Donaghadee's Qualifying One status hangs by a thread after the bonus point loss to Dromore at Donaldson Park yesterday. In perfect conditions Dromore established early dominance in the match utilising their strong driving and off-loading game which was to be a major feature of the game throughout. After a line out close to the Dee line the well drilled Dromore pack drove over to touch down with barely five minutes played but failed to add the extras. Worse was to follow soon after for the home side when some weak defence in midfield allowed the Barban Hill men to progress to the Dee line before releasing their backs to score a converted try and stretch their lead to 12-0 midway through the first- half.

After taking stock of their poor start Donaghadee began to exert some pressure on their opponents with Chris Good, Paul Hamilton and Chris Hamilton to the fore in the rucks and mauls driving towards the line before Alastair Lockhart released his backs for Adam Alexander to power through and pass to the supporting Mark Cooper who squeezed at the corner. The difficult conversion was missed. Unfortunately this good work was undone when a combination of clever off-loading and Dee infringements led to lineout which was secured by the Dromore pack who drove over to score an unconverted try and leave the half-time score 17-5 to the away side.

Although disappointed with the outcome of the first half large Donaghadee crowd were confident that the side could compete well in the second half given that they had the advantage of the hill, wind and sun. The early stages of the second period bore this out and Dee pressure led to a kickable penalty which was converted by Paul Blewitt. Once again, however, lack of concentration in defence allowed Dromore to come back almost immediately and score their bonus point try – this time adding the extras.
With time running out Player-Coach Paul McKenzie encouraged the Dee to throw the ball around which had an unsettling effect on the previously unflappable Dromore team and the home side soon got their reward when Chris Hamilton burrowed over after a phase of play involving all fifteen players on the Dee side – Cooper adding the conversion. This meant the Dee were playing with a little more confidence and the now open nature of the game let play ebb & flow before Paul Hamilton capped a barnstorming performance in the unfamiliar lock position when he drove over to score under the posts – Cooper again adding the extras.
With the referee now playing injury time and Donaghadee only two points behind Dromore re-started and the ball was secured by the Dee pack before Chris Hamilton and Rhys Thompson drove forward and eventually Lockhart released Cooper who inter passed with Ryan Irvine. Irvine looked as if he had stepped his opposite number but the latter brought him down with a last gasp tackle. Irvine was able to feed the still supporting Cooper but he too eventually fell victim to Dromore's scramble defence and the referee signalled a scrum before blowing up for no side and the Dromore support on the sideline breathed a huge sigh of relief.
A power packed display in second half from Good, Thompson, Gareth Gordon & the two Hamiltons in the pack and inventive & skilful forays from the backs just fell short on this occasion and the disappointment of this tight-knit squad was palpable on the final whistle.

Ultimately this will be seen as disappointing result but the grit and determination shown by the Dee side will serve them well in the remainder of the season (including the Powerade Towns Cup sem-final at Ballynahinch next week). Donaghadee are now certain to finish 9th in Q1 and, with Ards almost certain to lose their AIL status, the Dee will be relying on either Instonians or Clogher Valley taking Ards place in the AIL in order to survive - no easy task considering the form of Dundalk this season and the fact that even if either of the Ulster sides were to prevail in the Round Robin they still have to play-off against the third from bottom in AIL 2B.

Finally great to see ten of the Regent House leavers at both the Pre-Match Lunch and the game and as they have demonstrated in the Schools Cup competitions this season these young men are a credit to both the school and the game and we hope all will continue to play rugby whether it be locally or further afield.