AIL Division 1A,
Final score: Garryowen 12 Ballynahinch 17.
After licking their wounds following the see-saw defeat by Lansdowne at Ballymacarn Park it was crucial that Ballynahinch secured a result in Limerick against bottom side Garryowen writes James Kirk.
That they did so following a week of withdrawals and further injury issues is testament to their character and to the quality of the coaching and management team.
The side which eventually took the field was significantly changed from the one selected on Tuesday.
Conor McKee and James Humphreys were both pulled by Ulster on Thursday leading to call-ups for Chris Gibson and Harry McKeown while Kyle Gill was unable to travel due to a bad back.
However, Adam Craig was able to welcome back the finishing ability of Zac Ward as he took his place in a dangerous looking backline.
The chief beneficiaries of this disruption were Junior Cup Semi-Final opponents and neighbours Dromore, as they faced a patched-up seconds outfit which lost its halfbacks as well as up and coming backrower
Ryan Connolly to the senior squad and the talismanic Aaron Cairns to injury. The high flying Barban Hill outfit duly completed a comfortable victory.
Meanwhile, in Limerick Ballynahinch opened the scoring with a sharp finish from Ward before falling behind to a spirited Garryowen side who scored two tries to lead at halftime.
A second Ward try on the hour saw his side regain the lead before a Conor Rankin penalty sealed the win with five minutes remaining.
It may not have been a great spectacle but given previous implosions when favourites in Limerick and the disrupted buildup, Ballynahinch were delighted to pocket the four points and head north for a week off before the visit of Young Munster on 01st March.
The condensed nature of the table means everything is still to play for.
Ballynahinch 1-20: Matthew Burke, Kelvin Hamilton, John Dickson, Will Hopes, Ronan McCusker, Declan Horrox, Zack McCall, Bradley Luney (Capt), Chris Gibson, Harry McKeown, Zac Ward, Mark Best, George Pringle, Conor Rankin, Will Alexander, Harry McCormick, Ryan Connolly, Peter Heasley, Rhuairi Meharg.
***
Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 15 2 2025
Club Notes
Davy Harris and his patched up seconds came off second best in their Junior Cup semi final against neighbours Dromore while it was a tough day at the office for the thirds in Omagh. However the fifths continued on their merry way with another high scoring victory.
The next pre-match lunch is on March 01st vs Young Munster. Seats can be booked for all fixtures via James Kirk on 07966143184.
Other diary dates include our 70th Anniversary Gala Ball on 7th March. See social media for details.xa0
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 Kenny Morton – Mini Convenor on 07813157614 or email:
Results 15/02/2025
Garryowen 12 Ballynahinch 17 (AIL Division 1A)
Ballynahinch 2 14 Dromore 43 (Junior Cup SF)
Omagh 2 60 Ballynahinch 3 7 (Provincial Prem 1)
Instonians 4 7 Ballynahinch 5 50 (Regional South)
