If anyone was in any doubt about how important a win was to Lansdowne, they only had to witness President Conor Shaw visit not one, but two cathedrals in Armagh before the match. His ecumenical pilgrimage was “to cover all the bases”, he explained later in his pre-match speech. And quite the pilgrimage it was too for the cluster of the usual hardy faithful that traveled to the picturesque Palace Grounds. The setting might have been pretty, but it was a no frills, gritty and determined performance that saw us take the spoils on that bitterly cold and windswept end of “Storm Darragh” afternoon.

The early skirmishes saw both sides make unforced errors, with ours nearly costing us dearly. But in a manner which we would see repeated throughout the afternoon, Lansdowne could recover from mistakes within the same play, often gaining ground. We soon gained the upper hand and for most of the first quarter we had the bulk of territory and possession. However, Armagh’s defence was grimly determined and for all our pressure, we couldn’t crack the code to break it down. If our attack lacked the penetration to get over the gain line in the early stages, our set pieces were solid, with local-boy hooker Jack Treanor picking out jumpers Ruari Clarke and Louis McGauran with precision in spite of the big winds and our scrums dominant in spite of the hosts' weight advantage.
And it was from a set piece that the deadlock was finally broken just short of the half hour mark. A high tackle on centre Andy Marks saw Armagh reduced to 14 men for ten minutes, and we took full advantage. Our pack powered over theirs with an excellent scrum drive that set the platform for scrum half, Cormac Foley to show his class with a sniping blind side break to take him over under the posts. Stephen Madigan added the extras and our effort was finally rewarded. 0-7

But as we’ve seen so often before, the setback of losing a player and conceding a try seemed to spur our hosts on and our advantage was short lived. As the sun set over the Bishop’s Palace on the nearby hill and with it the temperature dropped another 5 degrees, an uncharacteristically slow ball from a ruck inside our half created a gap in our line. Still, inexplicably, the ball was lobbed into the gap and the hosts’ centre Rocky Olsen gratefully stepped in to gather it and sprinted over in the corner. They missed the conversion and it was 5-7 as the half time approached and the welcome heat of the hand-dryers beckoned. We had another attack and the travelling pilgrims had reason to be hopeful that our advantage would turn to points, but Armagh’s rush defence saw one of our men spill the ball in a big hit and they booted through, forcing us to concede a penalty in the ruck that followed. From attacking their line one minute, now we were defending our own in a 10m lineout. They gather it well and quickly distribute it wide, skipping centres along the way, giving their winger Sam Cunningham acres of space to sprint over the line and aid his kicker further by cutting back inside to tip down under the posts. 12-7.

The pressure continued for the remainder of the half, but our defence was well organised and with standout efforts notable from second rows, Juan Beukes and the ever tireless Ruari Clarke working particularly hard, we held out.

We started the second half with a return to the dominance of possession and territory, but still suffering that familiar inability to penetrate. Adding to our woes, we conceded a penalty to allow Armagh a soft exit from inside their 22 and then another to bring them within kicking range and so, against the run of play, their lead stretched to 15-7. As one traveling pundit commented, “It’s not an Everest to climb and we can still do it, but, Jesus, I hope we brought the right equipment!”
The answer was yes, we did have the right equipment and bang on cue coach Declan Fassbender unleashed our powerful bench. No sooner did Barry Fitzpatrick step on to the pitch than the change in tempo and determination could be seen. Next came Harry Van Eeden and instantly our hits were bigger and the attack, more dangerous. Though the hosts start to field their subs too, the energy boost seems to be all on our side. We worked our way up the pitch with a new menace and they started to concede penalties, fatigue setting in. Stephen puts in the corner for a lineout, and with our composure returning to its full level, we execute the maul perfectly and Jack Treanor scores a try against his old club, to the colourful, if unprintable cheers of his old comrades. Stephen strikes the conversion from the touchline excellently, but the wind just pushes it wide. 15 - 12 as we enter the last ten minutes.

Now it’s all Lansdowne attack after attack, but repeatedly we get into threatening positions only to concede a penalty, gifting the tiring hosts a much-needed breather. But as all the traveling Lansdowne supporters gathered at the Armagh try line to egg our boys on (admittedly there was a bit of shelter from the wind there too!), attack after attack was held up short. Finally, a penalty is called to us and we confidently take a scrum. Another solid drive and this time it’s Harry Van E that breaks for the line but is just held up short. Cormac is in like a terrier after a badger, and scoops the ball out to Andy Marks at full pace who crashes over the gain line and has to use every inch of his out-stretched arm to touch down on the whitewash! Joy is unbounded and for just a brief shining moment, no one feels the cold! Stephen slots over the extras and it’s 15 - 19 as we enter injury time. Our noble hosts, weary from the battle, can’t make it out of their own half for the remaining minutes after the restart and victory is ours.

It wasn’t pretty, but it’s OK to “win ugly” once in a while … as long as we win.

Next, we have a Friday Night Light special as we take on league toppers, St Mary’s on at HQ. Let’s keep the winning streak going with the best support we can muster!

Match Report - Brian Whelan