On an excellent Spring afternoon for rugby Donaghadee 1st XV travelled to Ophir for Round 19 of Kukri Championship 3. With likes of Rab Irwin, Stephen Adams and Ben Siri missing the squad was rotated with Phil Collins starting in the front row and Danny McBride making a welcome return to the bench after a serious facial injury.

With only two minutes played scrum-half Paul Johnston spotted a gap in the Ophir defence from an attacking lineout and darted through to score midway between the corner flag and the posts – Karl Yellop adding the extras. Four minutes later Yellop himself barnstormed through the home midfield defence to score and converted his own try. From the restart the pack gathered the ball and Kyle Morrow drove forward making some 25 metres before feeding Johnston who chipped over the oncoming defence, outpaced the despairing Ophir defenders and regathered to score his second try of the afternoon, Yellop again adding the extras. At 21-0 up with only nine minutes played the Dee appeared to be winning at a canter but the Ophir men had other ideas and scored a well taken try from a driving lineout to peg things back to 21-5. The next quarter of an hour was an untidy affair with spilled passes and poor options stymieing the Dee efforts. On 24 minutes, however, skipper Matthew Stockton brought his side back on track with a stunning individual effort from the halfway line using his power and pace to score in the corner – the try remaining unconverted. Two minutes later Yellop repeated his earlier dose powering through from the home side’s 10 metre line to score and again convert his own try. With a minute left on the clock before the break the Dee again attacked – this time utilising the entire breadth of the pitch, moving the ball through a plethora of hands before blindside flanker Owen Roberts crashed over the whitewash in the far corner. Although the conversion was missed the Dee were now 38-5 ahead as the half-time whistle blew.

A scrappy start to the second half allowed Ophir to go back on the offensive once again and they duly punished the visiting side mauling over from a lineout 10 metres out to score their second unconverted try of the afternoon on 45 minutes. Donaghadee steadied themselves once again and a succession of attacks brought them to the opposition twenty-two where quick ball allowed stand-off Mark Cooper to hit full-back Chris Knox who had taken a superb attacking line and who then fed the supporting Stockton who went over under the posts, Yellop once again converting. Six minutes later an Ophir scrum was reset in the Dee’s favour and Knox took a straight line off the set-piece ball, after an interchange between No. 8 Sam Ingham and Johnston, and outpaced the home defence to score a try himself – this time unconverted. At this juncture Donaghadee took the opportunity to rest Cooper and the ever impressive Chris Hamilton and McBride took over the No. 10 mantle with Jack Chesney coming into the pack. The introduction of Chesney for Hamilton brought little respite for the home side as the former brought his signature aggressive style of play to the fore to knock the opposition back time and again as he drove up the pitch ably supported by the terrier-like scavenging and tackling of hooker Jonny Gamble. With 18 minutes of the second-half played the pressure told on the home side and after being penalised at the ruck Johnston took a quick tap penalty before allowing left-wing Chris McGivern to surge into the red zone and pass to the ever present Stockton to score his hat trick try, McBride converting. Not to be outdone Yellop scored his third three minutes later after Stockton had won a turnover in midfield and then McBride added the extras to bring the score to 62-10. Two minutes later Hamilton had returned to the fray and his trademark turnover allowed the ball to be passed amongst the threequarters to finally release McGivern for what might have been the best try of the day, McBride converting. From the kick-off Knox left a succession of defenders in his wake before releasing to his supporting team mates who carried the ball to the opposition line allowing Stockton to score his fourth and the Dee’s final try of the day, McBride converting.

Given the extent of the winning margin one might be tempted to say this was a 5* show by Donaghadee but, in truth, it was a patchy performance and the side will be hoping to improve on their overall control before the key games that remain in both League and Cup. For their part Ophir exhibited a never-say-die attitude throughout the afternoon and their obstinate resistance held Donaghadee at bay on a succession of occasions. As far is Man of the Match is concerned quite a few Dee men put their hands up for this week’s accolade. Stockton, Yellop, Chesney and Johnston were clearly to the fore (Jonty most especially for following up his own fly-hack and then tackling and “bullying” the covering Ophir lock forward back to his own try line) but this week’s award goes to Jonny Gamble. Gamble’s contribution to the side over the past few weeks has been immense with his mobility and his aggression in defence being a standout feature in the 1st XV's recent performances. With Monaghan gaining a bonus-point win at home to Letterkenny this means that the Dee now look forward to entertaining Strabane in Donaldson Park next Saturday when a win will guarantee the league title.