Letterkenny 1st XV v BHSFP 1st XV

Letterkenny ended their 2015-16 league campaign with a disappointing defeat to Belfast High School Former Pupils on Dave Gallaher Park. With a half-time lead of 14 points the home side struggled to cope playing against the breeze and made errors which were punished by High School who sneaked the victory in the dying minutes of the game.
Letterkenny started brightly and some good defensive pressure led to good field position and an early line out close to the High School line led to the opening try secured by prop Chris Digimas and converted by out half Ryan Mortimer. After another 5 minutes play Mortimer had to leave the pitch to receive treatment for a foot injury. The home side then doubled their advantage shortly after when out of defence scrum half Conall Sheridan made a clever break before releasing second row Ben Mortimer. Mortimer galloped to within 5m of the line and after the visitors had conceded a penalty from the resultant rucks centre Colm McNicholl was quickest to react. With a tap and go he found a gap in the defensive line and squeezed over for the try. A heavily strapped up Ryan Mortimer returned to the field of play to slot the extra two points.
Despite deserving their half-time lead the home side were guilty of sitting back a little in the second half instead of pushing on. The experienced High School side played the conditions well and converted a penalty for their efforts. Letterkenny were struggling to get out of their own half and weren’t helped by a number of miscued lineouts. The scrum platform for the home side was strong and following a scrum outside their own 22 centre Ladi Yuno made a fantastic break up the right wing. He was chased down short of the line and High School managed to scramble the ball into touch 10m from their line.
A simple repeat of the first try of the afternoon would probably have killed off the game as a contest but unfortunately for Letterkenny the lineout maul marched forward a few metres and was then turned over. From the turnover High School cleared the ball downfield and chased well. Full back Seanie Henry had his attempted kick charged down and a series of fly hacks later a High School player won the race to touch down for a converted try.
The try seemed to give the visitors a lift and they continued to pin Letterkenny into their own half. Despite some good turnover ball won, by Craig Heron in particular, the home side couldn't seem to get a foothold in the opposition half. This pressure told in the end. With a Letterkenny lineout 8m out from the try line, the ball was slapped back and a High School player ran through to catch it and flop over the line for the easiest of tries. The try was converted and despite trying desperately in the last few minutes to make inroads into High School it just wasn’t to be.
The result leaves Letterkenny mid table which is a respectable achievement considering they were promoted only last season.