This game was played on the 26/03/2011 but reports have come in theat Hinch have also won at Bexctive Rangers 02/04/2011!
It was a glorious afternoon at Ballymacarn Park as the Hinch kicked off playing away from the clubhouse in the first half with the advantage of a slight following breeze. From the kick-off Crescent infringed at a ruck and Ryan Bambry stepped up to convert the penalty goal and put the home side in front 3-0 with just one minute played.
The visitors struck back with the opening try in the 10th minute after they counter-rucked well on the left wing on halfway. Scrum half Andy Brace attacked down the blind side catching the Hinch flat footed. The ball was kicked up-field where winger John Noonon won the foot race to dive on the ball, which had crossed the Hinch line. Dathi Fitzgerald failed to convert to leave the Limerick men 3-5 in front.
At the restart the Hinch loose head Kyle McCall competed for the ball in the air and landed badly on his ankle, he had to be carried off the pitch and taken to hospital. Kyle was replaced by Jonny Simpson. Despite this set back the home side started to settle into the game with Ryan Bambry directing play. In the 17th minute Harry McAleese attacked blind from a scrum on the Crescent 22, putting Stuart Morrow into space. Morrow burst clear then drew the last Crescent defender before putting Aaron Ferris clear to cross for the first Hinch try. Bambry missed the conversion but the Hinch had regained the lead 8-5.
Crescent made it 8 points apiece in the 26th minute after Gavin Armstrong was harshly pinged for picking the ball from the side of a ruck after it had clearly squirted free. Fitzgerald converted the goal but he failed to put his side in front with two further attempts in the 31st and 33rd minutes as the Hinch penalty count started to alarmingly climb.
Ryan Bambry got the Hinch on the front foot again in the 35th minute when he made a lovely break in the midfield to race clear. James Thompson and Stuart Morrow took play deep into the 22 where James Simpson and Jerry Cronin kept the ball tight before McAleese released Morrow at full pace down the blindside where the big Irish Club centre stepped inside the fullback to cross for the second Hinch try. Bambry added the extras to take the home side 15-8 clear.
The Limerick men kept up their pressure from the restart and after a few well worked phases in the Hinch 22 Fitzgerald dropped a goal to keep the Munster side very much in touch at 15-11 at the interval.
Now with the breeze at their backs in the second half Crescent quickly closed the gap to a single point when Fitzgerald converted his second penalty goal inthe 44th minute to make it 15-14.
Three minutes later Adam Bratton counter attacked and made good ground into the Crescent 22, when the quick ball was moved wide James Thompson spotted a gap and with an excellent step and his sheer pace, he cut through to dot down under the posts. Bambry converted to take the Hinch 22-14 clear.
In the 50th minute the Hinch were awarded a penalty in front of the Crescent posts but they opted to take the scrum in search of the bonus point try. When the ball was won and moved wide the Limerick men had the attack well covered and the threat was snuffed out.
The bonus point try came in the 53rd minute after the Hinch had taken a ball against the head and Crescent infringed. McAleese took a quick tap penalty releasing Michael Graham to charge for the line only to be held
up short. The ball was quickly moved right where Adam Bratton managed to smash his way over in the corner. Bambry failed to convert to leave the Hinch 27-14 in front.
In the 57th minute Crescent added to their tally with a third Fitzgerald penalty goal after the Hinch had failed to release in the tackle and then gave away a further 10 metres thanks to back chat to the referee. 27-17
As the game moved into the final quarter the home side started to cut loose with some great attacking rugby. In the 61st minute Crescent hooker Alan McMahon was yellow carded for deliberately slowing the ball down as the Hinch attacked the visitor’s line. Now down to 14 men the home side started to run riot with Joshua Donaldson crossing for the fifth Hinch try in the 64th minute after sustained forward pressure. Bambry adding the extras to make it 34-17
The sixth Hinch try came in the 69th minute when James Simpson had a great run for the line halted just a metre short. The quick ball was fired wide to Bambry who gave a neat pass to Stuart Morrow running a great line, the big Hinch centre was unstoppable and he dotted down behind the posts for his second try. Bambry adding the extras to make it 41-17.
In the 79th minute Michael Graham took a quick tap penalty in the home half of the field and made good ground before feeding Ryan Bambry. The Hinch out half made it through a gap sending the ball wide to James Simpson in full stride. The big Hinch second row did well to fend off the attentions of Crescent winger John Noonan then gave a lovely off-load inside to Adam Craig who raced to the line and perfected a perfect swallow dive (as per Northampton and England winger Chris Ashton), to record the seventh Hinch try. Bambry failed to convert to leave the scoreline 46-17.
The final few minutes were rather strange with Hinch having two further tries disallowed, the first when James Thompson crossed in the left hand corner only to be ruled to have been in touch. Then Aaron Ferris crossed in the same corner only this time play was brought back to where a brawl had developed between half a dozen players. The touch judge intervened and consulted with the referee and to the amazement of the home support the Hinch were penalised and the try disallowed. In the middle of all this mayhem Crescent centre Lemiki Viapula was yellow carded and the game concluded on a sour note with the Hinch worthy winners and claiming another maximum 5 league points.
No change at the top of the league table with the Hinch still trailing UCD by a single point, as the students had a bonus point win against Thomond. There are now two league games remaining. This week will be a tough encounter in Dublin when the Hinch travel to Donnybrook to play Bective Rangers who are 8 points behind the Hinch in 3rd place. The Dublin side are pushing for promotion and are in a battle with Ballymena and Harlequins for a third or fourth place finish. A tight game will be expected in Donnybrook and with UCD playing Malone in Dublin a home bonus point win is expected there. It is therefore a case of a bonus point win for the Hinch at Leinster’s Dublin 4 HQ. The final game of the Ulster Bank League campaign will be played at Ballymacarn Park when Old Wesley travel north on the 16th April.
