WEAK DISPLAY SEES SECONDS LIMP OUT OF CUP
CIYMS  47  BANBRIDGE 2NDs 7
January 10, 2009

David Little climbs in the lineout

Bann Seconds exited the Junior Cup at the Quarter Final stage in rather weak fashion against a well-drilled CIYMS Firsts team at Belmont.

Bann were very much in the game and looking strong for the victory after 15 minutes of the second half, at which time they seemed to cave in, conceding five tries to let the city side coast into the semi-final.

Bann played against an extremely strong wind in the first half, although from the kick-off they worked well to contain the initial CIYMS surges and progressed up into the home half with the forwards producing their usual controlled driving.

However, time after time Bann gave away penalties to needlessly put themselves back into their own half. As Bann were forced to maintain possession out of defence, it was only a matter of time before the needless penalties were given away within kicking range, and CI duly exacted retribution in converting three in the 15 minutes just before half-time.

In between these kicks, Bann were beginning to show that they were capable of posing a danger to the home defence, but this was generally negated by either penalties or missed first-up tackles, giving CI the chance to send the ball right back to the Bann line. Bann would have been confident of a better return with the wind in their favour, but they sustained a killer blow just before the interval when the CI scrum-half broke on the blind side. He was able to squirm along the touch-line past a flailing Bann tackle, off-loading to a team-mate who scored under the posts, leaving the half time score 16-0.

Even at the break Bann believed that if they were able to score quickly, they were well capable of hauling back the deficit. With 9 minutes gone in the second half, Bann duly got their try when the forwards surged towards the home line and were able to maintain possession through a number of phases before Dodds released the ball to the backs. When the ball was transferred quickly from left to right flank Jonny Little cut inside and raced under the posts.

This was the early try Bann required, and CI seemed to know this as a few minutes later their frustration led to foul play, which earned a player from each side a yellow card for the ensuing scuffle. Unfortunately these sendings-off appeared to be the turning point, as the scrums became uncontested for the next ten minutes. With this aspect now taken out of the game, CI were able to maintain their possession at the set piece. Before the carded players had returned, they had added two tries to stretch the score to 7-28, with ineffectual tackling again a major contributory factor.

Even when the teams were back to full strength, Bann seemed to have lost any desire they had, and CI clinically drove home their advantage to move on to a final tally of 47-7, a scoreline that Bann realised did not reflect the game’s play even though the better-disciplined and more organised team deservedly went through.

Bob Mulligan and Barney McKevitt double team

Bann's pack await the feed.