Civil Service 2 v Donahadee 2
Match Reporter - Mark Nicholl

On Saturday 4th November the Dee men said goodbye to a sunny fresh day at Donaldson Park to make their way to the outskirts of the big smoke right on the lap of the countries seat of power (granted the seat hasn’t been sat on for a while!) the Maynard Sinclair Pavilion. Home of Civil Service Rugby Club.

The Donaghadee 2nd XV took to the pitch for a quality pre-match warm up and under the ever-watchful coach Tom “Gaffer” Northey the platform was set for a competitive match against the Civil Service 2nd XV. Kick off saw the Dee men receive the ball and battle commenced. The big Service forward pack had a clear game plan of drawing the Dee pack into a dog fight of an afternoon to nullify the Dee’s superior mobility, fitness and skill. The Dee’s powerful and dynamic second row Matthew “Commando” Martin was having none of it and was seen to be darting and weaving like a stag escaping the hunt being ably supported by the front row of Mark “Bike Park” Poole, Ryan “ Bouncer” Baxter and the “Wily Fox” Jamie Wilson. However, a series of handling mistakes ensured that the Dee men found the going slow, laborious and frustrating. Like sprinting in treacle wearing flipflops. The Service game plan was being imposed on the Dee forwards and despite strong carries from the eight, Stevie “The Train” Cullen and making ground the pack were falling foul of the referee’s whistle. The Service pack were now relishing in the trough and had drawn the Dee men into their brand of rugby. Frustration from the lack of ball saw the Dee back line catch a nasty case of dropballitis and the Dee looked all at sea and for long stretches of the first forty minutes. However! Through a high penalty count, many a handling error and rotten luck one thing held firm. The defence from the fifteen men in red and green on the Service pitch. Chris Scott was tackling like an LAPD officer chasing a pick pocket and each ruck was getting smashed by the back row of Jack “hawk” Chesney and “Old fella” Nicholl. All in all, a tough, frustrating and somewhat baffling first half. A three point penalty conceded, all to play for.
The half time talk saw Coach Northey law down his brand of law ably supported by the senior squad members. The Captain had a “quiet” word and demanded the Dee imposed their will and brand of rugby on the Service men. Half time substitutions: Nicholl off injured replaced by Tommy “the Blade” Scullion.

The Dee men had an air of focused malice as the “Ice Man” Owen Baillie restarted the game. The ball was lofted high and this gave the Dee chasing forwards time to get under the ball and bring a world of pressure down on the Service receiver. The back line was up and looking for work and this graft off the ball forced the Service back line onto the back foot. Some ferreting work at the breakdown by the Fox Wilson saw the ball pop up on the Dee side, sharp thinking by Ice Man had the ball chipped through the Service defence. Andy” Wall Street” Cash reacted faster than Mentos in Coke to show a clean pair of heels and score the first try of the game within a couple of minutes of the restart. Andy “Wheels” McGrugan made sure of the extra two points as he slotted the conversion. As the clock marched on the tight five started to squeeze the Service pack with the scrum became a major weapon in the arsenal with wins being taken against the head. The strike runs from the midfield started to take a toll on the Service defence with Garry “hacksaw” Coffey running straight at the line. The Poseidon’s Trident of “The Train, Hawk and The Blade” put the foot on the accelerator and produced faster, clean ball to enable the back three to enter the game and see some ball. Andy “Wheels” McGrugan, Davy “Immortal” Scott and James “Granite” Small brought width to the game thus enabling the Dee to spend protracted periods in the Service Half. The intensity at the gain line went through the gears and some big hits were metered out by all. The “hawk” had ran himself ragged and the pint sized kango hammer “Rhino” Johnson made his way into the fray. The Dee game plan was coming into play with a brand of heads up, simple rugby making the Service men cover serious meterage from touch line to touch line. Unrelenting carries and rapid service to the back line had some magical Disney on Ice style interplay seeing Chris “Scotty” Scott cross the try line, “Wheels” brought the tally to 14 points. The vocal Service fifteen were now much quieter as the game got away from them. Superior fitness and dogged determination had the Dee weather the Service short purple patch in the second half before outstanding work from the back three saw some tantalizing phases strung together ending in a penalty within the range of “Wheels” McGrugan. He lined up the kick and lashed the ball with accuracy and bagged the points. 3-17 at full time.

In summary a frustrating first half was disappointing but the defence held strong and this fact is the back bone of this 2nd XV. The second half had Donaghadee putting their game plan to use and this was the deciding factor in a hard fought match.

Man of the Match goes to Jamie Wilson for his work in the loose, leading from example and quality of play. Bosh of the Day is awarded to Mark Poole for his smash of the Service blindside, there is now a human shaped imprint in the Service pitch for posterity. Dick of the Day is bestowed to Mark Nicholl for calling the referee Jeremy Kyle because of all the oppositions bitching he has had to listen to.