At Deramore, the hockey and rugby pitches must be in different weather zones. As I walked up to the rugby pitch the sun went in and it became grey, overcast and cold for the AIL2B match between Belfast Harlequins and Rainey.

As befitted the weather, the game became a hard slog in the opening quarter as both packs duelled it out in midfield, with neither side gaining any dominance.

That changed on 21 minutes, when Tom O’Hagan burrowed over for the opening try for Rainey, converted by Scott McClean, for a 7-0 lead.

Mark Lee’s 31st minute try, converted by McClean, had Rainey leading 14-0.

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