Ballynahinch 5’s 24 CIYMS 2’s 22
Andrew Wilson reporting from Ballymacarn Park.
This was Hinch 5’s first home game of 2019 and there was a determination to make it count, with an unsettled first half of the season with injuries and key players unavailable Andrew Wilsons’s men have a will and desire to make the second half of the season much more successful.
The Hinch team received the kick off and were playing into a strong head wind and slightly uphill. After a lot of pressure and a brilliant defensive effort from Hinch, CIYMS eventually broke through and were first to cross the whitewash with an unconverted try. Hinch responded instantly after reclaiming the restart with a slick pass from David Turley putting Luke Sandford under the posts to give Marty O’Neill an easy conversion.
CIYMS answered after long phases of play with a missed tackle from Hinch letting the visitors in for a converted try. It really was end to end stuff as again at the restart Hinch responded immediately. This time Turley powered over the line himself for an almost identical try with O’Neill again adding the extras.
The Hinch pack was superb all day, especially at scrum time. Andy Glenn, Robert Dugan, and Josh Martin kept the front row strong while locks Andrew Wilson and Iain Smith kept the momentum going forward for the full 80 minutes. James Rea, Neil Davidson and James Tucker had fantastic games in the back row. Hinch backs had a strong performance in difficult windy conditions, Ray McCavery added experience at 9 feeding Andy Boyd at 10.
Unfortunately Andy was forced to leave the field after receiving several leading elbows to the throat and head. At this point the Hinch bench started to be utilised with several positional changes until they began to settle down. Matthew Patton came on to flank and James Rea to the Wing. At the half Hinch were two points ahead at 14-12.
Hinch opened the scoring in the second half from a ruck just short of the line The ball was recycled and the talismanic Smith majestically flopped over the pile of bodies to touch down for another 5 points. CIYMS had a man sin binned but Hinch failed to capitalise on the extra man advantage. Josh Martin was forced to leave the field through an ankle injury with Shaun Brennan coming off the bench to replace the tighthead. Shaun had a good game despite being very new to rugby and Hinch were even winning ball on the opposition put in.
Ross Duncan and Richard Speirs on each wing both played very well in both defence and attack. CIYMS got the next try to make the game close going into the final quarter. McCavery went close to getting a try but was stopped just short. Mark Douglas looked to have sealed the win when he came back on the pitch following a yellow card to score an excellent try but CIYMS came again and got another try. Fortunately for Hinch they did not convert giving Hinch the win 24-22. Hinch are home again next week against Harlequins. All support is welcome.
