| Hinch 3's met Cooke at the beginning of the season in what was a fairly comfortable win, however our encounter could not be taken lightly. Thankfully we were in the correct frame of mind for the beginning of hopefully a descent cup run. Once the referee let play flow, we got settled into a good tempo and had a high percentage of possession and territory for the full half but just couldn't make it count. Line outs and scrums worked well despite the efforts of Cook's tight head - Willie Jordan. Ruck time was sharp and efficient too, but with only a penalty a piece thanks to Adrian Dodd the half ended frustratingly 3 points all.
The second half we played with the sun and more importantly the wind on our back, toiling towards the clubhouse. Jason Barr at scrumhalf, Geordy Shaw at outhalf and Carl Larkin at fullback kept Cooke in their own half with plenty of accurate kicking making easy working conditions for the forwards.
The pack settled a bit and started putting some phases together, taking heed of Sam McDowells half time talk. Good work rate put wee Davy Dodd over the line for a well deserved score. |
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We didn't have to wait too long for more excellent forward work seeing Ian Smith go over giving him 5 try's in 5 games. Geordy Shaw converted. Aaron Samuel worked well with Adrian Dodd and Ian Wallace to secure plenty of ball for Geordy to get the backs going but it was to be the forwards day. Yet again the tiring Cooke pack could not keep out another attack and they let Wallace pick and score over the line. This ended the game 20-3. Special mention to Jason Barr who took control at every breakdown and kicked, passed and tackled well. Also Aaron Samuel carried ball and rucked all day, along with wee Davy Dodd.
Delighted with no try's conceded and a sterling performance from a solid team. We'll face Bangor 2XV on the 28th January - Venue not confirmed. |
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