On a dank, driech Friday evening Queens met near neighbours, Cooke, in a friendly, at The Dub, Upper Malone. A driving cross wind, coupled with rain, which only got heavier during the evening, made for challenging handling conditions. We managed the first half, before the gathering gloom and the swirling wind, which blew the rain into the front element of the lens, made photography impossible.

A mighty Cooke shove, in a scrum, followed by quickly recycled ruck ball, created space for James Brennan to dart over for an opening try, after 2 minutes. Andrew McMurray’s conversion put Cooke 7-0 up. Worse was to follow for Queens. McMurray’s try and conversion on 8 minutes put Cooke out to 14-0.

With defences on top, the game became a slugfest in . . .