UBL Match Report From Ballymacarn Park,
By Richard Hart – 6 February 2016.
Ballynahinch 3 Cork Constitution 36
Lady luck got washed away in torrential rain on Saturday at Ballymacarn Park, when the injury wracked Hinch two game winning streak was brutally ended by a clinical performance from a well-drilled Cork Constitution side, who managed the incredibly difficult conditions better than the home side.
With a wind and consistent rain blow towards the Clubhouse from Sleive Croob, Hinch kicked off into the testing wind.
Whilst the score line would give the impression that Cork Constitution dominated from start to finish, the County Down side produced an excellent defensive first half to keep the rampaging Cork forwards at bay, on a day that simply did not suit open running rugby.
Con out half Darragh Lyons kicked the first points of the game on 6 minutes, with Leeside hooker Max Abbot scoring from a well worked 12-man maul on 17 minutes, Hinch held off any further scoring opportunities until the dying seconds of the first half as Cork Captain crashed over with Lyons adding the extras for both tries.
Throughout the second quarter of the match, the Hinch set piece worked exceptionally well and with 19-year old Prop Jonny Blair holding his own, the front five of Blair, Jonny Murphy, Craig Trenier, Jonny Madden and James Simpson produced a lot of ball from the ruck, maul and set piece for the backs to try and use on the rain soaked pitch.
Sterling defensive work from the back row of Captain Pritchard, McGuigan and Conor Joyce supported by solid tackling across the back line, helped keep the Cork attacks at bay.
HT – Hinch 0 Cork Con 17
Hinch kicked off for the second half with the wind at their backs, but basic errors in play saw Cork get a scrum back on the half-way as the kick-off sailed straight into touch from the off.
The Leesiders used their forward’s advantage straight from the scrum and recycled the ball well back into the Hinch 22 and after a series of well worked phases, open side James Murphy crashed through the Hinch defence to extend the visitor’s lead.
The assured Quinn added Hinch’s only points of the match on 50 minutes, but with the rain worsening, it was Con who ignored the wind and conditions to keep the pressure on the home side.
Cork Captain James Ryan scored the bonus point try on 63 minutes and replacement scrum half Jason Higgins also got his name on the scoresheet on 79 minutes.
Hinch defended robustly throughout the final two quarters of this match and outhalf Justin Rea worked hard managing his backline of David Busby, Will Stewart, Jordan Grattan, Quinn and Mani Eden, but with so many injuries and Ulster not releasing players affecting the team selection, the score line could have been much worse if those players on the pitch had not worked as hard and commendably as they did.
Testament to the Ballynahinch RFC Team Management, in particular Director of Rugby – Ronnie Duncan and Coach Derek Suffern, with sixteen 1st XV players unavailable for selection, including no less than nine front players unavailable – to be able to produce a team that dealt as well as they did with a well-drilled opposition is demonstration of the strength in depth that Ballynahinch is able to call upon. With five All-Ireland League matches left, Ballynahinch have a huge amount of work to do to maintain their Division 1A position, but only 3 points separate the bottom three sides, so chances remain for the County Down outfit to secure the vital points to move themselves up the table.
Ballynahinch RFC Team:
1 Jonny Blair
2 Jonny Murphy
3 Craig Trenier
4 John Donnan
5 James Simpson
6 Jonny Madden
7 Paul Pritchard (Captain)
8 David McGuigan
9 Aaron Cairns
10 Justin Rea
11 Chris Quinn
12 Jordan Grattan
13 Will Stewart
14 David Busby
15 Manihera Eden
Replacements:
16. Ian Wallace (P)
17. Andrew Harper (H)
18. David Nicholson
19. David McIlwaine
20. Gareth Gill
