Letterkenny 1st XV put in a dogged first half against the wind and matched Strabane across the park in a hugely physical encounter. Strabane scored 8 unanswered points and put Letterkenny under severe pressure for most of the half. Letterkenny were also getting on the wrong side of the referee and infringing at the breakdown and conceding penalties. Fortunately the defence held strong with big hits right across the defensive line. Just before half time Cian Curran gathered a kick ahead and scorched past the defence to score under the posts bringing it back to 8 - 7 at the interval. The second half started with more strong driving play from both sides but Letterkenny began to turn the screw and used the wind to gain territorial advantage. From these positions Letterkenny put together some fine passages of play to pull ahead of Strabane with three more tries and a penalty. Scores coming from Cian Curran (again), Andrew Gibson and Stephen Devine. This was a great performance and really was a step up from last week both in intensity and in quality of rugby played. The second row of Ben Mortimer and Conor Dunleavy put in some huge hits and Rae Clarke was his usual abrasive self in both loose and tight phases of the game. The backs were well run by captain Andrew Gibson and solid performances in the centre by Roger McLaughlin and John Anthony McFadden set up the scores for flying wingers Cian Curran and Stephen Devine. Conal Sheridan gave quality possesion to the backs and was superb in defence with his trademark low tackles. Lineout and scrum were both dominant by the end of the match.
This performance on a good day, on a dry pitch, was everything you could expect for the second game of the season. There are still many improvements to be worked upon, so players are encouraged to keep the training going and build a solid base for the rest of the season. Well done!