Ballynahinch RFC Celebrate Victories Over Armagh
AIL Division 1A,
Ballymacarn Park on Saturday 13th January 2024,
Final Score: Ballynahinch 36 City of Armagh 12.
Ballynahinch celebrated back-to-back bonus point victories over their derby rivals as Armagh had no answer to a second half display of brilliant attacking rugby writes James Kirk.
Both teams were near full strength with Ulster releasing James French, Marcus Rea, Greg Jones, Conor McKee, Aaron Sexton and Ethan Graham to Ballynahinch and Shea O’Brien, Cameron Doak and Jude Postlethwaite to Armagh.
A big boisterous derby crowd provided an excellent atmosphere and the teams did not disappoint.
The first half was fiercely contested with both sides having spells of dominance.
Ballynahinch took the lead through a Conor Rankin penalty and having established excellent field position they went further ahead with a strike move off a scrum.
McKee zipped a flat pass to Mark Best at first receiver and he threw another long pass to Rankin who gave the rapid Sexton a chance to take on his man.
He duly delivered a classic in and out wingers finish and Rankin nailed a difficult conversion to take the home side ten points clear.
Armagh showed all their battling qualities to get back into the match and despite some superb Ballynahinch defending they scored after a superb O’Brien break and chip ahead.
Rankin suffered a bad shoulder injury during that sequence and will be a bad loss to the side after a brilliant first half of the season.
The home side turned around just three points ahead, playing towards the throng of home fans outside the clubhouse.
After a cagey opening period Sexton lit up the match with another first phase strike.
Zack McCall made a great break from first receiver at a shortened lineout inside the Ballynahinch half and offloaded to the electric Sexton who cruised in untouched from the halfway line.
He was terrorising a tiring Armagh defence every time he touched the ball at this stage and following a great chase he managed to retain possession with a Hail May offload to Kyle McCall.
Ten phases later replacement Paul Kerr put Ethan Graham over and Ballynahinch were seventeen points clear going into the final quarter.
To their credit Armagh didn’t fold and fought their way upfield to reduce the deficit with a well worked blind side try.
However Ballynahinch were not to be denied and continued to throw the ball around in search of a bonus point. This time a carbon copy chase and offload from Sexton fell to John Dickson and the mobile prop barrelled over for a try.
The locals continued to dominate and sealed the match with another long range try. They turned Armagh over and attacked from well inside their own half.
Mark Best invited the Armagh blitz on to him before releasing Kyle McCall who fed Kerr.
Replacement hooker Josh Hanlon then carried the attack down the touchline before feeding the already celebrating Bradley Luney for the fifth try and a decisive derby victory.
Ten points to nil over two derby matches certainly secured the bragging rights for the foreseeable future.
Ballynahinch travel to Young Munster this weekend knowing that a victory will put them three wins clear of their opponents and in prime position for a run at the playoff positions. All support welcome.
Ballynahinch 1-21:
Kyle McCall (Capt), Claytan Milligan, James French, Tommy Donnan, Bradley Luney, Greg Jones, Zack McCall, Marcus Rea, Conor McKee, Jack Milligan, Ethan Graham, Mark Best, George Pringle, Aaron Sexton, Conor Rankin, Josh Hanlon, John Dickson, Declan Horrox, Callum Irvine, Chris Gibson, Paul Kerr
Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 13/01/2024
Club Notes
The seconds completed their own double over Armagh with an excellent 25-15 victory at the weekend to move into second place in the league with a game in hand.
The home fixture versus leaders Instonians on 3rd February looks to be pivotal for Davy Harris and his young side.
The fourths continued their superb season with a big victory over Banbridge to set the early pace in the restructured league.
It will be all hands on deck this weekend as the seniors travel to Limerick and all other senior men’s teams are involved in cup competitions.
Ballynahinch Women will be hoping to put a tough series of results behind them as they travel to City of Derry in the league.
Pre-match lunches are filling up fast. To book a place at an AIL lunch 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 13/01/2024
Ballynahinch 36 City of Armagh 12 (AIL Division 1A)
Ballynahinch 2 25 City of Armagh 2 15 (2nd XV League)
Ballynahinch 4 36 Banbridge 4 8 (Provincial East 1)
Ballynahinch/Cooke U18 10 Malone U18 24
Ballynahinch U16 29 Malone 5
Ballynahinch U14 52 Malone 12
