Ballynahinch RFC 34 – 24 Antrim RFC
“Mark Perry was the Man of the Match after putting in a superb performance in his league debut, never shirking a tackle and carrying the ball well.”
Antrim travelled to Ballynahinch on Saturday for what proved to be a closely contested affair. With both teams slugging it out for the league title, a win would surely guarantee a league title, provided both teams won their remaining games. It was not to be for the boys in blue who lost 34-24 as a late Hinch rally gave them the upper hand in the title race. Neil Manson, John Bull, Matthew Webb and Jack Dempster all scored in a game where Antrim gave a valiant display, despite missing a number of players through injury and work commitments.
It was Hinch who made the brightest of starts, clinching their first try after five minutes and some heavy pressure. Gary Smith made amends for a missed tackle in the middle of the park just short of the line and a Gary Walker clearance kick was charged down and spread wide for the Hinch centres to crash under the posts for the 7-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Hinch added another in which a few poor tackling attempts in the centre, allowed Hinch to stroll through to the posts and convert for a 14-0 lead.
Antrim had no luck in the scrums and Hinch began to smell blood. As they attacked in the Antrim half, a long pass was intercepted by Neil Manson just inside his own half to sail towards the posts to score. John Bull converted and Antrim confidence began to grow as moments later, Manson almost added similar effort only for play to be brought back for an earlier offence.
Antrim grew in confidence and began to attack Hinch from open play. A great turnover from the Antrim pack, allowed Aaron Snowden to attack from deep, handing off a few attackers and sending Jack Dempster for the line. Dempster cut inside and was caught with a great tackle when it may have been easier to go for the line. Moments later Dempster made amends and went on a great solo effort from his own half to score as Antrim cut the Hinch lead to 14-12.
It looked like Antrim were going to add another effort with some great movement of the ball, sending Manson through with an overlap. Unfortunately he was stopped short when the easier option may have been to pass as Hinch lead 14-12 at the break.
The opening ten minutes of the second half saw Antrim pile the pressure on. The team worked the ball from side to side through great breaks from Luke Holmes, Mark Perry and Matthew Webb in the pack which freed up John Bull to score from metres out as Antrim now lead at 14-19 after the conversion.
Hinch instantly responded with a penalty to reduce Antrim’s lead to two points at 17-19 but it was the Antrim men who were still in the driving seat as a great offload from Luke Holmes set Matthew Webb over for his first try for the club as Antrim now lead 17-24.
As both sides, traded blows in the middle of the park for long periods, the final fifteen minutes of the game proved to be the most dramatic. After Hinch added a further three points from the boot, Smyth opted to replace Kenning and Snowden with Nimmo and Barr to freshen up the pack in this slugfest.
The talking point of the game came with ten minutes on the clock as a Hinch ball was caught deep in the Antrim twenty two metre by Gary Smith, who called the mark. With both teams set out for the kick, the referee took a few moments and decided to overrule the decision and give Hinch scrum after deciding that Smith had been moving when he took the ball. After much confusion from both sides, Hinch capitalised and broke down the blindside to score, convert and take the lead at 27-24 with minutes on the clock.
Hinch completely slowed the play and it was difficult for Antrim to get back into the game without possession. With Antrim hoping for a late try, Hinch worked the ball wide and once again beat Antrim down the wing to score, convert and win the game 34-24.
Coach Smyth praised the efforts of his squad who gave it their all, stressing that training was still a priority these coming weeks in order to keep the pressure on Hinch, should they drop points.
