Pictured: The P7 Team who played Malone at Ravenhill last Friday night. Well Done !!
BANBRIDGE 2NDs 17 City of Derry 2nds 0
After a disappointing performance two weeks ago against Malone, Bann Seconds were back in 2nd XV league action against City of Derry 2s on Saturday. A bit of a reshuffle saw Adam Doherty back at outside half and veteran Jeff Dodds at half back, and it was the latter who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to ensure the home side came out on top.
First half tries were scored by Peter Cromie and Brian Curran after initial breaks by Andy Brown on both occasions were sustained by good ball retention. However at other times Bann gave away the ball by trying to force a score rather than keep it for a number of phases.
The second half started with Derry exerting a lot of pressure but good defensive work kept them out and allowed Bann to clear their lines. From one such clearance a good chase provided turnover ball and forced a five metre scrum. Bann had been dominating the scrum all day and did so once again. This allowed Brown to pick up cleanly and after brushing off a couple of would-be tacklers he dived over to score. Doherty struck an excellent conversion, taking the score to 17 – 0 and sealing the victory.
On the day Dodds and Brown were superb for Bann but it was the all round performance from Alan Conn that earned him the accolade “Man-of-the-Match”.
‘Kenny too strong for Bann 15s BANBRIDGE U15s 5 Letterkenny 22 January 12, 2013
Letterkenny made the long journey to Banbridge looking to keep up their play-off hopes.
Bann seemed to take a while to find their feet, with the tricky visiting three quarters proving to be a handful. About 20 minutes into the half Leterkenny were up 10 points through a quick penalty to the winger and some tricky foot work from the out half.
Some harsh words from Adam Ferris seemed to lift the boys and kick-start them into action. They started to take the game to the opposition through some great team work, with captain Matthew Blain at the centre of it all. His off-load to Conor Burns saw the centre charge his way up the pitch and find the supporting Nathan Wallace who brought play into the “22”. Letterkenny went off-side at the ruck and scrum-half Max Buller quickly moved the ball to Lee Jackson who barged his way over for the five pointer.
The momentum was now with Bann and they were quickly back in the ‘Kenny half. With seconds left before the break Jack Flanagan found himself stopped short of the line but lacking the support to finish off. The half time whistle came at the right time for the visitors.
The second half started as the first with the Letterkenny threequarters taking every opportunity to run at the Bann backs but with William Wilson back from injury they were not getting much joy. The visitors’ out-half changed tactics and started to put high garryowens up to put the full back under pressure. They found John Buller in blistering form and a joy to watch under the high ball. One such catch saw him return the kick and chase it up to make the tackle. Once again the support was too slow and Bann couldn’t make the most of Buller’s solid work.
Wilson went off injured and ‘Kenny now saw this as an opportunity. Their centres found gaps in a tiring Bann defence to seal the win with a try apiece.
Despite the final outcome this was a decent performance from the Bann squad. In the pack Matthew Blain once again led from the front, getting great support from Jackson and Ferris. The defensive qualities of Wilson, Alex Walker and Callum Carlisle made them the stand out performers in the back line.
However Man-of-the-Match must go to John Buller who gave a complete performance at full-back. His positioning and timing under the high ball was never in doubt. In defence as a last line you can always rely on him and despite being one of the youngest players in the squad he is sure to be a very important part of the team for the cup campaign.
This week the team travels to Donegal for the final league fixture before the cup starts in March.
Bonus point scant consolation in second half turnaround BANBRIDGE 1STs 25 City of Derry 33 January 12, 2013
With three tries racked up in the opening half and a 20 point cushion to take into the second period against pointless City of Derry, Banbridge looked all set to harvest another five points from Saturday’s Ulster League fixture at Rifle Park.
But in a remarkable turnaround the visitors dominated the second half, running in five tries to a single Bann touchdown, with the last of those leaving the home side with a solitary bonus point for their four tries.
Flanker Dale Carson kick-started Bann’s first half, touching down in the 3rd minute after Stephen Irvine had made good ground down the left touchline.
A storming run from No 8 Jonny Graham left Derry struggling to defend their line and with Bann maintaining the pressure John Porter was denied a try when the last pass was adjudged to have been forward.
But the home side were not to be denied and some creative handling in the backs created the space for Andrew Morrison to run in from 30 metres for the second try, which like the first went unconverted.
The visitors’ cause was not helped by the yellow cards shown to out-half Richard McCarter and lock Brian Prue, with Ian Porter slotting home the penalty kick from the first of those. Prue was still “resting” on the sidelines when his Bann counterpart, Chris Allen, took advantage of Jonny Pollock’s neat line break to score at the posts, with Porter’s straightforward conversion moving the home tally on to 20 unanswered points.
Even when Derry got off the mark three minutes into the second half, with No 8 Tom Patton’s try being converted by Peter Henderson, there seemed little chance of the visitors clawing back the deficit. Seven minutes later Allen broke clear from a lineout to take his side into the Derry “22” and Morrison again underlined his enormous promise as he fended off the attention of two defenders to cross for his second try.
That was the end of the scoring for the home side. Both teams began to make increasing use of their respective benches and a more experienced Derry front row saw the balance of scrummaging power swing decisively in their favour. Working off this better platform they notched up two tries in five minutes. Replacement Chris Barber scored under the posts and blindside flanker Stephen Corr took advantage of Bann’s untidy scrum ball as he pounced to effect the touchdown.
With Henderson’s unerring boot adding the conversions the visitors were now just four points in arrears and building up a seemingly unstoppable head of steam. Winger William McCleery marked his return from injury in style, coming off the bench to grab the try that would take his side into the lead, with Henderson adding the extras.
And to rub salt in the home wounds David Graham crossed in the opposite corner from the last move of the game to deny Bann the losing bonus point.
The sides cross swords again in just over five weeks, when All-Ireland League points will be at stake in the City of Culture. Both coaches will have learned something from Saturday’s exercise – it will just be a matter of which can apply those lessons most effectively.
Corinthians prematch on 26th January is sold out
The prematch reception ahead of Banbridge’s home fixture against Corinthians is sold out.
Pre-match lunches are held ahead of every 1st XV home fixture and are open to all. To reserve your seat at any of this season’s prematch receptions, or if you are interested in sponsoring a reception please contact John Ewart on 07909 978505 or john.ewart@dfpni.gov.uk or Stephen Cross on 07798 731421 or by email at stephen@eurofire-ni.com.
