Pic – Aaron Ferris dives in to score the winning try against Dungannon
Stevenson Park was bathed in spring sunshine for the last game in this seasons Ulster Bank League rugby. It may have been a dead rubber as a contest, with the Hinch already crowned champions last week and Dungannon having secured their future in Division 1B for next season. But the sunshine brought the best out of both teams, and the served up an entertaining encounter. CLICK HERE for 100+ SHOTSS!
The Hinch opened the scoring in the 6th minute after a good break by number 8 Neil Faloon had created the opening. James Simpson carried on the attack with Gavin Armstrong in support, then quick ball was moved wide by Aaron Cairns with James Thompson taking a neat inside ball off Stuart Morrow and despite being tackled by Peter Nelson he did well to twist round to score the try. Blane McIlroy’s conversion struck the upright leaving the Hinch 5 points clear.
Hinch crossed for their second try in the 11th minute with James Thompson making the break on the halfway taking play into the home 22. The visitors did everything with great pace and as the home defence scrambled they conceded a penalty. Harry McAleese took a quick tap and the pack took the ball through a couple of phases then Kyle McCall burst clear and smashed his way over under the posts. McIlroy added the extras to take the Hinch 12 points clear.
The County Down men continued to open the Dungannon defencive line with John Donnan and Aaron Ferris both making good ground, but on the 20 minute mark the game took a change. It started with a scrum in the Hinch 22 which the home side took against the head, and this visibly lifted the Tyrone men. For the next 10 minutes a wall of blue and white jerseys and the launched numerous attacks into the Hinch 22 and eventually, on the half hour mark, hooker Paul Jackson raced clear to score. Peter Nelson added the extra points to make it 7-12.
From the restart it was all Dungannon again, using their set piece they took the game to the Hinch 8 and dominated territory. In the 38th minute an attack down the blind side found an opening and centre Glen Telford, playing his last game for the club, managed to cross the whitewash at the right hand corner for an unconverted try. Halftime score 12-12
The Tyrone men made a good start in the second half but as the first quarter drew to a close it was the league champions who began to show their metal. The Down men used their off-loading game to get themselves back into the contest and eventually an opening was created for Aaron Ferris to beat Chris Cochrane to the line in the right hand corner for a well taken try. McIlroy added the extras with a fine touchline conversion taking the Hinch 12-19 clear with 19 minutes left to play.
In the final 10 minutes Hinch keep pressing Gannon and played all the rugby in the home half of the field. McIlroy made sure of victory for the Hinch when he converted a penalty goal in the 80th minute after Gannon failed to release the ball in front of their posts. An entertaining game to finish off the season while Gannon say goodbye to long serving centres Paul Magee, and Gen Telford who retired after the game.
Final Score : Dungannon 12 Ballynahinch 22
Teams
Dungannon : 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Stuart McCloskey, 13 Paul Magee, 12 Glen Telford, 11 Chris Cochrane, 10 Jaryd Bennett, 9 James Bates, 8 Ali Birch, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Stuart McKenzie, 5 Mark Jenkinson, 4 Michael Dunleavy, 3 Mark Farquhar, 2 Paul Jackson, 1 Glen Sinnamon.
Replacements : 16 Jeremy Turkington, 17 Steven Sinnamon, 18 Rowan Halsall, 19 David Egner, 20 Mark O’Shea.
Ballynahinch : 15 Blane McIlroy, 14 Aaron Ferris, 13 Stuart Morrow, 12 James Thompson, 11 Robin Harte, 10 Harry McAleese, 9 Aaron Cairns, 8 Neil Faloon, 7 Paul Pritchard, 6 Jonny Madden, 5 John Donnan, 4 James Simpson, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Gavin Armstrong, 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements : 16 David Nicholson, 17 Paddy James, 18 Michael Graham, 19 Andrew Harper, 20 Chris Stevenson.
Referee – Jonathan Peak
