Ards 1st and 2nds both lose out to Banbridge opposition.
Great turnout at Ireland v Australia RWC Breakfast (Super result)
This Weeks Fixtures
Ards 1st and 2nds both host Instonians at Hamilton Park.
3rds and 4ths on the road to Carrick and Grosvenor respectively.
Banbridge 34 v 7 Ards
Ards 2nd XV’s season continued on Saturday with a third straight away trip, this week to Banbridge.
Ards were determined to improve on two heavy defeats in previous weeks and indeed from the start looked like the home team. Ards handed debuts to centres Quigg and Caldwell both school leavers Regent House each making good impressions. Ards totally dominated in the first 10mins and on four occasions were held up on the line after strong runs from Wilson, Stephen Mckee and Ryan Diver. Ards however let Banbridge out of jail for free. Ill discipline flowed from the disappointment of not scoring and this gave Banbridge the opportunity to take an undeserved three nil lead from a penalty on 14mins. The remainder of the half was a keenly contested affair with Ards having the upper hand in the loose, however the Ards scrum and lineout was not working and denied the fleet footed Ards back line first phase ball. Banbridge added further penalties on 25 and 33 mins either side of a missed Robinson attempt to leave the score at 9 nil at the half.
Ards rallied after the break but once again the set piece let them down. The back row trio of Wilson, Diver and Adam McKee supported by live wire hooker Chivers took the game to Banbridge but could not get a platform for the backs. Banbridge continued to keep the score board ticking over by adding two more penalties on 42 and 49 mins to stretch the lead to 15 nil. Ards never gave in, in particular Ryan Diver on his return from injury carried ball well and put in many big hits. The sucker punch arrived on 62 mins when for once slack tackling allowed Banbridge in for the first try of the game. Shortly after Ards lost centre Caldwell to injury and soon after this out half Armstrong also left the field. A further two converted tries were scored by Banbridge to stretch their lead to 34 nil as space began to open up as Ards only had 13 on the pitch. Ards then lost back row Adam McKee to a yellow card. Man of the match Diver finished the game with a fine individual try from the 10 metre line to give Ards their deserved consolation. Final score 34-7. Ards left the field disappointed knowing they were in the game for the first hour, and unforced errors in the set piece cost them the game.
Team : Whitla, Chivers, Busby, Croan, Hunter, Wilson, Diver, McKee, McKee, Armstrong, Kisby, Quigg, Caldwell, Adair and Robinson.
Clougher Valley 3 v 22 Ards
Ards 3rds made the long journey to the Valley on Saturday for the second fixture of the season, the game was one expected to be a bruising encounter!
The young Ards men were well up for the challenge and were keen to right the wrongs from the previous week. The young team showed aggression and determination from the outset, immediately Valley were put onto the back foot, the forwards drove on to get a quick penalty deep in opposition territory which Simon Hamilton converted. The home side replied quickly and tried to break through a very solid Ards defence to no avail, Ards replied with crunching tackles and the claret was flowing from early on! A minor infringement let Valley even the score, this served to rile the Ards pack who started an onslaught dominating in all regions of the game. The front row of Whitla, Chivers and Peden repeatedly won ball against the head throughout the match. The line outs and scrums were Ards for the taking without much reply, towards the end of the first half the Ards men worked their way close to the Valley 22 and an excellent darting run by Ricky Aston secured the first try which was converted as usual by Hamilton. On the half time whistle Ards were well in control but again aware that a few opportunities had been missed.
Clougher Valley came out in the second half with a renewed and determined mindset and initially rocked the young visitors, Ards held their nerve and slowly but surely showed their dominance, Deane and Hunter in the line out not content enough with their own ball stole Valleys again and again leaving the home side with little answer.
Webster and Robinson proved to be an excellent combination and again to much for the opposition, Robinson went on his trademark direct runs and was rewarded with a hard earned try, unfortunately an unusual miss failed to convert. In the last quarter the game opened up and Ards were fending exceptionally well and continued to drive at the valley line and were rewarded for their efforts 5 minutes from time with a well weighted kick from Robinson allowing Steven McKee over the line, Hamilton back on form secured another 2 points.
Team list
D. Whitla, D. Chivers, A. Peden, I. Presho, M. Hunter, B. Smith, R. Coates, C. Deane, S. Hamilton (Capt), R. Aston, C. Webster, S. Robinson, G. Dougan, A. Wright, S. McKee
Ards 15 v 14 Banbridge
Ards U15s win a hotly contested encounter at Hamilton Park
Ards U15’s first match of the season was a hard fought encounter against a Banbridge side that were one of the best in Ulster last season at this age grade. Well led by Captain Joel DePledge at fly half and Pack Leader Ben Orr, they carved out a victory that belied their inexperience.
The visitors took an early converted try following a series of drives that showed the Ards boys that Banbridge meant business. Ards then won ground with good hands by the backs resulting in a scrum to Ards on the Bann 22 metre line.
Calling a well rehearsed training ground move, the backline then released centre Oliver Glenn for a superbly taken try under the posts converted by Joel DePledge that was the highlight of the match.
Now knowing they were in a match, the Bann team attacked ferociously through strong rucking and crash ball moves to their powerful inside centre. Undaunted, Ards with centre Cameron McKee and prop Gareth Ritchie to the fore stemmed waves of attacks. Eventually, the pressure told and a kick through caused confusion at the Ards tryline and Bann took a soft converted score.
This seemed to spur the Ards pack into life and now dominant at the line out with pin point throw ins from Daniel McCullough, they took a series of drives and penalties deep into the Bann 22 metre area, ending in a try from Ben Orr, who clevely stole line out ball against the head and drove though to touch down. The difficult conversion from near the touch line was narrowly missed and at half time, Banbridge led 14-12.
With both teams having the measure of each other, the 2nd half became a battle of wills with few chances, frequent penalties and regular substitutions as the contest became more attritional. Ards began to take control in the final quarter and a sustained period of pressure resulted in a kickable penalty on the Bann 22 metre line.
Fly half DePledge slotted the kick cleanly and Ards took the lead for the first time. From then on, Ards spent almost the entire time in the Banbridge half with only one marginal call for a try as a reward.
As the final moments came, a crooked feed by Banbridge at a scrum close to their line led to a free kick to Ards which was happily kicked straight into touch for the final whistle and a victory equally earned and deserved by every player.
Many thanks are extended to the Banbridge team, their coaches and supporters for making the trip and to the Ards lads and their supporters and coaches also, a job well done.
Armagh 33 v 5 Ards
Last Saturday the 1st XV made it’s second visit to Armagh in three weeks and on this occassion to play a first round match in the Senior Cup. Although Armagh deserved the win the scoreline flatters them a little and this was a step forward for the Ardsmen and a much improved performance.
Both sides made several changes to their squad from the earlier match and Ards were delighted to give senior debuts to Matthew Wallace and John Quigg during the course of the game. Both young men have joined the squad straight from Regent House, continuing the steady stream of talent from the School over a long number of years. Both performed admirably and will be significant assests to the Ards cause for the future.
The first half was evenly contested and after 38 minutes the sides were tied at 5-5. Armagh had taken advantage of hesitancy in the Ards defence in the 25th minute to score an unconverted try. Ards bounced back just 4 minutes later. Gareth Wilson on the right wing fielded a punt outside his 22 metre line and ran the ball back with purpose. As the defence came up he chipped ahead and showed considerable pace to retrieve the ball in front of the full back. He found Mark Banford on his shoulder in support and when the ball was passed to him he had a clear run to the line for an unconverted try to level the scores.
It seemed this would be the half time score but Armagh forced theie way over close to the posts for a try that was converted to take a 12-5 lead into the interval. In the second period Ards had at least two clear opportunities to score tries neither of which were taken but the ability to create scoring chances is encouraging as the squad look to the All Ireland League. Stephen Cole exploited a gap in midfield in the 50th minute and the move gained momentum through an excellent ball carry from Conor Piper. The pack were in support and with the Armagh defence stretched inside their 22 a try was on but with the wrong option taken the chance was lost. Armagh by contrast were clinical and scored two converted tries in quick succession midway through the half. Ards made full use of their bench in the second half with Wallace and Quigg to the fore together with Matt Bushby, Ryan Diver, and peter croan all making their presence felt. A wrong option from a restart handed Armagh their third try of the half but Ards were undaunted and probably shaded the possesion and territory in the final 20 minutes. Kyle Agnew, settling into squad at scrum half made a break deep into the Armagh half late on in the game and some more composure from his support players could have seen the Armagh defence breached again. Ards will take the positives out of this game as their young squad continue to gel together. Old hands John Dowey and the returning James McCavery provided a strong second row and the pick of the forwards was 18 year old Max Harrison who had a storming game throughout.
The Ards squad for the match was; Foster, Piper, McClure, Dowey, McCavery, Calvert, Dawson, Harrison, Agnew, Cox, Wilson, Young ( Capt ), Cole, McClean, Banford, Wallace,Quigg, Bushby, Diver, Croan.
This Saturday the 1sts are on the road again, this time to Banbridge for an Ulster Senior League match.
