UCD Faced a Ballynahinch Firsts Side Bend on Victory From The Whistle
AIL Round 12,
Final Score: Ballynahinch Firsts 40 13 UCD.
UCD felt the wrath of a Ballynahinch side still smarting from the circumstances of their defeat by Young Munster as the home side ran riot to put the game to bed by the hour mark writes James Kirk.
Cormac Izuchukwu and Marcus Rea were released to start and the increasingly lethal Aaron Sexton continued to dazzle on the wing.
Ethan McIlroy made his long-awaited Ballynahinch debut as he continues his comeback from injury on Ulster duty.
And the evergreen Aaron Cairns made his 150th AIL appearance, leading the team out as they faced up to an almost full strength student outfit playing with the conditions in the first half.
The locals conceded an early penalty and then shrugged off the loss of prop James French to injury by taking the lead through a typical hard line and step from centre George Pringle.
Strong defence and superb ball retention largely kept the students at bay before a UCD yellow card allowed them to turn the screw and exploit the extra man to work Cairns over for a popular try.
Turning round with the elements, the home support knew that an early score would set them on their way and when UCD earned another yellow card the floodgates opened.
Claytan Milligan continued his prolific season with a try from a driving maul and straight from the kickoff Sexton pounced on a loose on halfway and cruised over to earn the bonus point and kill the game off.
Mark Best opened his box of tricks to instigate waves of attacking play and McIlroy was next to score, cutting back inside and stepping his way over after a quick tap from Conor Mckee.
Bradley Luney iced the game just after the hour mark when he ran a typical support line to take an inside pass and score following a great counter-attack involving McIlroy, Best and Sexton.
A demoralised UCD eventually managed to score a late consolation as Ballynahinch visibly took their foot off the gas in the final quarter but they were well beaten in all areas of the match.
Ballynahinch have a week off to rest up before a titanic encounter with leaders Clontarf at Castle Avenue as the season enters its final third.
Ballynahinch 1-23: Kyle McCall (Capt), Claytan Milligan, James French, Bradley Luney, Cormac Izuchukwu, Callum Irvine, Zack McCall, Marcus Rea, Conor McKee, Dominic Clapcott, Aaron Cairns, Mark Best, George Pringle, Aaron Sexton, Ethan McIlroy, Josh Hanlon, John Dickson, Declan Horrox, Reuben Crothers, Chris Gibson, Paul Kerr.
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(All presentation photos by John Dickson / Dickson Digital ©).)
150 AIL appearances for Aaron Cairns
Ballynahinch veteran Aaron Cairns celebrated with family and friends as he reached the rare milestone of 150 AIL appearances.
An ever-present for the past 12 seasons, Aaron has also represented Ulster and been part of the Ireland Sevens setup. He continues to be a valuable member of the squad and delighted the crowd with a try as Ballynahinch defeated UCD.
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Hinch U16s Coming Into Form
Final score: Carrickfergus U16 0 Ballynahinch U16 29.
Ballynahinch U16 have shrugged off a slow start to the season and are hitting form at just the right time reports Colin Donaldson.
They followed up an excellent home win against Carrick with another convincing victory away to the same opponents.
Scores from tight five forwards Charlie Brown and Sam Hamilton put them twelve points clear at half time and set the scene for some expansive back play in the second half.
Tiernan McCann scored the third try and then live-wire Jackson Buchanan took over, catching a clearance kick and dancing in from 30m out.
Skipper Dylan McMullan powered over from close range to complete the scoring and hopes are high ahead of the start of the Cup competition at home to Portadown this weekend.
Ballynahinch RFC Notes For 28th January 2024.
There were excellent league wins for the 2nds and 4ths on Saturday and the 5ths eased passed Armagh in the McCambley Cup.
It’s a top of the table clash in the 2nd XV league vs Instonians and cup QF weekend for the 3rds, 4ths and 5ths so plenty of rugby to follow on a week off for the senior side.
Pre-match lunches for the rest of the season are now SOLD OUT.
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.
Results 27/01/2024.
Ballynahinch 40 UCD 13 (AIL Division 1A)
Ballynahinch 2 63 Clogher Valley 2 0 (2nd XV League)
Harlequins 2 24 Ballynahinch 3 19 (Provincial Prem)
Armagh 4 12 Ballynahinch 5 52 (McCambley Cup)
Carrick U16 0 Ballynahinch U16 29
Carrick U14 47 Ballynahinch U14 7
Carrick U12 25 Ballynahinch U12 65
Fixtures 02/02/2024.
Ballynahinch 2 vs Instonians 2 (2nd XV League).
Ballynahinch 3 vs Armagh 3 (Crawford Cup).
Ballynahinch 4 vs Randalstown2 (Forster Cup).
Monaghan 2 vs Ballynahinch 5 (McCambley Cup).
Ballynahinch Youth vs Portadown Youth 11am (Cup).
