Banbridge duly picked up the win they needed to copper-fasten their place in the end-of-season Division Three play-offs, scoring four tries for good measure to add another bonus point to their haul.
But it could so easily have ended in defeat for the home side as they contrived to produce a mix of wonderfully enterprising attacking play and needlessly sloppy defending. The latter left Navan, in the final game of their first season in the AIL, well-placed to claim a win in the last quarter of the match. In the event, the bonus point would have been enough to keep Bann in the top four. But a defeat would hardly have sent them to Upper Malone for Saturday’s play-off game in confident mood.
The game started as brightly as the spring sunshine which warmed the sizeable crowd, with Bann obviously intent on playing an expansive game. But it was Navan who struck first, full-back Karl Manning slotting over e penalty from 35 metres after Bann had been caught in possession.
Bann’s response was immediate as they won the ball from the drop-out. Ashley Finlay made the initial breakthrough and when he found Chris Leathem with a pass on the Navan “22”, the winger out-paced the defence for the opening try.
Seven minutes later Bann went 12-3 up when Shandon Scott added the conversion points to a try from Matthew Irvine after the Bann pack had driven the opposition back from five metres out.
The young full-back added three more points from 33 metres range on the half hour, but for the remainder of the first period Navan held sway with their own brand of enterprising rugby. That produced a try for Maurice McAuley and the winger should really have added a second before the break, when another promising move ended with his knock-on metres out from the Bann line.
However by the interval just a single point separated the sides, thanks to a second Manning penalty and a snap drop goal from scrum-half David Delahunt as Bann were kept firmly on the back foot.
The visitors picked up where they had left off before half-time, forcing a series of 5-metre scrums in the opening eight minutes after the break. Bann eventually kicked their way out of immediate danger but Navan were still in control and launched another attack on the Bann 10-metre line. When the ball went to ground Leathem was first there, picking up to sprint the 70 metres to the posts for the touchdown, with Scott adding the conversion.
Navan were given an early chance to retrieve the situation when from the re-start Bann had an attempted clearance kick charged down. The ball was hacked ahead and when a Navan player was pulled back by the jersey, the referee was left with no option but to award a penalty try, with Manning kicking the simple conversion.
With Bann’s lead again back to a point, the incident which swung the match their way came on 62 minutes. A row flared up following a lineout close to the Navan line, and following consultation with the touch judge the referee red-carded Navan replacement forward David King. Bann opted for a scrum from the penalty and from the ruck that followed Stephen Irvine picked up and drove over for an unconverted try.
The six point cushion allowed no room for complacency and Bann had to withstand a number of onslaughts before the final whistle brought welcome relief.
Bann now travel to take on Division Three champions Queen’s in Saturday’s play-off semi-final. The students have won the league in style, clocking up 580 points and conceding just 122 in their fourteen wins, with just a solitary reverse at runners-up Midleton blotting their record. They are also through to the final of the Ulster Senior Cup, underlining their status as the form team in the province at the moment.
So Bann will have their work cut out on Saturday if they are to make it through to the Division Three final for the first time ever. They gave evidence of their attacking abilities in Saturday’s game, but a much-improved defensive display will be needed if they are to halt the students’ slick points-scoring machine.
