BHSFP    16  V  20   MONAGHAN

  As there were two home games the 1^st XV elected to play at the High School on a perfect day for rugby. High School expected this game to be a tough encounter against a traditionally strong Monaghan team but little did they know the hurdles they would have to face in this game.

  The game got off to a good start with both teams testing each other out. High School knew early on that the Monaghan pack were going to provide stiff opposition and although the former pupils had the better of the initial exchanges their defence was soon tested when Monaghan piled on the pressure. The School defence was sound though with both backs and forwards stepping up to the mark with solid tackles. Good clearance work by half backs Jonny Mayne and Chris Kitchen kept the line intact.

Following an early missed penalty by Monaghan it wasn’t until 16 minutes of the game had elapsed that the first points were scored, again from a penalty to Monaghan.

It was at this point that High School encountered the first problem of the day when Davy Scott had to leave the field with a badly cut head, which subsequently required the insertion of 6 staples to seal the wound. With Davy off the field High School were down to 14 men and uncontested scrums were the order of the day.  

With a man advantage Monaghan could have been expected to take control of the game but High School continued to show stubborn resistance and when the forwards were able to secure good ball the backline threatened the Monaghan defence on a number of occasions. Unfortunately things were not going to get much better for High School when after 25 minutes of play Brian McGreal was given a yellow card after an incident at the lineout. 

With High School down to 13 men they continued to defend their line. This was exemplified by a head on tackle by Phil McKeown who saved a try but unfortunately in the process was badly dazed and needed attention to enable him to continue. Not a lot was going High School’s way but the forwards stuck to their task with Peter Taylor leading by example. Good work by the back row of Hanna , Morton and Lavery ably supported by Mark Lambe and Gareth McManus made sure that as the game continued Monaghan failed to press home any advantage and remained on three points. 

After a further 5 minutes High School lost a another man when it was clear that Phil McKeown was unable to continue and had to retire injured. With 12 men on the field it was hoped that High School could weather the storm until Brian McGreal returned to the pitch. In effect after the statutory 10 minutes Brian came on and  the Monaghan No5 went off after having been yellow carded . This resulted in Monaghan having 14 players with High School restored to 13. 

With their backs to the wall High School eventually got a break when the referee spotted an infringement by Monaghan and awarded a penalty to High School. Peter Taylor slotted over a good kick to bring the teams level at three points each with the prospect of the half time break looming. But more was to come when in the 46^th minute of the match and with both teams becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of continuity in play a full scale bust up occurred. This involved most members of both teams and continued for some time before order was eventually restored. When calm descended the referee punished High School who lost another player to the touchline bringing them back down to 12 players on the pitch. Monaghan remained intact with 15 players.

The referee then blew the half time whistle.

HALF TIME          BHSFP  3          3  MONAGHAN

 High School were now faced with a major mountain to climb just to stay in the game and it seemed the writing was on the wall when Monaghan scored a try with only two minutes of the second half gone . The try was unconverted. 

Uncontested scrums continued and it was from this that Monaghan secured a further try after 5 minutes of second half play. The Monaghan No8 picked up from the base of the scrum and made ground against the High School defence. The ball went to the floor allowing a Monaghan player to dribble over the line for a touchdown . The try was unconverted.

With 12 players on the pitch High School continued to battle on and managed to secure a further penalty just inside the Monaghan half. PeterTaylor struck a good penalty to give his team a boost with the score at 13  -  6 in favour of Monaghan.

 As the game moved on High School started to secure some ball which in turn allowed the backs to run at the opposition. This was proving an effective tactic particularly when the ball was moved wide to the wings. Good ball from Jonny Mayne to Chris Kitchen allowed him to distribute as much as possible and it was clear the Monaghan team were having difficulty dealing with the strong running Jordan Frampton , Neil Hastings and Gareth Adams 

With considerable tenacity the High School team fought their way back into the game and were next to score points from a try by Stephen Morton. This came from a period of open play when the ball was moved around the backs and with Neil Hastings getting stopped short Morty was on hand in support to go over for the points . Peter Taylor converted.

 Suddenly the score was even at 13 each  and Monaghan knew that High School were not going to lie down. Superb work by the forwards continued to ensure a supply of ball and against all the odds High School went into the lead after 20 minutes of the half through a Peter Taylor penalty.

 As the game moved on and High School continued to threaten the Monaghan line the team and supporters began to consider the possibility of securing a victory. On at least two occasions Neil Hastings was stoped just short after strong runs and it seemed that 12 men were going to cause a major upset . Despite the pressure though High School were not getting the breaks when the try line was in sight. Monaghan for their part defended well in this period of the game but were fortunate to secure the final points against the run of play when an attempted chip was intercepted allowing the Monaghan player a free run to the line for a converted try . With only 12 players on the pitch the High School defence was stretched to the limit and risks had to be taken in attack if victory was to be secured, but it just wasn’t going to be High Schools day and despite a continued display of fortitude and skill the victory wasn’t achieved.

 The game finished with the Monaghan team taking the win. High School however deserve great credit for this performance when from the 16^th minute they were down on numbers and for all of the second half they took the game to Monaghan with 12 men on the pitch. 

Next Week It’s away to Letterkenny

Thanks For The JUG From Last Week Jordan , One Down and One To Go !! 

Labour Ipse Voluptas.

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Last modified: November 01, 2004