I caught up with the Provincial Premier 1 match between Carrickfergus and Belfast Harlequins 2nd XV’s in an early kick off at the Tom Simms Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon.

It was a real war of attrition in the first 15 minutes as Quins kept Carrick pinned in their own half. The home defence was up to the task, with some good turnovers near their line, but the pressure eventually told and a break and offload by Quins’ Charlie Beattie sent wing forward Adam Finlay over for the opening score. Beattie converted to give Quins a 0 – 7 lead.

Carrick spent a fair amount of time in Quins territory in the next 20 minutes but they were unable to break the stubborn Quins defence and the teams turned round with the visitors defending the 7 point lead.

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