Tough league opener for U14s at Carrick

Bangor Under 14s travelled to Carrick Rugby Club on Saturday for the opening fixture of this year’s league campaign but returned empty handed succumbing to a strong home team by 33 points to 17.

Carrick had a number of very strong ball carriers in their pack who Bangor struggled to cope with throughout the game and the hard running of their number 8 was a feature of the first half which was dominated by the home team.

To their credit the Bangor boys rallied in the second half and started to put some promising phases together led by the determined and decisive running off centre Jake Burns who was rewarded for his efforts with two tries from distance. Unfortunately Bangor were not able to maintain this momentum and conceded a couple of soft scores through poor tackling as the half came to its conclusion.

The visitors however finished on a high and following great carrying by Leyton Robinson on two separate occasions in the build up Max McLenaghan, making a welcome return, finished off with a try in the corner.

Whilst the scoreline was both disappointing and a fair reflection of the game, there were a number of positives from Bangor’s perspective including the work rate of Todd McEvoy in the pack and the tenacity and courage of the half backs Harvey McKittrick and Jonah Topping.