Cork Con Too Strong For Hinch Firsts
Cork Constitution 14 Ballynahinch 3.
Ballynahinch made the long trip to Cork shorn of a number of regulars and missing head coach Adam Craig who was on Schools Cup duty with Sullivan reports James Kirk.
Ryan Wilson continued to deputise for Mark Best with Harry Hitchens making his first AIL start at full-back and regular scrum-half Conor McAuley forced into action on the wing.
Tommy Donnan and Kyle McCall returned to the starting forward pack with Josh Hanlon also back in the squad. Second XV regulars James Martin and Alex Murphy were called up to the bench.
Although Ballynahinch entered the game on the back of four straight wins the form of Con has been even more impressive as they surged up the table after a poor start to the season relative to their usual high standards.
The game was a low-scoring affair which was settled by a catch and drive try in each half from Con.
The commitment from the Ballynahinch team was exceptional in a hugely physical contest.
They should probably have gone into half time ahead but a prolonged period of pressure just before the break was well defended by the home side.
Con turned the screw in the second half and Ballynahinch had two yellow cards but they defended superbly and had a golden chance to score a try at the death to rescue a well-deserved bonus point.
But an otherwise excellent line-out misfired and they made the long journey home without a point to show for an excellent performance.
It is testament to the team culture at Ballymacarn Park that an Ulster contracted player like Cormac Izuchukwu made the long journey down to Cork on Friday night after being named as non-playing reserve for the Ulster fixture and put in a real shift for his club side on Saturday.
George Saunderson was also a standout on the day as the Co. Down men went toe-to-toe with the league standard-bearers at the end of a gruelling four-week block of fixtures.
And despite coming up short, they are edging closer to the kind of depth and quality of the big teams in this hugely competitive league.
They have two much-needed Saturdays off before Dublin juggernaut Terenure arrive at Ballymacarn Park on the 18th February.
Ballynahinch 1-21Nacho Cladera, Clayton Milligan, Kyle McCall, Cormac Izuchukwu, Tommy Donnan (Capt), Zack McCall, Bradley Luney, Jamie McArtney, Chris Gibson, Greg Hutley, Aaron Cairns, Ryan Wilson, George Pringle, Conor McAuley, Harry Hitchens, Josh Hanlon, George Saunderson, Joe Charles, Kyle Gill, Alex Murphy, James Martin.
***
Ballynahinch RFC Round-Up for 28th january 2023.
Club Notes
There were big wins for the 2nds and 4ths as they swept aside Harlequins and Donegal Town respectively. Marty O’Neills 4th XV marched on to the quarter-final stage of the Forster Cup and will be hoping for another home draw.
The seconds continue to push up the league table and will have three more games before a seismic away tie in the Towns Cup versus double All-Ireland Junior Cup winners Clogher Valley on 25th February.
The Thirds lost their grip on the Crawford Cup at the opening stage with a narrow 27-25 defeat at Barban Hill against Dromore 2nds. They drop into the draw for the Crawford Plate.
Cooke 2 withdrew from their fixture against unbeaten Ballynahinch in the Womens Championship Group 1.
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
Pre-match lunches continue with Terenure the visitors on 18th February. Contact James Shaw on 07740308051 to book your place.
Details of how to purchase a full selection of Hinch merchandise can be found on our social media outlets and on the club app.
Results 28/01/2023
Cork Constitution 14 Ballynahinch 3 (AIL Div 1A)
Ballynahinch 2 66 Belfast Harlequins 0 (2ndXV League)
Dromore 2 27 Ballynahinch 3 25 (Crawford Cup)
Ballynahinch 4 50 Donegal Town 19 (Forster Cup)
Ballynahinch w/o vs Cooke 2 (Women’s Championship)
Fixtures 04/02/2023
QUB vs Ballynahinch (Womens Junior Cup) Sun 1pm
Rainey 2 vs Ballynahinch 2 (2nd XV League)
Clogher Valley 2 vs Ballynahinch 3 (Provincial Prem1)
Cooke 2 vs Ballynahinch 4 (Regional East 1)
Dromore 3 vs Ballynahinch 5 (Regional South 1)
Inishowen vs Ballynahinch (U16 Bowl) 11am
