Regent House School 14:30 KO
Match Reporter - Mark Nicholl

With an enforced venue change due to the lovely weather creating havoc on the turf of Hamilton Park, the Dee made their way to Regent House for the local Derby.

From the kick off the Dee men shrugged off the ‘underdog’ status afforded to them by the majority of the spectating Ards supporters and launched themselves into the fray. Coach Tom Northey had prepared his charges for the physical assault that was to follow with the larger Ards pack requiring strong shoulders from the Dee. The first forty minutes saw abrasive defence come up against a well drilled and organised Ards team. As a result, the Dee men struggled and defended too narrowly on a number of occasions and were out flanked with the Ards wide men tacking advantage and running in a brace of early scores. Parity was evident in the set piece with the scrum and lineout going well for the Dee men but swift line speed from the Ards defenders harried the attacking play from the Dee strike men resulting in each yard of the gain line being a dog fight. Despite the Dee defence the Ards combinations in out field started to click and holes appeared in the Dee wall concluding in further scores to the men in black.

The second half saw a resurgence from the proud Dee men with the first try of the second half. From an attacking line out on the Dee twenty two, clean ball was won which enabled snap delivery to the first receiver. A crash ball with quick, effective rucking had a second phase move unleashed. The Dee blind side straightened his run, drew in a couple of defenders then produced a basketball pass to the bullocking inside centre who cut a line and made forty meters before being tackled by the chasing Ards defence. The support play from the Dee scrum half was first class and the offload was secured and a twenty meter pass landed on the money to the arriving outside centre with swift hands delivering the ball into the flight path of the left wing who went over in the corner! As the game progressed past this Dee purple patch a number of Dee injuries started to take its toll. The better fitness and cohesion of the Ards men saw them take the rest of the game by the scruff of the neck and run in a triplet of scores. The Dee XV stood proud and each and every man that pulled on the shirt can hold their chin up high as although the match resulted in a comprehensive defeat, the Dee men put in the graft and grit.

Man of the match – Chris Scott