On a fine spring day, both sides demonstrated that the handling game is alive and well amongst the junior clubs but AEI passed up a golden opportunity for victory.
Early exchanges demonstrated that the sides were evenly balanced, and it took quarter of an hour until the first score. It came uncharacteristically from a a five metre scrum. The AEI front five took full advantage of superior technique and No 8 Andy Clark (with no “e”) made the try look easy. Buckby immediately struck back however, and the game swung from end to end. AEI retook the lead when Mark McDonough launched Tony Chronnell on a defence splitting run, his searing pace taking him past the full back to score under the posts. However Buckby had the advantage at the change round, leading by a penalty.
The second half continued with the same madcap antics as the first. One spell of play went on for 5 minutes before the referee had to call a halt for oxygen. Sustained pressure on the Buckby line lead to an AEI penalty and the home side took the lead again when McDonough outwitted the defence for a simple try. AEI then spurned a second pushover try when there was a mix up at the back of the scrum and this seemed to be a turning point as Buckby bounced back. They scored twice in the last quarter of the game to secure the victory.
[C P Stephens]