Ballynahinch Firsts put on a strong performance against Lansdowne
AIL Division 1,
Venue: Ballymacarn Park, Saturday 31st January 2026,
Report by James Kirk,
Final Score: Ballynahinch 34 Lansdowne 13.
Ballynahinch produced a superb eighty minute performance to claim five points and put their season back on track.
The advent of the Six Nations has put pressure on the resources of all the provincial teams so Ballynahinch had no Ulster releases, fielding a pure club side with Joe Charles starting at tight head prop, Josh Hanlon at blindside flanker and a bench loaded with young local talent.
The pitch was in superb condition despite the heavy rain over the previous fortnight and conditions were surprisingly good with light winds and the occasional shower.
Lansdowne started brightly, taking an early lead with a penalty and then applying pressure as they sought to back it up but excellent Ballynahinch defence kept them out and the home side began to put together some phases.
They scored at the midway point of the half when a superb long pass from the excellent Conor Rankin beat the Lansdowne blitz defence to put the ever-alert Bradley Luney into space and he duly sent Aaron Sexton cruising over the line for the try.
As the game approached half time a brilliant counter from the electric Pierce Crowe saw him field a kick deep in his own half, beat the chasers, chip ahead and regather in time to ease Sexton over the line for another try and widen the gap to nine points at the break.
Lansdowne briefly threatened to gain a foothold in the match when they slotted another penalty but this was swiftly cancelled out by a Rankin strike and then the Ballynahinch maul took over.
Claytan Milligan and his crew walked the Lansdowne pack back fifteen metres, winning a penalty in the process and when Rankin put the ball into the corner they duly mauled over the line for the third try.
Lansdowne then had the ball around halfway for a prolonged period but were consistently battered back and harried into mistakes by a savage and extremely accurate Ballynahinch defence with the young centres Matthew Booth and Quinn Armstrong making their presence felt.
When they regained possession Ballynahinch again made ground and when they won a penalty deep in Lansdowne territory everyone in the ground assumed they would go for another maul try.
Rankin thought differently and a superb crossfield kick to Crowe allowed him to use his fast feet to sidestep three defenders in a confined space and score the bonus point try.
To their credit Lansdowne continued to attack and their only clean break of the day sent them close to the line and eventually allowed them to tie in enough defenders to send their winger over in the corner and give themselves a lifeline with ten minutes to go.
However, Ballynahinch navigated the final stages calmy with intelligent kicking pinning the visitors back and it was from a Sexton 50-22 kick that they gained possession and turned the screw.
Sexton was denied a hat trick when a superb long pass from Armstrong was deemed to be forward but moments later lock Declan Horrox capped a fine performance with a sensational line break in midfield and a fine try scoring pass for Booth to finish the scoring.
Ballynahinch are at home again this weekend with Nenagh Ormond the visitors. All support welcome.
Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 31/01/2026
Club Notes
The Womens Premiership continues to be a tough shift for a Ballynahinch side battling a multitude of injuries and unavailability with a heavy defeat to Enniskillen the latest setback.
The 2nd XV suffered their first league defeat of the season at nearest rivals Ballymena but retain a healthy lead as the season enters the final stages.
The 3rd XV had a narrow loss to Rainey while the 4ths warmed up for their cup match with victory over Banbridge.
The U14 boys progressed to the next round of the cup but there was defeat in the U16 league for the girls.
The next AIL home fixture is against Nenagh Ormond on 07th February. To book your place at the pre match lunch contact James Kirk on 07966143184.
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 Kenny Morton – Mini Convenor on 07813157614 or email:
Results 31st January 2026
Ballynahinch 34 Lansdowne 13 (AIL Division 1A)
Ballynahinch 5 Enniskillen 56 (Womens Premiership)
Ballymena 2 17 Ballynahinch 2 14 (2nd XV League)
Ballynahinch 3 17 Rainey 2 21 (Provincial Premier)
Banbridge 4 19 Ballynahinch 4 52 (Provincial South)
Ballynahinch U14 29 Newry U14 7 (U14 Cup).
