Ballymoney RFC U15s show what their made of!!! by Richard Gault
On Saturday 26th October, the Toon welcomed to Kilraught’s road, Carrick RFC who are the team to beat in U15s youth rugby. This was going to be the biggest test of the season so far.
On Saturday 26th October, the Toon welcomed to Kilraught’s road, Carrick RFC who are the team to beat in U15s youth rugby. This was going to be the biggest test of the season so far.
With one of their best players (Adam Coulter, Hooker) missing through an ankle injury Philip Beattie moved in to hooker and played probably his best game of the season so far!
The game was kicked off by Carrick who, with a strong wind in their face put the ball high for their big pack to chase but what they met was 6’2” Matthew McConaghy and 6′ Graham Donnelly coming at them and proceed to blast clean through Carrick’s on rushing pack and pass the ball to the backs who took their first chance to run at Carrick and test what is a very well turned out team! The toon backs found out early on that Carrick were going to be a tough nut to crack!
After 15 minutes of hard fought rugby by both sides the “friendly game” went out the window when from the back of a scrum Mathew McConaghy picked at 8 and crashed it round the corner and pop the ball to Brian O’Neill at scrumhalf he passed to Stevie Culbertson, outhalf, who took the ball right into their face and hit fullback Jonny Storey coming between centre James Orr and winger Matty Bell, this was to prove fruitful when Storey and Bell exchanged passes around their winger and fullback for Jonny storey to score below the posts for the first points of the game Bell slotted the extra 2 points over 7-0 the toon!!
With an unbeaten run of their own to try and keep Carrick tried to make up for a costly lapse in concentration and worked a really good forward move up the blind side brushing off the toon winger’s attempt to stop the big 8 scoring in the corner for Carrick’s first points. The conversion was missed leaving the score 7-5.
That seemed to spur Carrick on and for the rest of the half put Ballymoney under pressure, even more so when Carrick scored again in the corner after knocking on the door and finding a very stubborn toon defence! Again Carrick’s big number 8 crossed the line!! The conversion was missed and the halftime whistle went!! HT score 7-10 Carrick in front.
This was the first time this season the U15s found themselves trailing on the score sheet. Some words of encouragement (shall we say!!!) were ringing loud and clear in the 15’s ears when they kicked off the second half and with the maturity and bravery that was asked for, these young lads set about making the Ballymoney RFC club shirt something to be proud to have on your back!!
With the blind side firmly shut down and only 3 points in the game Carrick started to run out of ideas to kill off Ballymoney, this was to be where the toon lads showed their mettle up front and pushed Carrick off their own scum, catching them cold with another try out of the top drawer. The ball was took hard at their backs again and for the second time young Culbertson found Matty Bell hitting a beautiful line to carve clean through the defence and score a classy try in the corner! The conversion was missed from a wide angle and against a very strong wind. The score was now, Toon 12-10 Carrick.
The lads from the Toon now started to think we’re going to just hold on to our winning streak and you can think again if you’re coming to our pitch to try and beat us!
From the restart the determination to win this game and put a marker down for the rest of the season was plain to see with brilliant work from the tireless Ballymoney forwards hitting ruck after ruck. Their opponent’s fitness faded and Ballymoney went in for the killer blow that Carrick failed to find in the first half!!
After countless hard runs by the pack Carrick finally cracked and that pair of Storey and Culbertson popped up again and linked well to send Storey crashing over between the posts to score the final try and smash any hope Carrick had of retaining their winning run!! After the conversion was added the score was 19-10 to the Toon!! This young side should be very proud of themselves, every time a question is asked of them they all stand up and show a maturity and hunger for rugby that will stand them well for the future!!
Man of the match for his sheer work rate hard tackles and rampaging runs goes this week to
Matthew McConaghy
Well done big fella keep er lit!!
Training Tuesday night at 6pm sharp bring a friend!!
See you all Tuesday night!!
UP THE TOON!!!!!
24 7 Sat 26th Oct, 2:30pm. Omagh 2 24 – 7 Ballymoney 2
Improving 2s show signs of resurgence
A well drilled Omagh side made Ballymoney pay for their mistakes, but overall this was not a bad performance.
Ballymoney were looking to build on last week’s hard win over Grosvenor, but with several changes in the 1st XV, there were a few new faces. In particular, Matthew Pollock was welcomed into the side at scrum half after some good runs for the 3s.
This was always going to be a tight, forward-dominated affair, and the early exchanges proved as much. Omagh’s strong fringe defense and blitz out wide proving tough to break down.
Ballymoney did manage the first score, with Neal Mulholland taking a quick tap from an Omagh scrum offence, driving into the line, where Callum Macdonald was on hand to pick up and sprint 30 yards through to score.
But when Omagh regained possession they were well used to keeping control of the ball. The first half finished 7-7 after Omagh crossed the line following sustained pressure on the Ballymoney line.
In the second half, play was much the same, generally tight with little chance for either back line to make space.
Omagh, however, were generally better organised, scoring from tight plays around the fringes after good defence. In the end, Ballymoney had long spells of attacking play but were not able to make the breakthrough, leaving the score 24-7 for the home side.
Next week the 2s host Dungannon 3s, who have missed a few games and so will be hoping to get together for this one.
Sat 26th Oct, 2:30pm. Ballymoney 15 – 21 Ballymena 2
Narrow loss to Ballymena 2s by Andy Borthwick – Toon lose out on a close one
Ballymoney welcomed Ballymena’s 2nd XV in the Conference league, looking to build on a strong run of results in the Kukri Qualifying league in the past few weeks. With influential scrum half Scott Nelson facing an operation on his injured tub, Matthew Dunlop stepped up after a good run in the 2s. Peter Irvine also returned to the squad, with Matthew Blair getting a full game for the 2s after a few weeks on the bench. Simon Mcrae also stepped up, with Ryan Brace away on honeymoon.
The reshuffles meant a shaky start – in the first 5 minutes Ballymena got the scoreboard moving with a converted try after some poor handling, and kept the momentum with a drop goal and penalty on 10 and 12 mins, to lead 13-0.
But Ballymoney regrouped and began to put some better play together – Thomas Skelton’s kick and chase threatened the line on 20 minutes, before Ryan Clyde got over the line from a close range lineout on 30 minutes for the Toon’s opening try. 13-7 at half time.
The second half opened with Ballymena again getting an early try, this time a breakaway score on 42 mins. But Ryan Clyde was back on the board with another try 3 mins later, this time after several good phases of play. A Kyle McAuley penalty on 55 mins made it 18-15.
However, the comeback was not to be, and despite all their best efforts, Ballymoney were not able to get back on the scoreboard – only a single penalty in the last 20 minutes for Ballymena made it 21-15 at the end.
Coach Jason Taggart was pleased with the performances of the your players stepping up or coming back from injury. The Man of the Match was Ryan Clyde.
Next week is the return of Qualifying league action, with Bangor visiting Kilraughts Road on a good run of form after their promotion last year.
Ballymoney RFC III XV 22 v Armagh RFC 43
Sat 26th Oct, 11:00am. Ballymoney RFC 34 – 19 Carrickfergus RFC
U13’S PROVING A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK!! by Uel McDowell
Brilliant result for U13s U13’S PROVING A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK!!
Saturday saw the U13’s have their first home game of the season. Blustery but dry conditions were waiting a travelling Carrick side and although this was a friendly both sides had a point to prove. Carrick believed to be a strong well drilled side arrived full of confidence. That confidence was soon to turn to disbelief as the lads from B’money buoyed from last weeks result took the game to Carrick. Playing into a strong wind the forwards looked fantastic, ball in hand the pack were crashing through their opposition at every possible opportunity. From this early onslaught B’money were rewarded for their hard work with Lewis Lyons opening the scoring with one of his familiar ball tucked under one arm, pumping legs and hand offs galore burrowed his way over the line. Conv missed. Score 5-0. A belief in the U13’s ability had now sunk in and after taking a Carrick scrum against the head a pick up and drive from Jack Finney he offloaded in the tackle for Rhys Ferris to dart his way through the Carrick backline to score in the corner. Conv missed. Score 10-0. This was looking like a good day for B’money but as usual the U13’s switched off and allowed the opposition to sneak back into the game. Poor discipline and missed tackles saw Carrick score in the corner and almost from the restart the Carrick out half scored a good solo effort under the posts which he converted. Half Time. 10-12. As always a right old roasting was in store for the half time team talk and some changes were made. The second half was to be the best 25mins of rugby the U13’s have produced all season. B’money took the game to Carrick from the restart good ruck ball on the Carrick “22” saw Tyler Laverty pick up and drive to within the 5m line he showed great awareness to turn and pop to Jack Finney who did the easy bit and dived over the line. Lee Culbertson converted. Score 17-12. A knock on from the restart allowed Carrick to set up a scrum inside B’money’s “22” but a superb scrum from the money men saw them take the ball against the head and an enormous kick downfield into touch took B’money to within 10m of the Carrick line. Carrick took the line out which saw the B’money pack rumble over the Carrick forwards to take the ball and quick hands by the backs saw a last gasp tackle thwart Jack Doak from scoring, he in turn set it up and the ever present Lewis Lyons pick up and score a well deserved team try under the posts. Rhys Ferris converted. Score 24-12. The next 10 mins saw great phases of play forwards and backs linked up well and great lines of running this allowed Jacob Fleck making his U13 debut to cut through the Carrick line, offload in the tackle and this saw no fewer than 4 blue jerseys cross the line. Jack Finney was the try scorer. Conv missed. Score 29-12 With the game entering the last 5 mins Carrick threw everything at B’money and a great wee box kick from out half Lee Culbertson saw Jack Doak gather, set up and release Rhys Ferris only to be stopped by a great tackle. Not to let that dishearten, they soon got their own back with yet another scrum against the head, Jack Finney went down the narrow side only to be bundled into touch. From the line out B’money went through and forced Carrick to give away the line out. From a move taken from the training ground Jack Finney rounded off his hat trick with a score in the corner. Conv missed. Score 34-12 A mix up in the B’money back line saw Carrick round off proceedings with a converted try. Final Score 34-19. Some great running rugby was to be enjoyed by the ever increasing crowd of spectators. From the forwards running with ball in hand and some great shoulder support from the likes of Tyler Laverty, Lewis Lyons and Jack Finney stood out. Again the tackling of Adam Donnelly and Ashley Tweed was much appreciated and needed. The backs again produced a sterling performance having not had the same line up all season. Special thanks to Jacob Fleck who up until 30 seconds before kick off was a spectator who came into the side a put in an excellent shift. This week it isn’t a man of the match more like men of the match and it goes to the entire B’money squad. Players are reminded that training is on Tuesday 6pm until 7:30pm full turnout is essential and it shows that good training produces great results.
Sat 26th Oct, 11:00am. Ballymoney RFC 14 – 21 Carrickfergus RFC
Under 17s Lose Tight Game by Uel McDowell
Under 17s go close to beating Premier Division Side
On Sat 26 Oct Ballymoney RFC Under 17s played Premier League side Carrick RFC at the Kilraughts Road in their first home game of the season.
In blustery conditions the Under 17s began well against their much bigger opponents. Early play centred around the Ballymoney half as Carrick kicked deep with the wind behind them and this gave the lads little space to play their usual running game. Midway through the half Carrick scored a converted try when poor tackling by the Ballymoney backs allowed the Carrick outhalf to score between the posts. A few minutes later a quickly taken throw-in caught the Ballymoney lads flatfooted, gifting Carrick with a easy second converted try. Just on the half time whistle a quick change of direction by the Carrick outhalf enabled his outside centre to score another converted try leaving the visitors 21-0 ahead.
After a few words of advice at halftime the Ballymoney forwards began to up their game and played with controlled aggression. Andrew Young and Gavin Thompson using the wind to their advantage pinned Carrick in their 22. From a subsequent line-out John McLean scored a try which was disallowed for a double movement, much to the dismay of the Ballymoney coaches and supporters. A few minutes later, good robust forward play saw Captain Ben Graham score an excellent try which was converted by Gavin Thompson.
Five minutes later Nathanial McCollum scored another Ballymoney try in the corner after excellent ball protection and control by the Ballymoney pack. In the swirling wind Gavin Thompson kicked a spectacular conversion from the sideline.
With six minutes remaining centre Steven Douglas was injured in a tackle and had to be replaced. In the dying minutes Carrick retained possesion and the game ended 21-14 to Carrick.
This was a game of two halves and if the Ballymoney lads had played with the conviction shown in the second half then the result may have been different. Man of the match was Nathanial McCollum whose effort and resilience was a credit to him throughout the game.
