A huge cheer greeted the final whistle at Stevenson Park on Saturday as the Dungannon supporters applauded their team following a deserved 19-12 win over Belfast Harlequins in the opening day of the season.
Conditions were good for running rugby and both sides obliged. Defences were at a premium in the opening quarter with Dungannon going close on the right flank before Harlequins flung the ball wide and despite a good tackle by Matthew Montgomery the Quins scrum-half, Conor Cambridge was in the right place at the right time and he touched down in the corner midway through the half. Teeman, Paul Kerr failed with the conversion but the visitors were more than happy to make the breakthrough. Dungannon hit back though and Jordan McIlwaine was unlucky not to score in the corner. Elsewhere Dungannon were making mistakes but so too were Quins who looked guilty of two high tackles before Luke McMullan chipped through the visitors’ defence, gathered the bounce and touched down at the posts for a splendid solo try. The same player added the conversion to put Gannon into a 7-5 lead on 35 minutes. Dungannon missed out with a long range penalty just ahead of the break.
The second half started in dramatic fashion with Dungannon forwards rolling forward for Philip Fletcher taking play close to the try line before the alert Jack Ravey dotted down. McMullan banged the conversion off an upright and the ball bounced back. Still, it was a good start for the hosts, now with a 12-5 lead. Quins raised their game and Dungannon’s 7 point advantage looked to be in danger but plucky defence per Jono Shrestha saw the visitors held up on the line. Going into the final quarter Quins upped the tempo and during a period of attacking rugby there were bodies on the ground when Shrestha ignited a move up the right. Good running by Aaron Nelson saw McMullan take the inside pass before scampering away to complete his brace. McIlwaine added the extras and Gannon looked good at 19-5 on 65 minutes. A late surge by Quins thoroughly tested the Dungannon defence but deep in injury time visiting fullback, Mark Glover squeezed over at the posts. It was all too little too late but Kerr’s conversion did give the Belfast team a deserved losing bonus point.

Dungannon :- R Stewart, D Mikolajczyk, J Gamble, S Todd(capt), C Steenson, D Leyburn, A Milligan, J Shrestha, J Ravey, L McMullan, A Nelson, A Kennedy, M Montgomery, J McIlwaine, J Girvan, L McIlravie, G Sinnamon, P Fletcher, J Weir, M Faloon.

Harlequins:- S Hunter, S Weir, T Linton, B Robinson, P McAllister, J Andress (capt), L Megarity, R Bingham, C McCambridge, P Kerr, J McConnell, K Tomlinson, K Adams, A Butler, M Glover, N Greenald, S McClelland, W Gilby, L Simms, C Larmour.