Monaghan 3  v  BHSFP 57

On April fools day High School travelled to Monaghan for the final League match of the season. This again was a must win match in order that the High School would maintain their top spot in the League. 

The conditions in Monaghan were mixed with sunshine interspersed with heavy rain and hail . Unfortunately the rain had a rather detrimental effect on the pen of this reporter . This weeks report may therefore be light on some facts as the lap top , otherwise known as the memory , also got wet later on ! 

The game got underway with the High School fielding a few changes from the previous week . Andrew Meek came into the second row , Kyle Brown took the wing berth and Jonny Price took up position in the back row.

Monaghan kicked off with the elements and immediately set about showing their intention to take the game to the visitors. For the first few minutes it was all Monaghan as they attacked the High School defence . For their part High School were having some difficulty in getting to grips with the conditions but the defence was sound and after holding out for some time a poor pass by Monaghan was intercepted by the precocious Jordan Frampton who ran the length of the pitch to touch down. The try was converted by Tim Murphy. 

A further seven minutes of fairly tight rugby elapsed before High School again got on the scoreboard this time from Chris Kitchen who was having one of those “bullicking” days when the home backline wished he’d stayed at home. The try by Chris was again converted by Tim Murphy. With the score now sitting at 14 points to nil for the visitors the initial tenseness evaporated and the ball started to move across the backs with more conviction as the forward pack gradually got the upperhand on the opponents. Good work by Taylor , McManus and Scott in the front row led the way in controlling the supply of ball. Excellent mauling was combined with good interplay resulting in the next try scored by second row Jonny Terret who crashed over to secure the points. The conversion was missed as the hail belted the players and spectators alike. 

The final try of the half also came from good forward play as the High School pack controlled a maul up the field and with the ball pushed to the corner the result was the first try of the day from that man Morton. The conversion was missed. 

High School were now comfortably in the lead as the referee blew for half time. 

HALF  TIME     MONAGHAN  0    -    24  BHSFP

The second half got underway in slightly better conditions with Monaghan again coming out with all guns blazing. It was High School though who made an immediate impact as Kyle Brown who was having a good game on the wing took the final pass of a fine move by the backs to score in the corner. Tim Murphy converted . 

With the visiting team very much in the driving seat the Monaghan side tried to move into High School territory but with little success. With total control up front the supply of ball to the backline was continuous and only for a number of handling errors the try count could have been higher. The next try however was to come from a forward dominated move which was finished off by Andy “Jim” Morrison amid jubilant celebrations by the big lad who had played all season without a try to date. 

With the conversion going over the traffic was all one way and although faced with a mighty hill to climb the Monaghan team continued to fight hard to get on the scoresheet . The High School backline were threatening at every occasion with the versatile centre Ian Elliott acting as an extra back row player securing ball at every turn. It wasn’t long before the next points were added again through Stephen Morton who had another storming game. This try was right out of the top drawer as Morty showed tremendous strength to pierce the Monaghan defence leaving players in his wake to take the points. Tim Murphy Converted. 

With Jonny Mayne supplying first class ball despite the conditions and Tim Murphy controlling the plays the centre partnership of Chris Kitchen and Ian Elliott posed a real threat to the opposition at every turn. Supported by Phil McKeown , Kyle Brown and Jordan Frampton there was little the Home side could do as their attacks either broke down or were stopped short at every  turn. 

As the game moved into the final quarter upped stepped Andrew Meek to take the plaudits for the next try . With ball in hand and finding himself in space Andrew headed for the line some twenty  metres away. The big lad finished off in style with a rather dodgy swan dive . Top points for the try but “Nil Points” ( spoken with a French accent )  for the dive Andrew ! Tim Murphy secured the conversion points. 

The final and ninth try of the game again came from the irrepressible Stephen Morton who finished a good forward move in the corner for his third of the day , an excellent display by Morty . The conversion was missed. 

As the game headed for an early finish Monaghan who had diligently stuck to their task worked their way to the High School 22 where they were awarded a penalty. The option of the kick was taken and the three points were secured. 

The referee decided at this point to bring the game to a close some 10 minutes early.

FINAL  SCORE      MONAGHAN  3    -    57  BHSFP

With the final league game now nailed down and the High School sitting proudly on top of section 3 with seventeen wins out of eighteen matches it remains to be seen what the nearest rival , Ballymoney can do to match the High School for points. 

Next weeks match is the Semi Final of the Gordon West cup against Ballymoney away. Full support welcome. 

Labor Ipse Voluptas