31/08/2026
๐ Match Report โ Larne RFC vs Coleraine RFC
Championship 2 rugby returned to the Glynn yesterday as Larne welcomed Coleraine for the opening fixture of the new season. The 2 sides know eachother well having shared the pitch many times over recent year, and so this was an exciting setup for the season ahead. A real test for the Larne men.
Coleraine started on the front foot, but Larneโs defensive efforts were excellent in the early exchanges. Jamie Ross and Justin Harkin were particularly aggressive around the breakdown and in contact, helping Larne turn defence into attack. Larneโs expansive, coast-to-coast style also began to cause problems as the game settled into a tight period between the two 22s.
A Larne yellow card for repeated penalties gave Coleraine an opportunity with a man advantage, which they took through a break from their number 8. Another penalty soon followed to make it 0โ10.
Then came Charlie Patterson.
From inside his own 10 metre line, Charlie collected the ball out wide, chipped over the defence and simply hit the afterburners. He beat everyone to the ball and dived on it to score an incredible try. 7โ10.
And then, two minutes later, he did it again. Charlie squared up his defender, chipped over the top and raced through to score once more from deep. The conversion was missed, but Larne had turned the game around to 12โ10.
A penalty just before half-time put Coleraine back in front at 12โ13, before Larne produced another brilliant attacking passage. Jacob Swan broke away and found the lightning-fast Reese Renwick, who raced from halfway before being caught just short. Larne recycled quickly, moved the ball wide to Robbie Doey, and he finished the move off for an excellent try.
Half-time: Larne 17โ13 Coleraine.
The second half proved a tougher proposition. Coleraine controlled much of the early possession before eventually forcing their way over after sustained pressure to regain the lead at 17โ20.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure, with Larne matching their physicality for long periods. However, a 5-metre lineout eventually resulted in another Coleraine try, stretching the score to 17โ27. A further penalty moved it to 17โ30.
Larne continued to search for a way back, with Jacob Swan providing some excellent carries from deep, but some loose offloads, a drop-off in attacking sharpness and simply not having the ball prevented Larne from finding the scores they needed.
Full Time: Larne 17โ30 Coleraine.
A disappointing result to open the Championship 2 campaign, particularly after the exciting rugby and fightback shown in the first half. Coleraine maintained their level throughout, while Larne couldnโt quite reproduce the same attacking threat after the break.
Plenty to take, plenty to learn and plenty of rugby still to come. The season is only just beginning.
โค๏ธ๐
