Coleraine RFC v Portadown RFC

Saturday 6th May

Ulster Branch Junior Plate Competition Final 2023

Portadown travelled to Coleraine for the final of the Ulster Rugby Junior Plate Final. This was a new competition this year. With the Junior Competitions divided into the cup and the plate. The plate being contested by the Championship 2 and 3 sides.

Portadown beat neighbours Lurgan narrowly in the semi-final in what proved to be a very closely contested game. 

Having travelled to Coleraine they expected another hard game and that is exactly what they got. Coleraine with home advantage started well attacking the Portadown line. The Bannsiders did not expect to come up against the intense defence from the Portadown team. Attack after attack from Coleraine was held at bay. They eventually got a mistake from Portadown to win a penalty, but the kick went wide.

Portadown then began to ease into their game and worked the Coleraine team back to their own line. From here they won a lineout five metres out from the Coleraine line. The resulting maul from the lineout and froward maul drive resulted in a score to hooker Sam Close. The conversion was narrowly missed to leave the score five nil to Portadown. 

Coleraine missed a further easy penalty and this spared Portadown on for more. The forwards and backs interlinked seamlessly and before long were close to Coleraine line. From a pass off a ruck Taylor Tweedy headed for the Coleraine line only to be held up over the line. A let off for Coleraine who from the resulting kick out pressured Michael Orr who caught the ball.

A mistake by the Portadown team allowed the Coleraine players to show they too could be dangerous in space. They passed out of tackles time and again thwarting the Portadown tackles, before a Coleraine player was brought to ground and Portadown won the ruck ball. 

Portadown broke from the ruck for the Coleraine half again and good movement in the 22 metre area of the Coleraine half allowed Chris Cousins to find a gap in the Coleraine defence to run in under the posts for five more points. Toby Gribben converted to make the score twelve nil in Portadown’s favour. The down side was Chris limbed off after pulling a hamstring in the run in for the score.

Injury due to hard ground, at this time in the season, was more than usual on the day with players on both sides suffering as the game went on. 

Portadown went into the second half with their twelve nil lead. But the second half started as the first with Coleraine working to get the score they needed. But again the wall defence from Portadown would not let them through. During one of the out of tackle handling exercises that had paid off well all game for Coleraine’s attack a behind the back pass was intercepted by Charlie Logan who then raced home to make the score seventeennil. Toby Gribben converted to make the score nineteen nil.

Coleraine’s fight began to drop and more fatigue and injury tooktheir toll. Portadown finished the game defending their line just like the first minutes of the game and when the final whistle blew they were relieved to be crowned Ulster Rugby Junior Plate winners nineteen points to nil against Coleraine.

Bobby Stewart Ex Ulster Branch President presented the shield to Portadown Captain James Wright and his team. This gave Portadown a double for the season having won the Ulster Rugby Championship Two League title already.