Hinch firsts stay composed to take win over Cork Constitution
AIL League 1A,
Ballynahinch 1sts,
Final result: Ballynahinch 1sts 31 28 Cork Constitution.
Ballynahinch scored a try in the 80th minute to claim a bonus point victory and continue their excellent start to the AIL season writes James Kirk.
Anything less would have been an injustice as they played some excellent running rugby and their vaunted opponents relied heavily on their maul and a couple of defensive lapses to stay in the game.
Adam Craig made just one change from the side which closed the match against Terenure with rapid winger Shay Storey bringing try-scoring form from the seconds on his AIL 1A debut.
Storey took just two minutes to make his mark, finishing off a strike move from the first Ballynahinch possession.
A shortened lineout enabled Callum Irvine to run a decoy line as the ball was fired wide to Paul Kerr who made ground before offloading to Ethan Graham coming from the opposite wing. He drew his man and put Storey away for a superb team try.
The rest of the first half resulted in stalemate and Cork Constitution turned round with the breeze in the second half relieved that the home side hadn’t converted a couple of good attacking positions into points.
The Munster outfit immediately drew level when a defensive lapse on the blind side allowed outhalf James Taylor too much time and space and he duly put Dan Hurley over in the corner.
The home side then turned up the heat with two superb scores.
Storey burst on to a loose Con clearance just inside his own half and stormed through the cover before putting Graham over in the corner.
Then some tremendous interplay between backs and forwards, with Kerr involved three times in the sequence, ended with Irvine and Declan Horrox linking well to put a jubilant John Dickson over to take the lead out to fourteen points.
Con showed all their experience and nous to battle back into the game, capitalising on a missed tackle in the wide channel to go over in the corner and mauling their way over to level the scores with fifteen minutes remaining.
A superb Conor Rankin penalty edged Ballynahinch back into the lead before another unstoppable maul saw them take the lead for the first time as the game entered the last ten minutes.
To their credit Ballynahinch retained their composure and despite spurning a great opportunity from a five metre scrum and being turned over on their next attack they upped the tempo again to lay siege to the Con line and mauled their way over to seal victory with the final play of the match.
Claytan Milligan was the scorer and it was a fine reward for a player who has battled through 80 minutes in successive weeks despite carrying a hamstring problem.
His attitude typifies the spirit in the camp and it is a tribute to the culture set by Craig and his team.
The fixture list has been unkind to the locals, opening away at the champions followed by league standard bearers Con at home and then a trip to Lansdowne next week on the Aviva Stadium main pitch.
They are in good shape to get something from next weekend before a rest week and two home games in the next block of fixtures.
Ballynahinch 1-21: John Dickson, Claytan Milligan, Kyle McCall (Capt), Tommy Donnan, Declan Horrox, Callum Irvine, Zack McCall, Bradley Luney, Chris Gibson, Dominc Clapcott, Shay Storey, Paul Kerr, Matthew Booth, Ethan Graham, Conor Rankin, Harry McCormick, Conor Piper, Paddy Boomer, Bryn Ward, Aaron Cairns, Ryan Wilson.
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Club Notes For Sunday 15th October 2023.
The 2nds entertained Cork Con 2s in a friendly after the AIL fixture and acquitted themselves well against a side containing the bench from the senior side, battling back to lose narrowly 25-21.
The 5ths remain unbeaten after another routine victory but there was defeat against derby rivals Banbridge for the thirds.
Pre-match lunches are back. To book a place for the next AIL home game vs Shannon on November 4th contact James Shaw on 07740308051.
Youth Training continues on Mondays at 7pm for boys and Wednesdays at 7pm for girls. All players U12/U14/U16/U18 welcome and no experience necessary. Contact Clifton Quinn for details on 07501228045.
Mini rugby continues on Saturday mornings from 9.30-11am. Boys and girls from P1 – Yr8 are all welcome, with training run for each age group in their school year.
Mini rugby news is posted weekly on the club Facebook page – www.facebook.com/ballynahinchrfcofficial.
For more details contact David Martin – Mini Convenor on 07837944892 or email hinchminis@gmail.com.
Results 14th October 2023
Ballynahinch 31 Cork Constitution 28 (AIL 1A)
Ballynahinch 2 21 Cork Constitution 2 25
Banbridge 3 24 Ballynahinch 3 7 (Provincial Prem 1)
PSNI 2 6 Ballynahinch 5 21 (Regional South 1)
Ballynahinch/Cooke U18 0 Banbridge U18 40 (Provincial East)
Ballynahinch U16 22 Banbridge 13 (Provincial East)
Ballynahinch U14 12 Banbridge U14 43 (Provincial East)
Fixtures 21st October 2023
Lansdowne vs Ballynahinch (AIL 1A))
Ballynahinch vs Enniskillen (Womens Premiership) Sun 4pm
Ballynahinch 2 vs Ballymena 2 (2nd XV League)
Ballynahinch 4 vs CIYMS 2 (Provincial Regional East 1)
Ballynahinch 5 vs Banbridge 5 (Ulster Regional South 1)
