cross the line. The LK 22 drop out was gathered on the run and Chris Hamilton thundered up the left wing brushing aside the LK tackles and scored. Mark Cooper then made sure of the additional points from his ever reliable boot.
The Dee men were now hitting their straps and with a strong defensive effort marshalled by the big number 8, Connor McKee and the wily left wing, Chris Scott the LK men were unable to gain any traction from the game. Some excellent play from Sam Ingham forced LK into clearing their lines with the ball soaring towards the right touch line but coming up short into the safe hands of the right wing, Andy McGrugan, who put in a trade mark run deep into the LK red zone. The breakdown was then owned by Matthew Johnson and Rory Garnham and the ball was recycled with pace in to the hands of Davey Kirkpatrick who bounced two defenders out of his way and scored beside the posts.
With only a few minutes until half time a resurgent LK had a foray into the Dee half when the game ebbed and flowed. The LK attack was awarded a scrum and they used this weapon with great effect and the referee awarded a scrum penalty due to the pressure brought on the shoulders of the Dee front row. The LK 10 stepped up and pushed the Dee back to 15m from their try line with a nudge from his right foot. The consummate line out operator, Matthews, got hands to the ball thanks to a crisp lift from Collins and Hamilton. The ball was then drove down field by the boot of Cooper and with a great chase by Scott and McKee the LK wing was forced into touch 20m out. With the Dee line out working well the ball was secured and delivered through the hands to Kirkpatrick who crossed the line for his second try of the half. Two more points were added to the half time tally by Cooper.

Dee 26 – LK 0.

With the second half underway determined LK phase play was met by Dee defensive steel. After a promising incursion into the Dee half up to the ten metre line the ball was spilled and Sam Ingham used his footballing skills earned when playing 10 as a younger man, taking the ball to the LK try line and touching down for the first try of the second half. Danny McBride then stepped up, composed himself and made sure of the conversion.
The restart was directed straight at the imperious Sam Ingham and collected whilst on the gallop, a confidence boosting 30m run had Ingham delivering a beautiful pass to Chris Hamilton running a superb support line to score his second of the game.
The LK side were now starting to tire whilst the Dee men were repeating the rewards of a hard pre-season. The fitness gap was starting to get wider and the patterns were now coming together as more space became available.
With Kirkpatrick and Hamilton putting in solid performances and both men chasing a hat trick the team galvanised and focused on continuing the try scoring habit. With a Dee line out on the LK 22 the confidence in the line out gave the Dee men wings and the ball was delivered to the back line with snap and vigour, swift passing interplay culminated in Kirkpatrick touching down for a well deserved hattrick. McBride converted a difficult kick as the wind picked up.
The men from Letterkenny proudly pulled together a period of sustained pressure against the Dee using their strong scrum as a launch pad to force themselves proudly toward the Dee line. The defence were tested time and again but stood strong and alert. The ball popped out the back of a ruck with the LK scrum half AWOL. Connor Shane McKee seized the opportunity and with a lunging step and simultaneous scope of the ball charged down the length of the pitch like a scalded gazelle being chased down by hungry hyenas to score an opportune try.
The attrition rate on the LK side was now telling and with the Dee conditioning and wily play proving irresistible Sam Ingham and Jack Mathews along with a hungry pack mad a massive nuisance of themselves from the subsequent restart. A team effort and show of strong direct running mixed with crisp passing resulted in an entertaining try scored by Nick Mawhinney.
The restart from the valiant LK had the pack take control of the ball but an unfortunate spill of the ball in a second phase ruck saw the ball picked up by the Dee back line and with some sublime passing that put a smile on Skills Coach Paul Blewitt’s face Chris McGivern crashed over in the corner to cheers of approval from the spectators.
Shortly after the skilful wings score the referee blew up for full time. 62 – 0. The Letterkenny side showed great heart and fortitude throughout the game and played with great spirit in a difficult away fixture. The Dee coaching staff of Head Coach, Connor Shane McKee, Skills Coach, Paul Blewitt, Forwards Coach, Chris Good and Director of Rugby, Andy Monson can be rightly proud of the team’s performance. There are points of improvement to work on in training this week for the trip away to Donegal but the first game of this new season has been a confidence inspiring win.

After a great team performance its always difficult to pick out individuals but that won't stop us from trying. In the backs Danny McBrides endeavor and pace stood out at 15 given the amount of ball Letterkenney were forced into kicking loosely away. Mark Cooper controlled the game superbly from 10 directing his pack and when required kicking deep into the corners. Davy Kirkpatrick must get a nod for his direct running at 12 and a Hat-Trick on the day. In the forwards Dan Lindsey showed superb fitness and mobility from the front row and popped up all over the pitch while openside & capt for the day Chris Hamilton lead from the front, always blasting holes in the opposition with ball in hand.

Sometimes its the donkeys that shine over the show ponies....for his stability in the set plays, aggression in the tight phases, a change of pace that has been well hidden during pre-season and for getting on the scoreboard todays MOTM was Sam Ingham