Dromore dominate in nine try victory

Dromore 57

Cooke 17

DROMORE romped to an impressive nine try win over Cooke in Kukri Qualifying One on Saturday as they dominated a match played in perfect conditions at Barban Hill.

The visitors looked the more likely to score early on, putting Dromore under pressure and they were rewarded after five minutes with an unconverted try.

This provided Dromore with a wake up call and they responded well with Gareth Martin bursting his way through to touch down under the posts. Samuel Russell stepped up to add the extras and give Dromore a lead they never looked likely to relinquish.

Dromore started to pile on the pressure and scrum half Tom Finn spotted a gap and ran in wide on the left. Russell was unable to add the conversion but Dromore continued to dominate the game and added two more tries before the break.

First James Gibson out sprinted the Cooke defence and touched down, then Johnny Simpson emerged from the bottom of a rolling maul after touching down to leave the score at 24-5 at the break.

The second half continued like the first and Martin got his name on the score sheet for a second time as he powered his way through the defence with Russell adding the conversion.

Dromore went to sleep slightly and allowed Cooke to score a second try with the conversion successful this time.

Dromore again took the initiative and another two tries followed quickly with Martin securing his hat-rick before Claude Crawford touched down, marking his comeback complete just months after breaking his leg in the return fixture. Russell added one conversion.

Cooke scored a third try but Dromore responded well once again as they finished the game with two more tries through De Wet Bekker and a fourth from Martin, the impressive centre securing a bonus point on his own and completing 57-17 win with James Thompson adding the final two conversions.

Captain Micheal Harshaw was impressed with the win, “We really dominated the game, but will need to improve our concentration as we travel to City of Derry next week.”

President Harry Maguire would like to see a large travelling support in the North West. “We have secured a top four finish in the league but a couple of good results could see us into the top three and the boys will appreciate all the support we can muster,” he said.

Club News - DRFC Second XV had an impressive 25-5 win over Portadown Thirds in the Junior League.

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