The STOVE YARD – keeping Ards RFC warm!!!
Not only have The Stove Yard installed a superb wood burning stove in the club house to keep us all warm…..they have also provided a set of run out tops to keep our players warm prior to the game!!!
Richard POULTER (back row 6th from right) from club sponsors The Stove Yard presented new club captain David GRAHAM (front centre) and the 1st XV squad with set of run out tops prior to the start of this year’s All Ireland League campaign.
Many thanks Richard for your continued support!!
Cois BEUKES
Our thoughts are with Rachel and Family this weekend.
It is 2 years since our 1st XV Coach Cois BEUKES passed away,the prayers and thought of all at Ards RFC are with Rachel and Cois’ family in South Africa.
‘Gone but not forgotten’
4th XV match report – Sat 27th Oct 2012 Black Knights chop the ‘Evergreens’ down to size!!
“Black Knights step up a gear against Ballynahinch “Evergreens”
Following on from the defeat of Bangor Griffens last Saturday, the Black Knights continued their winning ways with a comprehensive 60- nil defeat of a young and committed Ballynahinch 7ths at a sun kissed Ballymacarran Park.
From the kick off Ards put hinch under pressure with the substantially older and heavier Ards front five dominating the set piece and young flankers Sam McVeigh and Ben Smith (ably backed by the indomitable Andy Crozier at no 8 ) lively at the breakdown. From broken play directly in front of the posts the ball somehow ended up in Phil Gills hands. Looking as comfortable on the ball as he does on a woman , he flapped the ball to scrum half Andy Matchet who burst through the bemused Ballynahinch defensive line to score under the posts. Unfortunately the conversion was uncharacteristically missed by Nial Mulholland however he made amends two minutes later with a well taken penalty. 8 nil to Ards.
Ards domination of the first half continued as forwards and backs combined for a number of flowing moves .With Ben Smith and Andy Crozier creating space with some superb forward carries , the youthful ards backline, orchestrated by silver haired maestro cyril stocker at out half,were now fire ,with the pace of the ards back three of stephen mckee, andy wright and nial Mulholland causing the hinch defence all sorts of problems . 4 tries followed in quick succession, 2 from mckee and 2 from Mulholland (who also added a further 2 conversions) leaving hinch shell shocked and 29 nil down.
Ards rounded off the first half with a superb solo try from young flanker sam mveigh leaving the score at the break 36 nil. Sam has really upped his game over the past month and looks a great prospect.
In the half time huddle captain rab irwin asked the team to not take the foot off the peddle and to give their first truly 80 minute performance of the season .
Despite a number of substitutions The team duly obliged and started the second half as they finished the first , attacking the hinch line from the kick off.tries from ben smith and andy crozier (who had his best game of the season) quickly followed . unfortunately at this stage veteran prop geoff garrett sustained a bad ankle injury however he was ably replaced by Stu “Dump Truck “ Stephenson. Sustaining some scurrilous abuse from the home supporters about his ability to touch his toes , Stu forced them to eat their words with an explosive burst to the hinch try line. From the resulting quick ruck the ball flashed to the wing where young matt mcmullan picked the ball from his boot straps to score in the corner. From the kick off Ards copper bottomed their domination of the match with a final try from Ben “Nick Williams” Smith, converted by Mulholland to leave the final score 60 nil.
This was a great performance by the Black Knights against a Ballynahinch side who refused to give up. Particularly pleasing was the defence which for the second week in a row did not leak any points and was characterised by some great bone crunching tackles by centres andy todd and mat aitken. It was also great to see the younger players in the side benefiting from the experience of the “old hands” in the team, in particular a man of the match performance from sam mcveigh .Andy Wright was a rock at full back and Niall mulhooland , in only his third game of rugby, had another fine game contributing a personal tally of 20 points to the final score. Andy Matchett, obviously enthused by the performances of the youngsters in the team , was even seen leaving the pitch with dirty shorts (though it was believed that this was as a result of a slip coming out of the changing room rather than on the field of play).
3rds continue winning form and move up to 2nd in their league.
Ards 3rd XV 11 – Ballymoney 4th XV 3
FOR superb Action SHOTS CLICK HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ards 3rds welcomed Ballymoney to Hamilton park last Saturday for a keenly contested match, played in bright autumnal sunshine. The home team kicked off towards the Comber Road and held their own in the heavy forward exchanges that followed but a lack of intensity meant that no points were forthcoming until a penalty from Aston put the men in black on the scoreboard. The pack held their own in the scrum against a larger opposition and were dominant in the lineout with McKee and Dean performing well. Despite this the lack of support at breakdowns and a high penalty count allowed the visitors to stay in the game and a penalty leveled the scores just before half time.
The second half started much as the first ended and after repelling a period of sustained Ballymoney pressure with some great defending Ards began to grind their way into the driving seat. Some great mauling from the pack and penetrating runs from Robinson and Carmichael put them deep into the visitors half. Eventually Mckee fended off a number of tackles before running in for an unconverted try. Carmichael put in a man of the match performance and Busby continued to impressed as he gains match fitness. The game continued to be a crunching physical encounter but the Ards men stood strong and ended the game with a well struck penalty from Aston.
Ards Squad: A.Pedan, D.Chivers, M.Busby, I.Presho, R.Patterson, C.McCullough, C.Dean, A.McKee, Charlie Stewart, R.Aston, A.Coulter, S.Robinson, E.Adair, A.Hill, J.Carmichael.
Bad break disrupts Ards in second half.
Barnhall 42 V 7 Ards
Ards travelled to Dublin last Saturday for their third AIL match of the season to play Barnhall a side tipped for promotion having spent most of last season comfortably in the top four of the league. The match was played in perfect conditions, with bright sunshine, little or no wind and dry underfoot. It was the home team who scored first with a penalty after just 4 minutes from 30 metres out. Ards were soon into their stride however and struck back with a Mark Banford individual try just 10 minutes later. The forwards created the platform with strong ball carries from Rob McCausland and Gareth Quinn. The ball was passed quickly to Banford 35 metres out who came onto the pass at speed. With a wall of Defenders in front of him he cleverly chipped ahead and then ran on to beat the Barnhall fullback, securing the ball close to the try line and then run round under the posts for a fine score. He then slotted over the conversion to give Ards a 5-7 lead.
Ards had the majority of possession and territory for the next fifteen minutes and perhaps a little more composure and patience would have paid dividends. One example being, when Ards were encamped inside the Barnhall 22 metre line and a series of rucks and pick and goes took them to within 2 or 3 metres of the line only for the ball carrier to become isolated and turned over. Barnhall on the other hand took any opportunities that came their way and penalties in the 32nd and 38th minutes gave them a slender two point lead at half time. They had not really threatened the Ards try line in the first half and Ards were anticipating a close encounter in the second period.
In the first five minutes of the second half Ards were again on the front foot. The huge Barnhall pack were kept busy defending rucks as Ards were going forward deep in their territory. The referree then appeared to have signalled a penalty for offside in a ruck to Ards but then had to stop play for an injury to the Barnhall loose head prop. The player, Tim Nolan, had sustained a serious leg injury and play was stopped for a good 15 minutes while he received treatment on the pitch and was then taken off on a stretcher and on to hospital. Ards wish him a full and speedy recovery. Both teams left the pitch during this break in play and to the surprise of everyone the referree restarted play with a scrum to Ards rather than a penalty. Ards were unable to take any advantage and Barnhall soon cleared their lines with a long relieving kick. The break in play seemed to galvanise the home team and with a strong bench to call on the replacement prop and a change in the centre altered the dynamics of the game.
Barnhall played intelligent rugby kicking into the corners where their strong forwards were able to set up numerous mauls which Ards foung hard to counteract. From one such driving maul Barnhall scored a converted try in the 52nd minute to take a 16 -7 lead. This was quickly followed by a sharp backline move which opened up the Ards defence and the resulting try and conversion on 60 minutes put Barnhall 23 -7 in front and the whole game had a different complexion. Their pack now had the ascendancy in both lineout and scrum. In the final ten minutes the home side were in complete control and three further tries followed, two of which were converted to leave Barnhall worthy winners at 42-7. Ards must now pick themselves up as there is no respite in the All Ireland League and this week Connemara are the visitors to Hamilton Park for a vital game for both sides.
The Ards squad was: Millar, Quinn, Foster,McCausland, Broughall, Creighton, Lamb, Graham (Capt), Agnew, Banford, Burns, Young, Parkhill, Cox, J. Beggs, Dodd, Presho, Minis, N.Beggs, Taylor.
