Pictured: Ulster Under 17s playing at Rifle Park. Seven Banbridge boys involved, Jason Gribben, Lee Jackson, Josh Cromie, Ross Haughey, Cameron Cromie, Matty Beck and Jason Jardine. TJ Morris and several of his teammates from Dromore shows that Rugby is thriving in our district.
Burns scores brace in U15s win over Rainey
BANBRIDGE 3RDs 0 Ballynahinch 3rds 28
November 10, 2012
League pace-setters Ballynahinch Thirds underlined their claim to retain the Junior League Section One title with a four-try win over their Bann rivals.
The Ballymacarn Park side had already recorded a 45-0 win when the teams met in the first round of the Crawford Cup in early September. So in light of that Bann will have been pleased to restrict their well-drilled opponents to a lesser tally.
A converted try for the visitors in the opening minutes was not the start that Bann wanted. And as they struggled to contain the strong mobile ‘Hinch pack, with experienced lock John Gunson at its core, two further converted tries were added before the break.
Bann were more competitive in the second half and should have had a score after enjoying a prolonged period of pressure on the ‘Hinch line. But despite a series of 5-metre scrums they were unable to make the breakthrough.
And later when they put in a speculative kick deep into the opposition half, ‘Hinch counter-attacked through former First XV captain Jonny Cullen, with a number of missed tackles easing the supporting winger’s path to the try line.
That Bann were able to limit their opponents to four tries was due in no small part to the non-stop tackling of flanker Matthew Bird, with No 8 Andrew Davidson and hooker Paul Ross also putting in a hard afternoon’s work.
Thirds draw a blank against league leaders
BANBRIDGE 3RDs 0 Ballynahinch 3rds 28
League pace-setters Ballynahinch Thirds underlined their claim to retain the Junior League Section One title with a four-try win over their Bann rivals.
The Ballymacarn Park side had already recorded a 45-0 win when the teams met in the first round of the Crawford Cup in early September. So in light of that Bann will have been pleased to restrict their well-drilled opponents to a lesser tally.
A converted try for the visitors in the opening minutes was not the start that Bann wanted. And as they struggled to contain the strong mobile ‘Hinch pack, with experienced lock John Gunson at its core, two further converted tries were added before the break.
Bann were more competitive in the second half and should have had a score after enjoying a prolonged period of pressure on the ‘Hinch line. But despite a series of 5-metre scrums they were unable to make the breakthrough.
And later when they put in a speculative kick deep into the opposition half, ‘Hinch counter-attacked through former First XV captain Jonny Cullen, with a number of missed tackles easing the supporting winger’s path to the try line.
That Bann were able to limit their opponents to four tries was due in no small part to the non-stop tackling of flanker Matthew Bird, with No 8 Andrew Davidson and hooker Paul Ross also putting in a hard afternoon’s work.
Fourths score four in Eaton Park defeat
Ballymena 4ths 41 BANBRIDGE 4THs 24
November 10, 2012
Bann Fourths made the journey to Eaton Park on Saturday for another away game as they tried to improve on their slow start to the season.
Bann started the stronger of the two teams and from the first scrum showed their dominance. With Noel Savage, Roger McBride and Ryan Ringland making up the front line, the home pack was on the back foot in most of the scrums.
However it was Ballymena who scored first with an easy try coming from slick handling in their threequarters. They added a second shortly before half-time, but Bann replied before the break with a great solo effort from Patrick Mackin who showed his pace by running in from 60 metres out unopposed, Stephen Jackson adding the points with the conversion.
The great pairing of Jackson and Willie Taylor made sure the ball was moving well in open play, and John Woods and Matthew Quinn used this to gain good yardage. Woods made great ground with a run before giving a perfectly timed off-load to Jackson who would no doubt have scored but for an intentional slap-down by the Ballymena No.8. To the amazement of the Bann players the referee adjudged the ball to have been knocked on!
An awkward landing for Woods late in the first half put him under pressure for the rest of the game and he had to move from centre to wing. Half time score 12-7.
Bann started the second half the way they finished the first, with hard tackling from Jackson, Gareth Briggs and Ryan Dennison making it hard for Ballymena to penetrate the Bann defence. Bann thought they had lost full back Dewi Morris to injury, but he rested for 5 mins and returned to the pitch to play the remainder of the game with his knee heavily strapped.
Great picking from No 8 Peter Cromie made sure that Bann gained ground from every scrum.
Ballymena ran in an easy try to stretch their lead to 19-7 and followed this up with another try shortly afterwards, although there was some doubt as to whether the Ballymena out-half had properly grounded the ball.
Ballymena lost a man through injury for eight mins and Bann took this opportunity to run in two tries with Dennison making the most of Ballymena’s poor tackles and Taylor showing flair and side-stepping not one, but two Ballymena players to score under the posts. Jackson converted one of the two tries to reduce the deficit to 29-19.
Ballymena got their centre back and changed the face of the game again, running in two more tries in quick succession, but Bann never backed down and the in-form play of scrum half Kris Coleman paid off for him in the last phase of the game when he used his skill and pace to score under the posts.
The Bann men came off the pitch knowing they had tried their best and played their part in an enjoyable game of rugby. Special mention has to go to Peter Cromie, who made a big impression after leaving a leisurely game of golf to travel with the team.
