Ballynahinch RFC 18 – 10 Antrim RFC
After a positive week, off the field, Antrim resumed cup duties in the McCambley Cup quarter final trip to Ballynahinch. The Antrim lads bravely bowed out to an experienced and physical Ballynahinch side. Antrim put points on the board through a Neil Manson try and some impressive kicking from Toby Rowe despite the prevailing crosswind and heavy pitch.
The first half was a sluggish start from both sides and large parts were spent camped on the half way line as Hinch made patient ground through mauls and carries. As both teams showed stern defence, it was Hinch who coped better with Antrim’s big hitters.
Hinch took the lead after 20 minutes after some patient pack work saw them crash over from 5 metres and miss the conversion to take a 5-0 lead.
Antrim woke up a bit and began to show glimpses of their capabilities through some good moves and good hands but good runs from Mark Perry, Gary Smith and Andrew Calvert were all met with some big hits.
Ballynahinch were quick to the breakdown and particularly good at holding up the ball carriers to prevent Antrim going to ground. Their efforts also saw the discipline slide as players reacted forcefully to Antrim rucking efforts which saw one player leave the pitch with a yellow card. This allowed Antrim to open their scoring with a superb penalty from Rowe to take the score to 5-3 to Hinch.
As the game looked to canter out to half time another Hinch pick and drive saw them crash over from 5 metres and miss the conversion that took them to a half time 10-3 lead.
As Antrim heads bowed, a few rallying words from captain, Mark Perry, put some fire into the boys and the opening 10 minutes of the second half was showed more of the Antrim side who currently lead the league table.
Some good work off the lineouts began to trouble Ballynahinch and Antrim launched wave after wave of attack with Gary Smyth and Neil Manson making good ground.
Manson added a great solo effort try, jinking down the wing and crashing through to score. An equally impressive conversion from Toby Rowe, tied the score at 10-10.
Antrim began to smell blood and Manson was terribly unfortunate not to add his second moments later after a good chip and chase from the Antrim attackers saw Manson dive under pressure to ground the ball. The referee’s interpretation of the grounding differentiated from Manson’s and the try was not given.
The rest of the game was a tense game of chess as both sides battled for advantage with Hinch starving the Antrim backline of any possession. With 15 minutes on the clock, Hinch added a penalty to marginally regain the lead at 13-10.
With tempers flaring from both sides, Hinch added a try with 10 minutes on the clock, following yet another driving maul. The missed conversion and slow ball tactics from Hinch saw the game die out to a 18-10 victory to Hinch.
In the absence of coach Smyth after his recent operation, David McKee took the reins and pointed out that it was an unlucky result for the Antrim boys. He had little to say about the match itself other than the boys had let Hinch play their own game on a pitch that suited them, with Antrim only playing their own game for small periods. He encouraged the squad to pick up and move forward and look to secure the league by not giving the opposition any chance at all and by working harder to become the good team the boys know they can be. He awarded the MB Hire Man of the Match to scrumhalf Gary Walker for his great defensive work and for putting the big hits in throughout the game.
