Ballynahinch RFC U15s -10 Carrickfergus RFC U15s – 31
Two great rivals in youth rugby played out a competitive & oft times thrilling cup quarter final at a sunny Ballymacarn Park on Saturday morning. Following an indifferent league season by their standards Hinch were on a rejuvenating cup roll & targeted this home match against Carrick to keep their season alive.
Carrick on the other hand were still without a number of regulars through injury & unavailability but still however placed a competitive & focused XV on the park.
The early exchanges were ferocious to say the least with both packs tearing into each other but it was the Carrick eight who were able to retain possession through the phases to bring play to the Hinch 22.
A series of concerted drives by forwards & backs combining allowed Wallace to burst through & from the ensuing recycle Stewart was able to cross from 10 metres. Wallace added the conversion & Hinch for all their efforts were 7 points down.
This signalled a purple period of position & possession for Carrick with the scrum steady & the ability to steal Hinch lineout ball, take a bow John Turner & Jake Gardener, set piece ball was in steady stream.
Astute kicking by Wallace kept the Hinch back three on the turn & when they did field they were well pressurised by Carrick wings Rea & Campbell.
Tidy scrum ball on the left was quickly fed to Wallace who this time ghosted through a bemused Hinch defence & then converted for another 7 pointer.
Several good breaks by Porter & Fisher allowed Carrick to dictate the pace of the game with Surgeoner Devenney & Gardener providing the groundhog & link work. Hinch scrambled back in defence from a Cambridge kick & cleared only for Mike Whitall to field cleanly & feed Aaron Rea coming on a close angle to take the ball in full flight.
The winger went on a bustling run brushing past defenders to score wide out. A few chances went begging however the most notable being Connor Cambridges twinkle toes dart down the right touchline & a forward drive where the ball was adjudged not to have been touched down properly.
A series of drives assisted by various interpretations of the contact laws gave Hinch a throw of the dice & they opted to kick to the corner for the lineout. The Carrick lineout came into its own here with Kerr & Turner exerting pressure,Gardener was able to secure clean off the top ball for Cambridge to clear.
The last play of the half frustratingly produced yet another home penalty which this time they elected to kick securing their only points of the half.
Half time Ballynahinch RFC U15s -3 Carrickfergus RFC U15s – 19
The second half exploded into life following a half time exhortation from the Carrick coaching staff & was only minutes old when Carrick launched a ferocious attack into the Hinch half. Big carries from Kelly & Magill provided go forward ball & when the backs provided the pace a number of deft passes saw Fisher crash over.
With a number of replacements now being made Carrick lost a bit of shape & Hinch lifted their game as the saw the fixture escape from their grasp. Wave after wave of Hinch attacks were repulsed by a determined & stubborn Carrick defence with big hits going in which led to several of the Hinch players requiring attention. A combination of the physicality of the game & a rock hard ground saw injury breaks by the minute.
Carrick defended stoutly & broke from defence only to be pegged back by accurate kicking by the Hinch centre. From one such kick Hinch were unlucky to score as they knocked on metres out with Carrick clearing from a scrum five.
Hinch finally got just reward for their sustained pressure as their centre Joseph crossed wide out & kicked an excellent conversion.
Cody Surgeoner had left the field through injury at this stage & the full range of Carrick replacements brought a new dynamic to the next play. With the “huddle” producing a specific instruction from the coaching staff for the restart play it was particularly pleasing to see all of the training paddock work come to fruition as Carrick chased & won the kick off. Matt Best carried well off the side of the ruck as Carrick built patiently keeping the ball through the phases before Fisher was released to cross for what was a great team score. Wallace tacked on the bonus points & Hinch were a spent force.
Carrick fielded the kick off & went on the charge again seeking out another score ,they brought play to 5 metres of the home line & had an attacking line out when play was held up for injury to two home players. While attention was being given to these players on the touchline the referee called last play, Hinch were struggling to get replacements on & the referee blew no side to the relief of the home side & to the surprise of the team attacking & in possession of the ball.
This was a great workout for the Carrick XV who now have a home Ulster U15 Cup semi final at home next Saturday to City Of Derry U15s 11am KO & with several players returning to training this week giving the coaches selection headaches of the best possible kind. Training on Wednesday 7pm sharp.
Full time Ballynahinch RFC U15s -10 Carrickfergus RFC U15s – 31
