Lansdowne Enjoy Win After Two Defeats By Ballynahinch RFC
AIL League,
Saturday 21st October,
Final Score: Lansdowne 45 Ballynahinch 19.
Lansdowne were worthy winners on Saturday as Ballynahinch conceded seven tries in the wide open spaces of the Avivia Stadium main pitch reports James Kirk.
Their opponents clearly had revenge on their mind after losing twice to the Co.Down men last season and after a summer spent revamping their squad they cut loose, capitalising on the visitors inability to convert a strong start into points.
They jumped out to a nineteen point lead.
Then they added late tries after Ballynahinch scored through Claytan Milligan to make it 24-14 on the hour mark to give them a sniff of getting something from the game.
Ballynahinch had travelled with plenty of confidence after their bonus point victory over Cork Constitution last week and a slew of Ulster releases to boost the side but they looked sluggish and the extra game they had in their legs due to the Bateman Cup SF perhaps took its toll.
Going back-to-back for 4 weeks against Division 1A opposition and finishing with 80 minutes against a Lansdowne side renowned for the speed of their play was a tough proposition.
Adam Craig and his troops will be thankful for the break next weekend before a home fixture against a revitalised Shannon side.
Craig will have backs Mark Best and Jack Milligan available for selection after observing concussion protocols and welcomed the return of George Saunderson after his concussion layoff.
But long term injuries to some key forwards mean Ballynahinch have limited scope to freshen up their tight five in readiness for the physical challenge of another block of AIL fixtures.
Ballynahinch 1-21 : John Dickson, Claytan Milligan, Kyle McCall (capt), Tommy Donnan, Declan Horrax, Callum Irvine, Zack McCall, Bradley Luney, Chris Gibson, Dominic Clapcott, Aaron Sexton, Paul Kerr, Ben Moxham, Shay Storey, Conor Rankin, George Saunderson, Harry, McCormick, Bryn Ward, Aaron Cairns, Ryan Wilson, Ben Carson.
***
Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 21st Ocober 2023
Club Notes
The Women’s XV learned all about the quality of the top end of the Premiership as they shipped a sixty point defeat to Enniskillen at home.
They will hope to have a few key players back for the return fixture in a fortnight.
The seconds continued their impressive league campaign with an excellent bonus point victory over league champions Ballymena and will travel to Clogher Valley on Saturday full of confidence.
The 4ths and 5ths continued their fine start to the season with bonus point victories and are top of their league sections.
Pre-match lunches are back. To book a place for the next AIL home game vs Shannon on November 4th contact James Shaw on 07740308051.
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:
