A GAME OF TWO HALVES! Ballynahinch u19, 29 – Instonians U19, 11
Saturday 4 January 14
League playoff
Conditions: fine. Pitch: very long grass, wet after heavy rain and poorly marked.
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Instonians travelled to Ballynahinch in fairly confident mood. They had previously drawn with Ballynahinch in a friendly and then beaten them in the league. They started as if they meant business. They dominated the early exchanges and appeared to hold the whip hand in most phases. Scrums and line out went well and the ball was cleared quickly at the breakdown. They dominated territory and the backs ran with menace when they had the ball in hand.
In the first half Ballynahinch were forced to give away 8 penalties. One allowed out-half Peter Bates to put Instonians into the lead with a fine kick after 7 minutes. They were soon back inside the Ballynahinch 22 and kept the ball well to mount a lot of pressure. However, strong Ballynahinch tackling kept them out. On several occasions it looked like they must score had they kept a little more patience. The odd unnecessary off load was tried – causing moves to breakdown. It was not until the 20th minute that Instonians scored again. This came from a well struck drop goal from Peter Bates.
Seven minutes later Instonians were pressing again. This time the pressure paid off and captain and number 8 Ben Davis finished off a very good attack. Unfortunately the conversion was missed. Nonetheless, a score of 11-0 looked like Instonians were holding all the cards.
The third quarter turned into a disaster. There is no doubt that Ballynahinch changed their tactics and really upped their tempo. They brought their big pack more into the game. They kept the ball close to the pack and their half-backs adopted a more astute game – kicking intelligently and causing the Instonian’s back three a lot of trouble.
The real turning point in the game came after just five minutes. When awarded a kickable penalty Ballynahinch chose to kick for the corner. They won the ball at the lineout and mauled about 15 metres right to the Instonian line. Instonians lacked the guile to know how to deal with the maul. They did eventually stop the maul right on the goal line, but it was recycled and the Ballynahinch scrum-half set off on a lateral run. He was fast enough to see a gap and run through it to score a very good try which was converted to put the score at 7-11.
There is little doubt that had Instonians got the first score of the second half they would, most probably, have gone on to win the game. But now Ballynahinch scented blood! They scored again after just two minutes. It was a very easy try when one of the Instonian back three failed to deal with a kick ahead. One of the chasers latched onto it and raised in unopposed. Instonians were clearly shell shocked and Ballynahinch were in the lead. Within 13 minutes Ballynahinch had three more tries. They were all pretty easy affairs with the defence having become paper thin. Ballynahinch stuck to a simple game plan keeping the ball tight and holding on to it. When they did kick they exerted a lot of pressure.
To their credit in the last quarter Instonians regained some of their composure, but they were now chasing the game. They started to enjoy more possession but inaccurate passing let them down. It did seem that they had fought their way back into the game when centre Michael Melville burst clear and sprinted down the touchline to go in at the corner. However, the referee decreed that he had put a foot in touch in the act of scoring. It was a harsh decision as there did not appear to be any discernible lines on the pitch! But it was not to be. Instonians played out the remainder of the game enjoying territory and possessions but their efforts went unrewarded.
The third quarter of the game turned out to be a disaster. There was a sense that Instonians had let their heads go down too quickly and handed all the momentum to Ballynahinch. It is a game that they will need to learn from!
