Ballynahinch Firsts pull off superb win against Lansdowne in Dublin
AIL Division 1A,
Final Result: Lansdowne 25 Ballynahinch 27.
Ballynahinch racked up their fourth successive bonus point win to reach the summit of Division 1A for the first time in their history writes James Kirk.
The Aviva Stadium back pitch is a notoriously difficult place to win and there were moments in the first half when Lansdowne threatened to cut loose but some dogged defence and razor-sharp finishing helped Ballynahinch over the line.
Adam Craig was forced to take to the field without the name McCall on the teamsheet with Zack unavailable and Kyle having announced his retirement during the build-up following a bad hamstring injury.
Peter Heasley came into the back row and Tom McCallistair started at tight head while Jake Flannery was released to start at outhalf, joining a potent backline including Zac Ward and Aaron Sexton. There was also a debut for Corrie Barrett off the bench.
Lansdowne made their usual fast start and went ahead with a converted try when scrumhalf Cormac Foley ran a great support line to profit from a line break in midfield.
The locals settled into the game and scored an excellent try in reply. Conor Rankin gained field position with a superb 50-22 kick and after a few phases Ward came off his wing and into the line to burst through the defence and put George Pringle over.
Lansdowne dominated possession and territory for much of the rest of the first half, scoring a penalty and then an excellent try when a superb offload wrong footed the Hinch defence and put winger Sean Galvin through a massive gap. He had work to do but sidestepped his way under the posts to take his team out to a ten point lead.
They were well worth it and despite a missed penalty attempt threatened to go further clear but Ballynahinch gradually earned their share of possession and made it to halftime without any further damage.
Ballynahinch took control of the game with a two-try burst early in the second half.
They attacked from deep through the pace of Sexton and when Lansdowne failed to clear their lines Ballynahinch put together an excellent multi-phase attack which ended with Pringle switching play to put skipper Bradley Luney over in the corner.
They showed their cutting edge by scoring straight from the kick off when Heasley pounced on a loose ball to feed Luney and his wide pass found Sexton in open space on halfway.
There was only one possible outcome and he cruised under the posts to take Ballynahinch into the lead.
Lansdowne battled back with a penalty to go ahead before Ballynahinch claimed their bonus point try to retake the lead. Claytan Milligan scored from a lineout drive after Lansdowne illegally stopped the first Ballynahinch attempt.
As the game moved into the final quarter Lansdowne attacked again, but having weathered the storm Ballynahinch saw the opportunity to set Sexton free again from deep.
Lansdowne rushed up and seemed to knock the ball on in the tackle but play was waved on and the Co.Down men were caught behind their own line.
Two scrums later Lansdowne flashed the ball wide to score in the corner but crucially the conversion came back off the post to hold the lead to just one point.
A massive hit from Mark Best forced a Lansdowne knock-on,nd after two great carries off the back of scrums from Luney Ballynahinch forced a penalty which Rankin converted to take his side in front for the third time.
Despite a Ward yellow card for a deliberate knockon with three minutes to go stout defence meant Lansdowne couldn’t gain the field position to really make the extra man count and Adam Craig’s charges came away with a full haul of five points.
UCD are the visitors to Ballymacarn this weekend as Ballynahinch seek to maintain their playoff position. All support welcome.
Ballynahinch 1-20: Matthew Burke, Claytan Milligan, Tom McCallistair, Will Hopes, Ronan McCusker, Declan Horrox, Peter Heasley, Bradley Luney, Conor McKee, Jake Flannery, Zac Ward, Mark Best, George Pringle, Aaron Sexton, Conor Rankin, Kelvin Hamilton, Corrie Barrett, John Dickson Jnr, Kyle Gill, Rhuari Meharg, Paul Kerr.
Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 09/11/2024
Club Notes
Ballynahinch thumped local rivals Banbridge 20-0 in the Womens Premiership at Ballymacarn Park as they returned to league action and welcome Malone next weekend.
An excellent weekend for the club saw wins for the 2nds, 3rds and 5ths.
The 2nds consolidated second place in their league with a hard fought away victory over Ballymena while the thirds cut loose against Banbridge to register their first league win of the season, scoring eleven tries in the process. The star studded fifths continued their league dominance, racking up another fifty points for a sixth consecutive bonus point victory.
Youth results were mixed with a first defeat for the U16s but an excellent victory for the U18s versus Instonians.
The next AIL home fixture is November 16th vs UCD. Pre-match lunch seats can be booked via James Kirk on 07966143184.
The Clontarf pre-match lunch on 7th December is officially sold out.
Other diary dates include Christmas Lunch on Sunday 8th December and Jumper Party on Saturday 21st December. See social media for details.
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 hinchminis@gmail.com.
Results 09/11/2024
Lansdowne 25 Ballynahinch 27 (AIL Division 1A)
Ballynahinch 20 Banbridge 0 (Womens Premiership)
Ballymena 2 10 Ballynahinch 2 25 (2nd XV League)
Ballynahinch 3 67 Banbridge 3 7 (Provincial Prem 1)
Ballynahinch 5 58 Portadown 3 12 (Regional South)
Ballynahinch U18 33 Instonians U18 17
Ballynahinch U16 19 Instonians U16 24
Ballynahinch U14 38 Instonians U14 38.
