Ballynahinch 27-16 Belfast Harlequins
Quins feel the sting of the Lash.
By Conor Keown
On a fair afternoon, but on a heavy pitch, Hinch gained revenge for their recent Ulster Senior League defeat to Quins with tries from Willie Faloon and Stuart Morrow as well as 4 penalties from Kiwi outhalf James Lash.
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Hinch were 9-0 up after only 20 minutes with 3 straight forward penalty goals which resulted from Quins indiscipline at the breakdown. After some sustained pressure by Quins in the Hinch 22 Michael Heaney reduced the deficit for Quins at 25 minutes with a penalty – score 9-3. A few minutes later Quins were awarded another penalty on the Hinch 22 and they opted to kick to the corner for a lineout; but the throw was crooked and with the advantage Hinch were able to clear their lines and surge towards Quins 22.
A series of pick and drives, stretched Quins defence and Neil McComb was yellow carded after he was adjudged to put a late challenge in. Quins were now down to 14 men and the canny Hinch Captain opted for a scrum ten metres out. Hinch moved the ball quickly from the back of the scrum and Willie Faloon smashed over to claim the first try of the match. Lash converted with a difficult kick from the touchline – score 16-3. One minute from half time, Hinch conceded another penalty in their own half, this time Heaney kicked the goal to decrease the gap to ten points. With seconds to go before half time, Willie Stewart snatched at a Hinch pass and was penalised for a deliberate knock on. Lash made a good attempt at the long range effort to make the half time score 19-6.
In the second half McComb had returned for Quins into the second row, which seemed to solidify the scrum. For the first fifteen minutes the play ebbed and flowed between each 22, but at 55 minutes, Heaney punished Hinch with a successful penalty kick after break down indiscipline by Hinch – score 19-9 and with 25 minutes to go it was game on. However, in the 64th minute after some excellent pressure by Hinch, Lash exploited a gap in the Quins defence and from 10 metres out Stuart Morrow, at full gallop was unstoppable to take his try. Lash missed the conversion leaving the score 24-9 to the home side.
Quins heads didn’t go down and in the 75th minute Heaney kicked to the corner after being awarded a penalty in the Hinch 22. From the resultant lineout, Quins drove for the Hinch line and power house prop Richard Lutton made the final surge to score a try. Heaney made an excellent conversion – score 24-16. At this stage Quins were chasing a losing bonus point, but it was not to be as Harry McAleece put the point out of reach with one minute to go with a well taken penalty goal. Quins continued with a few late intrusions in the Hinch 22, but these came to nothing. And so it finished 27-16.
On the day Hinch deserved the win, with a stout defence and by having better discipline at the breakdown. Quins put themselves under a lot of pressure through their own mistakes and with a high penalty count, the damage being done in the first 20 minutes. An off day at the office and by the look on the lads’ faces after, I think they knew they under performed.
Back on the horse this week and regroup to put a good performance in away to Galwegians.
Team:
1. Richard Lutton, 2. Robert Logan, 3. Mark McGrath, 4. Gareth Rourke, 5. Michael Ferguson, 6. Paul Rea, 7. Lawrence Babe, 8. Neil McComb, 9. Michael Heaney, 10. Owen McMurray, 11. Matt Holmes, 12. Willie Stewart, 13. Michael Allen, 14. Rory Blake-Knox, 15. Rory Scholes. Replacements: 16. Neil Montgomery, 17. Andrew Gillespie, 18. Alistair Heatlie, 19. Stuart Olding, 20. David Creighton.
Referee: Mark Hermin.
League Roundup
Division 1B – Saturday 8th October
Ballymena 10 – 16 Buccaneers
Ballynahinch 27 – 16 Belfast Harlequins
Bruff 21 – 12 Galwegians
U.L. Bohemian 12 – 5 Dungannon
UCD 23 – 16 U.C.C.
B. Harlequins 4 27 – 0 Carrick 4
Fixture: League
By Michael McAteer | Saturday 8th October 2011
Quins 4XV 27 – Carrick 4XV 0
4XV Win First Home Game of Season
Following the disappointment of an Ireland defeat in the World Cup there was some consolation for our rugby supporters as the 4’s made in two wins in a row on a surprisingly dry afternoon at Deramore. Carrick were the 4s first visitors of the season and were never going to make it an easy game. Although the final score line of 27-0 suggests it was all one way traffic, this was definitely not the case as the Carrick men fought for every ball right to the final whistle. The first ten minutes were taken up with both teams testing their respective defensive qualities and while both held firm it was Quins who made slightly more ground thanks to some bullish drives by Jack, Johnny and Paddy up front and Gareth and Wattsy pushing through in the midfield. On 15 minutes after some good Quins pressure, the ball ended up in the hands of Tim Elliott who scythed trough the Carrick defenders to open the scoring. With Scotty missing the conversion the score read 5-0. After 25 minutes Quins added another score with a well taken try by Jack Lavery, converted by Scotty, to make it 12-0 and the scoring continued when Carrick were adjudged to be offside in front of their own posts. Scotty converted the penalty from close range to make it 15-0. The game ebbed and flowed after this but some superb defending tackles and some good turn-overs meant Quins had slightly more of the ball and came close to adding to their tally as Tim raced towards the right hand corner only to be put in to touch by a Carrick defender. From the ensuing line-out Jack stole the ball and just about hit the line to make it 20-0 at the half-time whistle, the conversion being missed (again). It was a rather scrappy and somewhat disjointed second half with only one Mark Scott try to report however the play leading up to it was the best we have seen this season with forwards and backs combining well getting the ball into the Carrick 22 and from a ruck just left of the posts Scotty sold a great dummy to scamper in under the posts. He converted his own try to leave the score 27-0. An injury to Ian Scott provided an ideal opportunity for the management to continue with their help the aged policy and bring on Martin Malseed, a mere shadow of his former self thanks to the pre-season training in Portstewart. He performed admirably for a man close to pension age and it’s obvious that his “bar scrummaging” sessions with Lenny has paid off as he held firm against his younger (by about 30 years) opponent. An unfortunate injury to Matthew Slator, who put in another great performance at 9, introduced the try hero from last week Craig Henderson to the fray at centre and he wasted no time in performing his usual heroics in defence and, much to the delight of the crowd, produced a dynamic break with minutes remaining from the half way line. All watching believed he would go all the way however his body decided otherwise and like a car slowly running out of fuel his legs slowed to a standstill around the opposition 22 and the Carrick defenders caught up with him. This was to be the final excitement of the day. There were some very good displays from Fergal, Johnny, Pete and the entire front row and the back line moved ball well with Ronan, Gareth and Tim breaking very well and making a lot of ground but the man of the match goes to” two try” man Jack Lavery. The 4s now have a week off but training will continue on Thursday nights and it’s evident from our last two performances that it really is helping so please stick with it
Quins girls make Irish Training : Well done to Ashleigh and Nikki on their selection for the Irish ladies training squad!
