Belfast Harlequins –v- Ballynahinch
First Trust Senior League 
Ballymacarn Park 2:30pm
19^th September 2009

Hinch elected to play into the Sun and mild Westerly breeze; Quins kicked off, fielding a weakened side, with three missing from Wednesday night's win over Ballymena. This was Quins' 3rd match in 8 days, whereas it was only Hinch's 2nd.Moreover Hinch had won 4 competitions in season 2008/9.

At 17, 22 and 39 Reaney kicked three important penalties. However the referee had over-ruled the Quins' touch-judge Alec Allen at Reaney's first attempt at goal at 8; indeed the referee had tried to impose another touch-judge before the game.

At 14 and 30 Hinch scored goals, leaving the half-time score at: Hinch  14  Quins  9.

Hinch out-half scored another goal @ 41 and a penalty @ 51.
Quins scored a late goal @ 78, the try scorer being either Robert Logan or David Creighton; here we must apply Heisenberg's uncertainty principle! Nevertheless for his persistence and determination for following up and hacking through with an ensuing chase, Len and I make Captain Logie man-of-the-match.

Bertie our photographer is in France until after the coming Saturday.

Our defence was at times disappointing to say the least, against a canny NZ outhalf. Incidentally O'Hagan converted our only try. Had BlakeKnox' intercept in the 1st half finished in a goal and had Reaney's 1st attempt at goal been allowed we might have won 26-24.However it must be said that the better team won on the day.

See you at Philips Arena,Deramore Park, for the 1st Round of the AIB Cup versus Naas, next Saturday 26th September, 2-30pm.

Re uncontested scrums one would have to ask was ELV 3.14c applied?

There were at least three bouts of fisticuffs; several yellow cards were issued. Other remarks are that a Hench dignatory remarked to me that Quins were only kids; however the kids still top the Ulster Senior League and we hope nogoat-flu was transmitted. Also the referee was not helped by the lack of whitening on all infield lines.

The final score was thus: Hinch  24   Quins  16.

Quins started with:
1 Tim Morton 2 Robert Logan(C) 3 Adam Macklin 4 Gareth Rourke 5 Danny Annett 6 Alister Heatlie 7 Andrew Joseph 8 Stephen Neill 9 David Creighton
10 Rory BlakeKnox 11 Colin Atkinson 12 Keith Pyper 13 Richard Reaney
14 Fiyin Olayisade 15 Miles O'Hagan.
In the 2nd half Frederick Cuttle came on for Reaney with Atkinson going to
centre and Mark McGrath came on for Morton.

Derrick Crothers(prof)
Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO
PS Our 2nds were tanked by Hinch 2nds 46-14 in a 1pm KO on the adjacent pitch;
while our U19's had a hard-earned draw with Randalstown on Thursday evening :
12-12,with the Quins' scorers:Matthew Mullan,a try, converted by Mark Thompson
and Michael Chung,an unconverted try. Well done, men! 

Belfast Harlequins –v- Ballymena First Trust Senior League Deramore Park 7-45pm 16th September 2009

On a fully floodlit pitch, with all the broken bulbs replaced and in cool isotropic conditions, Ballymena kicked off towards the River Lagan - Quins having won the toss. Andrew Gillespie led us out, in the absence of our now Ulster-contracted Captain, Neil McComb. Ballymena were captained by Sam McKinney, the son of the former Lion, Stewart McKinney - who also coached NIFC. The Sun had set before kick-off, and in view of Serena's foot-fault tantrums last week ,it is worth recalling referees' advice: In Rugby Union, standing in the field of play, looking out, all lines are out! Quins were to win this match absolutely and magnificent - Quins  22  Ballymena  0. (17-0 half-time score) Quins had three tries:Tim Morton(6),Robert Logan(34)and Keith Pyper(44),with Pyper converting the first two,as well as kicking a penalty at 11.This was no fantasy(against Division 1B opponents),just a Harlequins plot,in which every single man tackled fiercely. Well done,men! Our man of the match(usual triumvirate of Bertie,Len and self)was Keith Pyper:his charge-down of the kick for the try was no fluke as he had been marking and tackling throughout with aplomb.Our halfbacks, David Creighton and Rory BlakeKnox, had a very good tactical game while Colin Atkinson, Miles O'Hagan and Fiyin Olayisade had excellent games. Commiserations to Willie Stewart who was replaced early in the 1st half by Tim Shaw with Atky moving into the centre; Shaw was replaced in the 2nd half by Frederick Cuttle,as was Tim Morton by Austen Blackburn(with Mark McGrath moving to tight-head); and Andrew Joseph by Alister Heatlie. Commiserations to Andrew Gillespie, replaced by Andrew Joseph, following a non-trivial blood injury. Scrum, ruck maul, lineout phases were all excellent, with the driving maul extremely effective; our discipline was tight.Congratulations to the entire Coaching and Management Team: Coaches Andy Ward and Adam Larkin, Football Chairman David C Gillespie, his Deputy Conor Keown, our Team Manager Len Young and our very busy physio Gary Callaghan. We now face Ballynahinch away at Ballymacarn Park on Saturday 19th Sept,2-30pm,again a Division 1B side,in the Ulster Senior League: see you there! Quins started with: 15 Miles O'Hagan 14 Colin Atkinson 13 Keith Pyper 12 William Stewart11 Fiyin Olayisade 10 Rory BlakeKnox 9 David Creighton 1 Mark McGrath 2 Robert Logan 3 Tim Morton 4 Gareth Rourke 5 Danny Annett 6 Andrew Gillespie(C) 7 Andrew Joseph 8 Chris McCarey. Derrick Crothers (prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO

Ards v Belfast Harlequins First Trust Senior League Hamilton Park 2-30pm 12th  Sept '09 Quins elected to face the Easterly breeze on a beautiful Indian-Summer day and Ards kicked off.The foundations for a bonus-point win were laid in the first half with a try by Rourke at 16, converted by Pyper and a try by Pyper at 44, to an Ards goal.The first was the result of very good backing up and the second was due to an excellent tackle by Colin Atkinson - who had subbed on for Rainey, with Pyper reading the interception to perfection. The half-time score was thus: Ards  7  Quins  12. In the 2nd half the forwards scored, from close quarters, three more tries: Tim Morton (62), Chris McCarey (68) and again, Rourke (82) with Pyper converting all three.The final score was hence: Ards  7  Quins  33. Replacements in the 2nd half were:Adam Macklin for McGrath, Andrew Gillespie for Stephen Neill, David Creighton for Frederick Cuttle -with the latter replacing Rob Creighton on the left wing, and finally McGrath and Austen Blackburn for Tim Morton and Robert Logan, thusavoiding uncontested scrums, under the new Law. Probably the total 40 points were matched only by the number of planes of all shapes and sizes, flying above the pitch. Following discussions with the team manager Len Young, and  trustee/photographer/website editor Bertie O'Neill, our man-of-the-match is Miles O'Hagan for his near-perfect catching and punting. Fortunately there was no gouging, no artificial blood packs, no  hermaphrodites, no cocaine, nor any other illegal drugs. It was good to have our Captain Neil McComb in his first outing with Quins and following first-class training on Thursday evening. Ards halfbacks kicked well and both sides scrummed and rucked well. Quins did win the scrum turnovers 2 to 1, and had the better of the lineouts. Passing in the backs showed mprovement. Quins now lead the Ulster League with a maximum of 15 points from 15 (3x  1)). Next week brings: Quins v Ballymena, at Philips Arena, Deramore  Park, Wednesday 16 Sept @ 7-30pm and Ballynahinch v Quins @ Ballymacaran Park, Saturday 19 Sept @ 2-30pm. Quins started with: 1 Mark McGrath 2 Robert Logan 3 Tim Morton 4 Neil McComb(C) 5 Gareth Rourke 6 Stephen Neill 7 Andrew Joseph 8 Chris McCarey 9 Frederick Cuttle10 Rory Blake-Knox 11 Rob Creighton 12 Keith Pyper 13 Richard Rainey 14 Fiyin Olayisade 15 Miles O'Hagan.            Derrick Crothers(prof) Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO   P.S . Congratulations to our 2nd XV who won comfortably in the 2nd XV League v Ards 2nd XV(1pm KO), by 50-10. Ards brace of tries were more than matched by Quins' 8 tries -  from Danny Annett, David Creighton,and a brace each  from Simon Rea , Colin Atkinson and Paul Rea. Tim Shaw converted 5. A, B, C Commiserations to our Ladies' XV who played Enniskillen away on Friday in a friendly in preparation for their All Ireland North League matches.They lost 12-24, with two tries coming from Lesley-Ann Stirling and Lesley Megarity. It was nice to see our old friend Cois Beukes again. Good luck for the remaider of the season, in your role as Ards coach, . And finally, Hugh and Pamela Stephenson were at Ards, while their son Lewis had his first London Harlequins RFC game. Well done, Lewis!

Philips Belfast Harlequins Vs Rainey Old Boys Ulster Senior League @ Philips Arena,Deramore Park 5 September 2009 In Round II of the USL, Rainey elected to play with the progressive Westerly breeze.  Quins kicked off, on a pitch in immaculate condition. The half-time score was: Quins 19  Rainey  8. The full-time score was : Quins 59-Rainey  8, earning Quins a comprehensive bonus-point victory. One of the Rainey centres kicked a penalty at 13, but failed to  convert their  fullback's try at 16, following the breakdown of a Quins attack, involving a bad pass. McCarey scored another hat-trick of tries (10, 38, 76), Olayisade a brace (47, 72), while Pyper (27), D.Creighton  (63), Atkinson (78) and Stewart (83) got one each. Richard Rainey converted 7, missing only McCarey's 2nd and Olayisade's1st, making a total of 59 from 7 goals and 2 tries. Coming on, at the hour, Mark McGrath, for Tim Morton, and Colin Atkinson, for Alister Heatlie, proved to  be effective and well-timed replacements. Alan Rankin and Simon Rea were not used.My man-of-the-match was Gareth Rourke, for his play in the lineouts, rucks,mauls and catching of quite-a-few restarts. In general, lineout, maul, ruck were excellent: still room, nevertheless, for improvement in distribution, in punting and in allowing for the wind at lineout input. Upwards and onwards! Well done men and Wardy! See you at Ards on 12th September at 2-30pm for our 3rd USL match. Quins started with: 15 Miles O'Hagan 14 Fiyin Olayisade 13 Richard Rainey 12 William Stewart 11 Keith Pyper 10 Rory BlakeKnox 9 David Creighton 1 Tim Morton 2 Robert Logan( c) 3 Richard Lutton  4 Danny Annett 5 Gareth Rourke 6 Alister Heatlie 7 Andrew Gillespie 8 Chris McCarey.   Derrick Crothers (prof) Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO P.S. It was great to see Messrs Glancy, Hastings and McClean in the Clubhouse afterwards.

Queen's University Belfast v Philips Belfast Harlequins Ulster Senior League at The Dub, 2-30pm,Saturday 29th August 2009   Quins elected to face the non-trivial predominantly Western breeze from the Black Mountain.QUB had a young tall team which ensured a battle royal, especially in the lineouts. QUB kicked off towards the Car-Park. At 28 mins, centre Richard Rainey in his first competitive match at the Club, nailed an excellent penalty from the 10 metre line, against the wind: QUB  0  Quins  3. At 42 mins, on the stroke of half-time, McCarey scored a try under their posts, converted by Rainey: half-time score: QUB  0  Quins 10. In the 2nd half, McCarey scored two more unconverted tries, at 45 mins (LH corner) and 69 mins (halfway out on RH side). These were interspersed by an excellent try by Olayisade at 51 mins, forced over and down by Rourke and converted by Rainey. Meanwhile Queen's had scored under the posts @ 62 mins, a goal. So the final score was: QUB  7  Quins  27,thus securing a vital away bonus-point win (4 tries)! There can be no doubt Chris McCarey was our man-of-the-match, scoring a pacey hat-trick of tries,but he was well backed up by the entire team. Tim Shaw replaced Rob Creighton, Tim Morton replaced Mark McGrath at prop, and Alatise Ale subbed for Robert Logan  (yellow card) and Alister Heatlie. Scrums, tackling rucks and mauls were excellent and Fiyin Olayisade saved a certain QUB try coming across from the right wing, inside his 22, ---- like Anthony Perkins in Psycho I. Our starting team was: 1.Mark McGrath 2.Robert Logan 3.Richard Lutton 4.Danny Annett 5.Gareth Rourke 6.Alister Heatlie 7. Andrew Gillespie 8.Chris McCarey 9.David Creighton 10.Keith Pyper 11.Rob Creighton 12.William Stewart 13.Richard Rainey 14.Fiyin Olayisade 15. Miles O'Hagan.   See you at Philips Arena, Deramore Park, this Saturday, 5th September at 2-30pm,  for another Ulster Senior League Match  --  versus my old school Rainey Old Boys!   Derrick Crothers (prof)   Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO    Chris McCarey Man of the Match

Pre-season Warm-up Match City of Derry RFC v Belfast Harlequins RFC Judge's Road, 22nd August 2009.   Quins took a squad of 30 up to Derry on Saturday: Ivan Girvan, Mark McGrath, Richard Lutton, Jim Morton, Stephen Beattie, Austen Blackburn, David Thompson, Robert Logan, Paul Olding, Gareth Rourke, Graham Jewhurst, Danny Annett, Andrew Gillespie, Stephen Nall, Andrew Joseph,David Doherty, Paul Rea, Stuart Harkness, Roger Kirkwood, David Creighton, Frederick Cuttle, Miles O'Hagan, Richard Rainey, Rob Creighton,Tim Shaw, William Stewart, Andrew Bamforth, Michael Scholes, Chris Allen and Feyen Olayisade. Not available due to injury were Michael Willis, Keith Pyper, Colin Atkinson, Gavin McLoughlin, Mark Kettyle and Rory BlakeKnox. Chris McCarey and Adam Macklin were unavailable; as were Friday's Ulster quartet (versus Newcastle Falcons): Darren Cave, Neil McComb, Paul Marshall and Niall O'Connor. At half-time,having elected to play against a fairly crisp South-Easterly breeze, Quins led by a goal (10 mins) by Miles O'Hagan and an unconverted try (14 mins) by Feyen Olayisade, to three Derry penalties: Derry  9  Quins  12. In the last quarter at 72 mins and at 80 mins, the Derry respectively left and right wings scored two excellent unconverted tries, to leave the final score at: Derry 19  Quins  12. On the plus side,apart from the two late Derry tries,tackling was good all round: it had to be. Rucks and mauls were good apart from one rather foolish yellow card and scrums were sound apart from one turnover-wheel of pi/2 radians. Line-outs were good though throwing-in requires practice. The squad got a fullrun-out and lessons were learnt.We have to go out and practise kicking of allsorts, not least punts in various windy conditions. All the very best to Andy Ward and Adam Larkin,our Coach and Assistant Coach respectively. Also many thanks to Derry for their kind hospitality,off the pitch. See you across the road at the Dub next Saturday 29th August at 2-30pm for our opening Ulster Senior League match against Queen's University Belfast.     Derrick Crothers (prof)   Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO      SEASON 2008/2009

 

Saturday 14th March 2009 Deramore Park Ulster Senior Cup 1/4 Final Philips Belfast Harlequins 8 Ballymena 11

In the above match, Quins won the toss and elected to defend the Clubhouse and the not insignificant Westerly breeze. Both sides had players unavailable due to the Ireland - Scotland International in Edinburgh. Ballymena won this match by 11 points to 8: one try each (Taggart for Ballymena at 19 and O'Hagan for Quins at 68) but two penalties to 1 (Woods at 13 and 50 and Pyper at 48). We missed penalty kicks at 40 and 51 and the only conversion available to us. At the end we had a penalty at 1/2-way but kicked it dead touch-in-goal, scrum back. Each team received a yellow card.In the 2nd half Andrew Joseph subbed for Stephen Robinson who received applause for his efforts and Chris McCarey moved to number 8 .Our pack competed very well with a big abrasive Ballymena pack, though some of the referee's decisions were strange, - to say the least. Miles O'Hagan's try was exemplary from 40 metres out. Later Willie Stewart came into the line from the left wing and nearly scored after a great run. I commend Rob Creighton on the right wing for his intelligent use of the quick throw-in from our 22, in the 1st half. We are no longer defending champions: least said, best forgotten. We now look forward to our last three rounds of AIL II : Sat 28 March AIB13 v Malone at Gibson Park, Sat 11 April AIB14 at Philips Arena Deramore Park v Dublin University (TCD to you and me) and finally, Sat 18 April at Shaw's Bridge v Instonians in AIB15, all at the usual time 2-30pm. In reality we need to win at least one of these to be certain of remaining in Division II. Quins started with: 15 Miles O'Hagan 14 Rob Creighton 13 Shane Stewart 12 Keith Pyper 11 William Stewart 10 Mark Kettyle 9 David Creighton 1 Mark McGrath 2 Robert Logan 3 Tom McArthur 4 Alister Heatlie 5 Neil McComb 6 Chris McCarey 7 Colin Atkinson(C) 8 Stephen Robinson. Unused replacements were Johnathon Hopgood, Ivan Girvan and Michael Willis. Derrick Crothers (prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO .

Ulster Senior Cup Round 1 Saturday 28th February 2009  Philips Belfast Harlequins 55  Malone 31 The above match postponed from the 7th February 2009, kicked off at 2-30pm. Many were away to Dublin for the crucial England International at Croke Park. Malone elected to defend the Castlereagh Hills and Quins kicked off on this wonderful Philips Arena, with only an intermittent light Southerly breeze. The first half of normal time was another exciting episode of Waking the Dead  (no,not the Irish Gypsy one), the second half was more like Midsomer Murders but fortunately Extra Time (10 minutes each way) was from the entertaining New Tricks starring Amanda Redman. Quins scored four excellent tries in the 1st half: Willie Stewart @ 5, Adam Macklin @ 13, Gavin McLoughlin @ 23 and Neil McComb @ 39. Keith Pyper kicked all 4 conversions as well as a penalty @ 26. Burgess scored a try for Malone @ 36 and Fry converted, as well as kicking a penalty @ 29. So the score at normal half-time was: Quins 31 Malone 10. In the 2nd half Stephen Robinson came on for Colin Atkinson (with Chris McCarey moving to flanker) and David Creighton came on for Roger Kirkwood. Unused replacements were Mark McGrath, Rob Creighton and Rory Blake Knox. In this half, Burgess(1 try @ 58), Anderson (1 try @ 60) and sub Fallon (1 try @ 66) scored with Fry converting all three.  And so to Extra (E) time, Fry having missed a penalty which would have secured Malone victory, though Quins might have responded in the 47 minute 2nd half, despite having a man off yellow-carded. And so to New Tricks and Extra Time: Gavin McLoughlin (E2), David Creighton (E10), Willie Stewart (E12)and finally Chris McCarey (E20) all scored tries,t he last two being converted by Pyper. The final score was:    Quins  55  Malone  31. And so Philips Belfast Harlequins are at home,probably on the 14 March, in the next round:opponents Ballymena. Lineouts,scrums and rucks/mauls were excellent. Our Wednesday XV mode, as I call it ,was very good. However more attention to tackling (eg lines of defence) and punting is required. Really man-of-the-match is a conundrum:so I will take the easy way out and name 2 backs: Gavin McLoughlin and Willie Stewart for 2 tries each and Neil McComb and Alister Heatlie for their defence and attack:great to see big forwards running at pace and dummying with aplomb. So see you at Philips Arena for another Cup-Final in AIL II versus Highfield (whom we beat last year away), this Saturday 7th March @ 2-30pm. Please beware the Ides of March and embrace Waking the Dead and New Tricks, with Midsomer Murders well and truly relegated to the archive! Quins started with: 1 Tom McArthur 2 Robert Logan 3 Adam Macklin 4 Alister Heatlie 5 Neil McComb 6 Andrew Joseph 7 Colin Atkinson(C) 8 Chris McCarey 9 Roger Kirkwood 10 Mark Kettyle 11 William Stewart 12 Keith Pyper 13 Shane Stewart 14 Gavin McLoughlin 15 Miles O'Hagan. We remain Defending Champions! . Derrick Crothers (prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO .

Philips Belfast Harlequins  v Malone First Trust USL Philips Arena,Deramore Park, 3 January 2009,2-30pm   On a cold, still dry day, Quins elected to defend the Clubhouse. Malone kicked off, with our former very welcome Club Captain Darren Barbour at left lock. This was to be a much improved performance by Quins with Mark McGrath (scrummaging especially) and Rob Falls (tackling particularly) earning after consultation joint men-of-the-match on their debut. Moreover, Mark Kettyle (outhalf) and Miles O'Hagan (fullback) have settled well into their new positions after 2 matches. The red sox were to score two tries in correlation with our two yellow cards (nb yellow is a fusion of green and blue). On 25, our #8 Stephen Robinson charged over for a try converted by Keith Pyper: Quins 7 Malone 0. On 38 Malone replied with an unconverted try in the LH corner,: Quins 7  Malone  5,  being the half time score. In the 2nd half at 43, Pyper intercepted in the Quins half and ran at pace 70 metres, the last 15 like a high-stepping ceremonial horse, to score under the posts. His own conversion left the core:  Quins  14  Malone  5. At 47 Pyper kicked a penalty from 40 m, Malone having 'held on': Quins  17  Malone  5: well done Pypes. As the half wore on  Johnathon Hopgood replaced Tom McArthur at tighthead, Fred Cuttle replaced Rory Blake Knox on the left wing, Feyn Olayisade replaced Gavin McLoughlin on the right wing and Andrew Gillespie came on at #8 with Stephen Robinson replacing Alister Heatlie at left lock. At 61 Atky elected to take the scrum in lieu of the penalty,especially with the Malone loosehead sin-binned. Andrew Gillespie crashed over for a typical base-of-the-scrum try: Quins  22  Malone  5. At 71 Moore, the Malone #8, scored a good try from a ruck,  to leave the final score  Quins  22  Malone  12. ( Pyper 1T, 2C, 1P; Robinson 1T; Gillespie 1T) So no bonus point(3 tries) for Quins, but at least the four USLLeague points were secured.Incidentally little advantage was played following over 30 penalties. Quins started with: 1 Mark McGrath 2 Robert Logan 3 Tom McArthur 4 Alister Heatlie 5 Michael Willis 6 Colin Atkinson (C) 7 Rob Falls  8 Stephen Robinson 9 David Creighton 10 Mark Kettyle 11 Rory Blake Knox 12 Keith Pyper 13 William Stewart 14 Gavin McLoughlin 15 Miles O'Hagan. P.S. Quins 2nd XV had an excellent win over Malone 2nd XV in a home early 1pm kick-off. And what a win by Ulster (37-11)  over Munster. I watched it twice from my flu-ridden bed. Congratulations to Quins player Darren Cave on a consummate performance including a try against Munster at Thomond Park and indeed to the man-of-the match: our former outhalf Ian Humphries. We still are unsure about our postponed match next Saturday at Old Crescent:watch the website! On 17 January we are at home to Clonakilty in AIL II     Derrick Crothers (prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO .

Philips Belfast Harlequins v Instonians First Trust USL Shaw's Bridge Saturday 27 Dec 2008 2-30pm On a cool frosty afternoon at Shaw's Bridge with a NE to SW breeze Quins elected to play down the slope and attack the scoreboard at the NE end. Instonians kicked off. After 2 minutes Quins had a kick charged down in their 22 and Instonians 10, Johnny Watt, chipped high under the posts. The bounce favoured Inst and Johnny converted to give Inst an early lead: Inst 7 Quins 0. At 24 Quins drove a maul over the Inst line and Pyper converted: Inst 7 Quins 7. At 33 the referee generously,in my view,awarded Inst a penalty for obstruction duly kicked by the obstructee: Inst 10 Quins 7. At 42, on the stroke of half-time Blake Knox scored an excellent try in the inst LH corner, under the scoreboard. It went unconverted: so the 1/2-time score: Inst 10 Quins 12. At 45 an Inst flanker scored an excellent try, to the right of the posts, while at 50 Pyper, replied with a penalty: Inst 17 Quins 15. At 77 an Inst sub scored a try with Watt again converting: Inst 24 Quins 15 - the final score giving Inst 4 valuable Ulster League points and Quins none. In the 2nd half David Creighton came on for Cuttle.The other four subs were not used - Joe McArthur, Mark McGrath, Graham Jewhurst and Rob Falls. My "Men of the Match" were Michael Willis (lineouts especially) and Adam Macklin for his scrummaging and loose play in general. As usual, Atky having recovered from a bad cold, led throughout by example. Willie Stewart had a wonderful break up the right wing in the 2nd half, beating 4 or 5 menbut, Miles O'Hagan was unlucky to get both man and ball. So the Master Race mastered Quins by 3 tries to 2 -- a merry Xmas Inst, but let us not predict 2009 ! Quins started with:15 Miles O'Hagan 14 Gavin McLoughlin 13 William Stewart 12 Keith Pyper 11 Rory Blake Knox 10 Mark Kettyle 9 Freddie Cuttle 8 Stephen Robinson 7 Colin Atkinson(C) 6 Andrew Joseph 5 Michael Willis 4 Alister Heatlie 3 Adam Macklin 2 Robert Logan 1 Johnathon Hopgood. Incidentally I thought our Touch Judge Alec took a very hard tackle very well. See you at Philips Arena on Sat 3rd Jan,2009,for Quins v Malone in the Ulster Senior League, but watch the website just in case. Happy New Year to all! Derrick Crothers(prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO

Philips Belfast Harlequins v Dungannon First Trust Ulster Senior League Philips Arena,2-30pm Quins 5 Dungannon 18 On an overcast windless day,Quins elected to defend the Clubhouse. Continual rain cooled the players in their endeavours.Duns kicked off. At 15 Willie Stewart scored an excellent unconverted try to put Quins 5-0 up, the referee having wisely played two advantages and having rightly ignored a call for a mark. At 37 the Dungannon lock David O'Callaghan scored a good unconverted try following an unfortunate knock-on by Quins:another advantage. At 42 Richard McCarter kicked a penalty to leave the half-time score at: Quins 5 Duns 8, and a Quins stalwart in the sin-bin. In the 2nd half at 48 David Parkhill scored Dun's 2nd try in the RH corner, though there was a suspicion of some obstruction. At 76 Quins had a routine kick charged down, resulting in Duns' 3rd try: Quins 5 Duns 18. It was nice to see my old friends Willie McKenzie and Alan Buchanan.But even they would have to agree Quins made too many simple individual errors. It must also be said that the Quins pack played with increased passion and effect.In the 2nd half Mark McGrath made his debut at loose-head with Tom McArthur going to tight-head. Colin Atkinson was rested and Stephen Robinson came on at 8 with Chris McCarey moving to 7 and taking over the Captaincy. Shane Stewart came on at centre for the injured Roger Kirkwood with Fred Cuttle moving to scrum-half and Willie Stewart to the right wing. My man-of-the-match following consultation is Robert Logan for his good ball carrying and setting up of rucks.Additionally, I thought Andy Joseph tackled well and Graham Jewhurst performed well at 2 in the lineout. Mark Kettyle and Willie Stewart performed effectively in the backs. I thought the referee had a good 1st half,if not a 2nd one. See you at Shaw's Bridge for another Ulster League match versus Instonians on Saturday 27th December. Quins started with: 15 Mark Kettyle 14 Fred Cuttle 13 William Stewart 12 Keith Pyper 11 Robert Creighton 10 Rory Blake Knox 9 Roger Kirkwood 1 Tom McArthur 2 Robert Logan 3 Adam Macklin 4 Graham Jewhurst 5 Michael Willis 6 Andrew Joseph 7 Colin Atkinson(C) 8 Chris McCarey Two replacements not used were Johnathon Hopgood and Alister Heatlie. Derrick Crothers(prof) Philips Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO PS Apologies for the tardiness of this report,arising out of Quins'excellent Christmas Sunday Carvery:well done Bernie McGrath! .

Banbridge v Philips Belfast Harlequins Rifle Park,7-30pm,13 November 2008 First Trust Ulster Senior League Banbridge elected to face the strong predominantly Southern breeze and defend the Clubhouse.Quins kicked off under the excellent floodlights enhanced by the full moon. By halftime Quins had built up a twelve-point lead through tries by William and Shane Stewart (no known relation) at 18 and 40 respectively.The 2nd was converted by Miles O'Hagan. The only distraction was the white noise from the Belfast- Newry dual carriageway above. In the 2nd half , Keith Pyper came on for Gavin McLoughlin at fullback and at 45 Fred Cuttle replaced the injured David Creighton (we wish him well.) At 54 Michael Willis with good backing up of Cuttle's break scored a try to the right of the posts at the Newry end: Banbridge 0 Quins 17. At 65 and from a ruck going left this time Chris McCarey used his pace to score a try, thus ensuring that elusive bonus point for four tries. At 61 Bridge had kicked a penalty followed at 80 by an unconverted try after an injudicious Quins tap back at a lineout in their 22,leaving the final score at: Banbridge 8 Quins 22, but not before Quins had received a yellow card and a caution for persistent infringement. Conor Piper and Johnathon Hopgood were late replacements for Logan and Macklin. After some discussion with Bertie O'Neil and John Kinnear, I name Robert Logan as man-of-the-match for a lot of good ball carrying and general play and not just in this game. Stalwarts like Captain Colin Atkinson,Chris McCarey and Shane Stewart were to the fore as ever. Rucking had greatly improved as had passing in general with only a few hiccups caused by the strong breeze. Scrums were sound, tackling good, mauls effective.Kicking was a lottery for both sides. Fielding of the ball by both sides was good. Above all the determination to play well and win well had returned and we look forward to our next encounter with UCC in Cork on 29 November in 15 days time. Well done Bruce Cornelius (coach) and Shane Stewart (backs- assistant coach). Quins started with: 15 Gavin McLoughlin 14 William Stewart 13 Shane Stewart 12 Rory Blake Knox 11 Robert Creighton 10 Miles O'Hagan 9 David Creighton 1 Tom McArthur 2 Robert Logan 3 Adam Macklin 4 Alister Heatlie 5 Michael Willis 6 Andrew Gillespie 7 Colin Atkinson(C) 8 Chris McCarey. Derrick Crothers (prof) Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO

 

Philips Quins v Hinch Deramore Park, 8th Nov 2008, Ulster Senior League Let not my cold words here accuse my zeal! I elect not to dwell on this match:my blog will be brief. The taxidermy was :Quins 5 Hinch 29, embracing zero League points to five! Hinch scored four tries at 7, 38, 58 and 77 ; only the first went unconverted. At 68 Hinch kicked a penalty.Quins' sole contribution was a try at 19. There was no man-of-the-match for Quins.I might think of one back and two forwards who might gain pass marks. Passing and kicking (very little allowance for the breeze) were poor; rucking was too slow; too many lineouts were knocked on; scrums were adquate (thanks here to scrummaging coach John Campbell). Tackling (4 tries conceded) was poor. Even catching the ball was poor enough. There appeared to be little or no plan; a lack of morale, a lack of will to win - unlike Hinch. For instance,does it make sense to attempt an outside break against a drift defence? Many other questions arise. Tom McArthur and Stuart Philpott subbed on at half-time. See you at Rifle Park at 7-30pm on Thursday 13th November for the USL Banbridge v Quins. I hope we can and will improve. Sadly, DSFC Philips Quins pro

Ballymena v Belfast Harlequins Ulster Senior League Eaton Park, 20 September 2008 Ballymena elected to attack the Broughshane end so Quins kicked off towards Ballymena town. It was a pleasant day. Quins scored an opening goal at 8 minutes: Joe McArthur touching down and Keith Pyper converting. B'mena replied with a matching goal at 13 minutes: Kirkpatrick touching down, Fischer converting. At 16 minutes, Pyper kicked a simple penalty: score B'mena 7 Quins 10. Coming up to half-time, McComb ran 70 metres to score a magnificent try under the posts, Pyper converting leaving the half-time score at: B'mena 10 Quins 17, (Fischer having kicked a penalty near Quins' 10-metre line for Quins' duck-diving.) As it happened, injuries ensured two halves, each of 44 mins. The half-time score was extremely encourag ing from the Quins' supporters and management point of view. At half-time, David Creighton subbed on for Freddie Cuttle at scrum-half. Later on, Chris Graham subbed on for Joe McArthur and Stephen Robinson for the injured Graham Jewhurst. Needing at least 2 scores to win, B'mena upped the ante in the 2nd half, with their pack scrummaging and rucking well and their backs benefiting accordingly. At 50 and 84 Fischer kicked two further penalties; at 52 and 77 sub Entwhistle and Mallon scored B'mea tries, Fischer converting the first, to leave the score-board at B'mena 28 Quins 17. Rather crucially,at 17-20 down, Quins missed a penalty from the exact spot from which Fischer had landed his 44th minute penalty. This was a much better team performance by Quins than the mid-week match, bearing in mind the increase from III to I Divisional standing of the opposition. See you at Philips Arena, Deramore Park,and next Saturday, for our 1st round AIB Cup match v Banbridge. Quins started with: 1 Joe McArthur 2 Robert Logan 3 Tom McArthur 4 Graham Jewhurst 5 Neil McComb 6 Alisdair Heatlie 7 Colin Atkinson 8 Chris McCarey 9 Freddie Cuttle 10 Miles O'Hagan 11 William Stewart 12 Keith Pyper 13 Shane Stewart 14 Gavin McLoughlin 15 Mark Kettyle. Derrick Crothers(prof) Belfast Harlequins RFC PRO