Mixed early season fortunes for Ballynahinch United
AIL Division One,
Venue: Ballymacarn Park,
Final Score: Ballynahinch 24 39 UCD.
Ballynahinch suffered a chastening home defeat at the hands of a UCD side that has had very little success at Ballymacarn Park in recent seasons reports James
New coach Mike McKeever was able to call on the services of Ulster’s Joe Hopes at lock and had an experienced core of skipper Claytan Milligan, Bradley Luney, Mark Best, Aaron Sexton and Conor Rankin.
The opening quarter saw the home side take the early lead with a Rankin penalty before they conceded a converted try following a fine break and offload in midfield.
Ballynahinch then blitzed the students with three converted tries in six minutes of superb rugby. Firstly they reclaimed the kickoff and after a number of quick rucks earned a penalty which was taken quickly and ended with Hopes diving over.
From the following kick-off they scored a brilliant try after a superb crossfield kick from Best found Matthew Booth in full flight. He passed inside to Sexton who put Luney over.
When Milligan scored moments later following a well-executed driving maul the home side looked in full control but they failed to capitalise on more try-scoring opportunities and the game turned just before half time when a UCD intercept try interrupted what looked like a certain try for the home side and lifted the spirits of the away side and their supporters.
As the breeze strengthened in the second half UCD looked increasingly comfortable and they closed the gap to just three points with an early score.
Alarm bells began to ring for the home side when the students took the lead on fifty-five minutes following a driving maul and they had no answer, losing their shape and chasing the game far too early.
Another intercept try duly followed on the hour and UCD turned the screw with intelligent kicking and rapid line speed to earn a couple of late penalties which they duly converted for a fine victory.
There is no time for Ballynahinch to lick their wounds as they travel to Old Belvedere on Saturday for their first away trip of the season.
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Ballynahinch U18 Too Strong For Carrick
Carrick U18 0 Ballynahinch U18 43
Colin Donaldson reports on ballynahinch v Carrick
Ballynahinch travelled to Carrick with confidence after their excellent win over Instonians and despite losing Thomas McPhilips to suspension and a lingering hamstring injury to Number 8 Jack Patterson the forwards dominated their opponents from the whistle.
Playing into the strong breeze, they opened the scoring in the early stages via a Callum McCargo try.
This was quickly followed by another from Tiernan McCann and when James Lewis finished off a fine move started by a blockbusting run from prop Charlie Willis to score a third try the league points looked secure.
The away side duly wrapped up the match with two further scores before halftime. A strike play in midfield from Sam Hoey saw him burst clear before offloading for srum-half Jack Fallon to score and moments later some exceptional stepping from Mattie Fitzimons was followed by a Hoey grubber kick for skipper Adam Blain to score and take the lead out to thirty-one points at the interval.
Ballynahinch went further clear as they used the conditions to their advantage in the second half.
Ryan McMullan scored after an excellent rolling maul and when the Ballynahinch coaching team led by Jonto Andrews emptied the bench Patterson eased his way back into the side with an assist for the final Ballynahinch try from the ever-alert Fallon.
Ballymoney are the visitors to Ballymacarn Park this weekend as the League programme continues. All support welcome
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Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 26 9 2026
Club Notes
Book your place at the next pre-match lunch on October 24th by contacting James Kirk on 07966143184.
Springbok World Cup winning lock Victor Matfield will be in town to speak at a business lunch on November 20th. Contact Chris Stevenson on 07872838411 for more details.
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 Johnny Cullen for details on 07595651901.
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 Sarah Samuel – Mini Convenor on 07540993223 or email [email protected].
