Hinch Out Of The Doldrums With A Successful Weekend Of Wins
AIL Division 1,
Venue: Ballymacarn Park, 7 11 26,
Final Score: Ballynahinch 1st XV. 31 14 Cork Constitution.
Ballynahinch produced a superb performance against league kingpins Cork Constitution to move off the bottom of the Division 1A table. Mike McKeever picked an unchanged starting fifteen and was rewarded with a bonus point victory writes James Kirk.
Cork Con had as many as five Munster contracted players on the field but had no answer to the intensity and physicality of the Ballynahinch side in both attack and defence.
The rapid Aaron Sexton opened the scoring in the first five minutes as he latched on to a superbly judged kick from Mark Best to score.
Ballynahinch were by a distance the better side throughout the rest of the half but failed to extend their lead until skipper Claytan Milligan finished off a driving maul just before the break. When he scored again from another dominant maul just three minutes into the second half it looked like the home side were well on their way to a resounding victory.
Con had other ideas and exploited a few jitters from Ballynahinch with a strong fifteen-minute spell around the hour mark during which they scored two tries. A superb penalty from the reliable boot of Conor Rankin steadied the ship and Ballynahinch finished strongly.
They kicked intelligently to manage territory and were rewarded with a bonus point try in the final seconds when they capitalised on an opposition knock-on to fire the ball wide to Sexton who torched the cover and raced over the line, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The players have a well-earned break before the next block of fixtures begins with a daunting trip to Terenure.
Manager McKeever will be hoping to have a few injured players back on board in the run-up to the Christmas break.
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Hinch U18s Demolish Carrick
Ballynahinch U18 47 Carrick U18 0.
Ballynahinch continued their winning run with a big home victory over Carrick writes Colin Donaldson.
They flew out of the blocks with two early tries and never looked back. Scrum half Ethan Donaldson went over untouched with a smart pick and go before Jackson Buchanan tidied up a loose ball in midfield and beat a few defenders to score.
The ever reliable Joshua Woods then exerted full control on the game with some superb kicking out of hand, keeping his forwards on the front foot and pinning Carrick deep in their own half.
Hooker Ryan McMullan profited from one such kick as he scored from a well executed driving maul and prop Charlie Willis was next on the scoresheet following a sharp piece of work from Donaldson.
Tiernan McCann then pressurised Carrick into a mistake as they tried to clear their lines and pounced on the loose ball for another score taking the rampant Ballynahinch side to a thirty three point lead at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern with excellent carrying from the Ballynahinch pack providing a platform for their backs.
Centres James Lewis and Owen Hamill scored a try apiece to add some gloss to the scoreboard and maintain their 100% league record. An away trip to Strabane will test that record next week.
Saturday also saw the return of Harvey Campbell after a long layoff through illness. He has been a stalwart of this group for many years and it was great to see him back in a Hinch jersey.
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Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 7 11 2026
Club Notes.
Ballynahinch continue to set the pace in the Eastern section of the Women’s Championship after a hard fought 17-12 home victory over Belfast Harlequins. Number 8 Naomi Reain scored twice with replacement Lucy Hunter also on the scoresheet.
The 2nd XV played some stunning rugby against a physical and well drilled Banbridge team to win by 52 points to 36.
The youth boys continue to thrive with wins for the U18s and U14s keeping them at the top of their league sections.
For all results and fixtures check out our social media pages or go to hinchrfc.co.uk
The Pre match lunch on 5th December is SOLD OUT! Book your place for 2027 pre-match lunches 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:
