Disappointment for 1XV at CI

Enniskillen 1st XV had a disappointing trip to CIYMS in Belfast last weekend. Coming away with nothing to show after an 18-10 defeat, a poor first half and some contentious refereeing decisions that had them chasing the game throughout. A George Foster try in the second half and a score from Michael Rooney had them going into the final 10 with a chance to take the lead, or at least claim a losing bonus point, but a final CI kick at goal sealed the result.
A fumble at the restart had CI claim their own ball and sprint into the Skins half, the home team starting with plenty of enthusiasm, Skins did very well not to concede an early try , hits from Jack and Neil Rutledge along with Jordan Hylton in the back line kept the home side out, but the pressure eventually yielded a penalty and CI went 3-0 up.
A well placed kick from CI after the restart handed them a line out inside the Skins 22’ and put them back under pressure immediately, again defending their try line, and somehow escaping a score once again with their defence, Matthew Graham and David Buchanan showing their resolve to hold up a score, with Lendrum sending the ball way down field from the drop out.
Skins attacked well now and set themselves up in the 22 but two consecutive errors at the lineout spoiled this period of pressure. They continued to show their attacking ability, however, a break from Hylton off a Lendrum offload almost claimed a score, followed shortly afterwards by slick hands to John Maguire on the wing that was stopped just short. Then ensued a long spell on the CI line and the home side to their credit held them out, a hotly debated held up score giving the home side an exit after a lot of pressure.
A clever kick down field from CI followed by a penalty left Skins pinned inside their 22 now for the next 10 minutes, forcing another draining defensive effort. Again Skins worked extremely hard but eventually CI crossed in the corner, converted to lead 8-0.
Play remained in the middle of the field for some time now with both sides trying to gather some territory, a scrum inside the CI half that looked like a dominant shove for Skins from the front row of Warrington, Graham and Fox, but was deemed a penalty in their direction. A missed tackle around the fringe of the ruck then gave CI an easy 30 metres and a scrambling Enniskillen defence couldn’t stop the resultant score as the bar found it’s way wide, converted to lead 15-0 at the end of the half.
Skins started the second half well, working their way towards the try line showing their recently formidable attack, Carleton and Rooney in the pack finding holes in the defence. Eventually Lendrum spotted space on the right and flung a slick pass across the back line to George Foster who scored Skins’ first try, unconverted to trail 15-5, making it look easy after such a stuttering start.
A break from Jack Rutledge almost ended in a score from the half way line shortly afterwards but he was unfortunately short of support and turned over near the line. Another long range break from Rooney threatened the line once again minutes later but again as the ball went wide Skins incurred a pen for holding on. The devastating Skins attack continued to batter the CI defence but frustratingly couldn’t get over the line. Camped inside the 22 for another long stretch Enniskillen then had a score held up underneath the posts after repeated carries from the forwards.
Eventually from a lineout 10 metres out Michael Rooney broke from the side of the maul and scored, uncoverted to trail 15-10 with about 10 minutes to go. Enniskillen’s elation was short lived as they mounted plans to clinch the result; from the restart Skins carried out of their own half but were instantly penalised straight in front of the posts for holding on at the ruck, the scoreline 18-10.
From a scrum following the restart Skins had one last opportunity and the shove gained a crucial penalty. Lendrum kicked well to set up a lineout on the 5 metre line, but CI managed to spoil the resultant lineout and exit. Skins had one last chance to come away with points as Lendrum kicked a difficult penalty from just inside the opposition 10 metre line but it drifted wide for the contest to end at 18-10.
It was a frustrating fixture for Enniskillen who showed how potent their attack can be at times, along with a solid defence which was put under huge territorial pressure. Their main attacking issue on the day seemed to be their ability to secure their own ruck ball at crucial times which made it hard for them to wear down the opposition. The 1st XV now have a weekend off before heading into a major fixture hosting Portadown in their first Towns Cup outing, 12th February at Mullaghmeen.