21st January 2008

On Saturday, Armagh made the trip to Belfast to face Belfast Harlequins 4th's in another important league encounter. Buoyed by their excellent win over Portadown 2nd's in the cup the previous week, Armagh took to the field full of confidence and with a strong looking line up.

Up front, Richard Morton and Jamie Cornett returned to a pack which has dominated all oppositions this season. Eoghan Curran returned at scrum half to partner Chris Black in a strong half back pairing and Stuart Lester lined up at full back.

Armagh started the game brightly against an experienced Harlequins side. Early pressure saw Chris Black slot a well struck penalty 5 minutes into the game. This appeared to give confidence to the Armagh side who began playing the brand of open flowing rugby they have become renowned for.

Following several phases, Armagh took play into the 22 where Number 8 Eddie Orr bundled over in the corner from close range. The conversion drifted wide but Armagh were now controlling both the scoreboard and open play.

The scrum in particular looked strong with Andy Morton and Jason McMahon providing a strong base to allow Richard Morton to take a few against the head. The lineout also functioned well with Cornett and Orr dominating on both their own and opposition ball.

It was from a well worked lineout that Richard Morton found space and linked with the ever present Rory Hanna.

Centre Simon Cuttle followed in close support and took an offload from Hanna to score close to the posts allowing Chris Black to add the extras, taking the score to 15-0.

Cuttle was to be a thorn in the Harlequins side all afternoon and when he forced a turnover on the ground in midfield, Chris Black chipped ahead allowing full back Lester to score out wide. With the pack now securing good go-forward ball, the backs found space out wide. After being put clear by his centre partner Sam Sheppard, Cuttle raced clear and fed Morton to score Armagh’s fourth try of the afternoon.

Black added the conversion taking the visitors 27 points clear. Armagh saved their best passage of running rugby to the end of the first half when they counter attack from their own 22. Phil McAllister came from the blind side wing to create the extra man and fed his opposite winger Andy Brady who left two Harlequins defenders trailing in his wake to score in the corner.

The second half was a lot more keenly contested as the Harlequins side battled well to contain their opponents.

Armagh continued to play an expansive game but as the pitch began to cut up, they found finishing difficult.

Andy Morton went close early on after some good driving work from the pack but it was Sheppard who broke the deadlock with a well worked try following several offloads out of the tackle.

Black narrowly missed the conversion.

Armagh's 7th try was arguably their best as full back Stuart Lester showed great pace off the mark to jink past four defenders and race clear of the covering defence for his second of the day.

Soon after Chris Black got his first of the afternoon following another clever kick and chase, and also slotted the conversion to bring the points tally to 49-0. Harlequins showed great spirit and were awarded a consolation try close to the full time whistle despite a last ditch tackle from Lester.

Armagh played some very enterprising and entertaining rugby of the season in what was a crucial win that keeps alive their hopes of winning the league. In a great team performance, the back row trio of Orr, Cornett and Hanna excelled.

The centre pairing of Cuttle and Sheppard also created space and full back Lester finished every opportunity that came his way. Next Saturday, Armagh look forward to a tricky Cup encounter away to City of Derry 2 nd’s full of confidence and certainly keen to progress to the latter stages of the competition.