BHSFP  41 v 15 Ophir

Local rivals Ophir were the guests at Greenisland for this League fixture on a cool , showery and windy day . Conditions underfoot were excellent with the large watching band of supporters ( in excess of 80 brave souls ) hoping for open running rugby as witnessed in the previous two league encounters. 

With some points on the board it was clear where the High School threat came from but as expected Ophir continued to keep the ball tight rarely using their backs for any great purpose. The game continued in this vein with honours even up front and High School making the most of the ball against the wind and the disruptive tactics of Ophir. 

With the game twenty minutes old Ophir were awarded the first of a number of missed penalty attempts. Soon after however High School scored again when following a period of broken play the ball was well cleared out of defence by High School.  The resultant fielded ball and lacklustre clearance kick by the Ophir defender was charged down and collected by David Mayne who completed for his second try. Again unconverted. 

The first points to Ophir came after 33 minutes when another penalty award in front of the posts was converted. However the points gap was extended by High School seven minutes later when flying winger Neil Hastings went in for his first try of the day as he supported and then accepted the opportunity to score from David Mayne who wasn’t going to be bitten by the “Jug” again. Tim Murphy converted. 

With High School in the driving seat the second half started much as the first finished with Ophir rucking and mauling up the field although this time into the stiff wind. Unfortunately with the second half only a few minutes old Ophir lost another player to injury reducing their on field compliment to 13 with one still in the sin bin. 

High School at this point might have expected to further increase the gap but with two men down Ophir continued to present a problem up front and with their prop restored to the fray they continued to put real pressure on the High School defence . After nineteen minutes of the half Ophir’s hard work was rewarded with a well taken and converted try. 

A comfortable lead had now been built up by High School which they continued to defend against the committed Ophir team  but again, the strength of play by the High School backline marshalled by scrum half and Captain Jonny Mayne was too much for the opposition defence. With 30 minutes of play gone Neil Hastings really hit a purple patch and from good handling by the High School ran in for his fourth try of the day well converted by Tim Murphy. 

Ophir for their part did not die in the ditch and continued to push hard for further points. With the referee having already handed out one yellow card a second was displayed towards the end of the game when Stephen Morton, who had worked tirelessly for his team was dismissed for arguing.  This situation arose as High School were in defence and continued to be so for the next couple of minutes until Ophir once again reduced the deficit with a further well taken try. 

With the game almost on the blow High School were awarded a penalty opportunity on the half way line which was duly despatched between the sticks by Tim Murphy. Although having secured a good win High School can feel pleased to have got this rather scrappy local derby out of the way and with three consecutive wins under the belt and almost 200 points accumulated can feel confident of further success as the season progresses.

FINAL SCORE    BHSFP   41   V   15  OPHIR

Next week its away to Ballymoney.