On a fine autumnal afternoon Donaghadee welcomed Ards to Donaldson Park for the eagerly anticipated Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship 2 fixture. It was the first time the two sides had met at 1st XV competitive level since the 1960s and interest in this North Down derby was underpinned by the huge crowd of supporters from both Clubs in attendance. Both Clubs have suffered inordinately from injury and unavailability in the early part of the season but Donaghadee welcomed back Paul Johnston at No. 9 and Karl Yellop in the centre but were still missing the likes of Adam Alexander, Mark Cooper, Jonny Bell & Conor Fulton whilst Ards were reputedly at near full-strength. The Dee made some positional changes in the pack with Ewan McCracken moving to hooker, Chris Scott moving from back to second row and Ally Barnes slipping back from prop to blindside flanker with Jamie Wilson joining Owen Roberts on the bench. In backline Chris McGivern slipped back to full-back, Robbie Ingham resumed his right-wing position and Matthew Mingout came in on the left-wing in the absence of Bell.

Ards dominated play and possession from kick-off with their big & forceful pack eager to exert domination in the early exchanges. The Dee defended well but after 5 minutes play conceded a penalty and Ards Captain & No. 10 Paul Cox stepped up to slot over the kick and give his side a 0-3 lead. Ards continued to press and Donaghadee were still suffering from a paucity of possession when the visitors were awarded another penalty on 12 minutes. Cox again elected to go for the posts but this time his effort struck the left-hand upright and his side were then penalised for a tackle on Dee Skipper Matthew Stockton whilst he was in the air in the act of retrieving the ball. This did not break the Ards stranglehold however and they remained threatening in the Dee 22 until ball was turned over, Stockton broke and raced towards the halfway line before kicking ahead and winning the race to regain possession five metres from the visitor’s line. Support was on hand and the ball was recycled through a number of hands before reaching loose-head prop Ray Dobson who crashed over the line to score the opening try of the day. Danny McBride added the extras and the Dee were now 7-3 ahead. The game then entered a tit-for-tat phase for the rest of the half by means of both sides carrying heavily into the opposition with Paul Hamilton for Ards and the Dee’s Dobson particularly to the fore. The two teams’ defence held strong however and the scoreboard was not bothered again before the break.

In the early part of the second half Donaghadee began to exert some dominance and sterling work by McCracken, Sam Ingham, Chris Hamilton, Jack Chesney and Barnes up front allowed Johnston, McBride, Yellop and Stockton to threaten successively. This pressure came to nought however until the 57th minute when a series of attacks from fast ruck ball threatened to break the stubborn Ards defence which remained intact until Johnston released ball to his out half McBride who fed McGivern who, in turn, shipped on to Yellop. With what looked like the extra man outside him, in the form of left-wing Mingout, Yellop feinted a pass & then stepped inside the despairing Ards defence to force his way over in the top left-hand corner. Although McBride narrowly missed the ensuing conversion attempt the Dee had opened up some daylight on the scoreboard stretching to a 12-3 lead entering the final quarter of the game. With advantage of the “hill” Ards returned to the fray with renewed vigour and pressed dangerously over the next phase of the game. Roberts now came off the bench to replace the tiring Scott who had put in a towering shift in the unfamiliar lock position. The Dee defence stood up well in face of continued pressure with Stephen Adams, Hamilton, Robbie Ingham & McGivern particularly prominent in exchanges. Eventually however a succession of penalties awarded to the rampaging Ards pack resulted in space out wide to allow Cox to release his three-quarters allowing right-wing Adam Coulter to score in the bottom right-hand corner. Cox failed with the conversion but the match was now evenly poised at 12-8 in favour of the home side and the visitors now had the advantage of some momentum in their game. Donaghadee threatened from kick-off but were then penalised to allow Cox to kick back to the red-zone. A succession of penalties were awarded to Ards but rather than keeping the scoreboard ticking over they chose to go for the win. At this point the home defence was magnificent with Roberts, Adams, Hamilton, Dobson, Yellop & Stockton in the forefront of leading their team mates in keeping the visitors at bay. With two minutes left it looked, to all intents and purposes, that Ards would eventually force their way over to take the game but somehow Barnes contrived to turn ball over, the visitors infringed and the referee awarded the home side a relieving penalty. McBride kicked to the line but sadly possession was lost from the ensuing line-out and Ards once again struck out for the Dee line. With the game on the blow huge pressure followed but, once again, the magnificent Dee defence stood firm until the mercurial Stockton got his hands on the ball during an Ards carry and the referee awarded another penalty to the Dee. After a quick word with the referee McBride tapped and kicked to touch, the former blew for no-side and the game was over much to the relief of the home support.

Although possibly one for the purist the match was a magnificent advert for the local game with no quarter asked or given, reaching boiling point on various occasions but never out of control in front of the hundreds of spectators on the sideline. Man of the Match was once again hard to call as the seventeen Dee men put in a memorable shift. The likes of Adams, Sam Ingham, Hamilton, Dobson, Johnston, Barnes, Yellop etc all come to mind but, in the end for his barnstorming performance both in defence and attack and his inspiring leadership Captain Matthew Stockton takes the accolade. Although the Dee took 4 points from the game Ards gained a losing bonus point so remain 1 point ahead in the league table having played one game more however it is hoped this this win will provide the momentum required for the continued success this squad deserves.

Off-field 100 people sat down for the Pre-Match Lunch, once again excellently catered by Pier36, and were royally entertained by ex-Ireland international Mick Quinn who has been a magnificent friend to the Club over the years. Thanks are due to all responsible for making it a memorable day at Donaldson Park but particular mention needs to be made of JB, Geoff, Claire, Dorothy, Dunnsy, Sarah, Peter & Lewis…. but maybe most especially Stuart and his bar team who coped admirably with the hoards of revellers from both Clubs both pre & post match.