IRVINE BRACE LIFTS RIFLE PARK GLOOM
Naas  15  BANBRIDGE 1STs 17
January 24, 2009

The cloud of despondency which had been hovering over Rifle Park in recent weeks was lifted by Saturday’s narrow win at Naas.

The four points earned by their second half comeback may only have lifted Bann a couple of places in the Division Three table. But it has at least put some daylight between them and Sunday’s Well, who currently sit in the second bottom position which earns an unwanted end-of-season play-off game to retain senior status.

On the basis of Bann’s first half performance against the Co Kildare side, even their most blinkered supporter would view a play-off against any Qualifying League opposition with grave concern. Admittedly they were playing into the wind, but that did not explain the poor decision-making which repeatedly handed Naas the initiative and threatened to leave them out of sight at the interval.

As it was Bann were able to change ends just 15-5 in arrears, but even that looked a difficult task given their first half inadequacies. Naas had looked particularly dangerous when moving the ball wide to bring their impressive wingers into the action. And Bann’s failure to keep things tight up front gave the home side the latitude which they might well have exploited more fully.

Tries from David Droney and Brian Fitzgerald, together with a Droney conversion and John Moran penalty were no less a return than the home side might have expected for their first half enterprise. But they would have been disappointed to leak a try from a move which had its origins in Bann’s “22”.

Winger Ashley Finlay was put in space and he made good ground before kicking into the home “22”. Naas conceded a penalty at the subsequent ruck and made the mistake of assuming Bann would take a pot at goal. Instead the quick tap gave Simon McKinstry the ball close the line and the lock drove through a disarrayed defence for the unconverted score.

Coach Andre Bester was forthright in his interval team talk, leaving his charges in no doubt as to what he expected from them in the second half. He could not have asked for a better response as Bann dominated territory and possession in the second half, denying the lively home threequarters the chance to build on their team’s interval lead.

Matthew Irvine scored his side’s second unconverted try 15 minutes after the break to leave Bann within striking distance. And the No 8 repeated the trick from broken play with just 12 minutes remaining to level the scores, leaving Stuart Wilson to add the crucial conversion which took his side into a two point lead. Even the loss of centre Peter Odendaal with what seemed a serious leg injury failed to loosen Bann’s grip on the game.

Indeed they might have added a fourth and bonus point winning try in the closing stages, but a number of chances were wasted, the best ironically by Irvine, given his earlier work, as he spurned a two-man overlap. But with scrum-half Jeff Dodds continually pushing Naas back into their own territory with a series of well-directed kicks, Bann were able to keep their noses in front to claim just their third win from nine All-Ireland League outings.

A visit to hospital showed Odendaal’s injury to be less serious than at first believed, but the South African is still likely to be missing from Bann’s squad for a few weeks.

Midleton on Saturday are likely to prove a more difficult challenge, with the Co Cork side currently sitting in fifth place in Division Three thanks to six wins and a draw from their nine outings. Only two sides have lowered their sails – Old Wesley leaving Cork with a 17-21 win and Co Carlow coming out on top on a 22-10 scoreline last Saturday.

This will be Midleton’s first visit to Rifle Park since 1998, when Bann triumphed 23-18 in the last of three All-Ireland Qualifying games, earning the senior status which had rarely looked under greater threat in the intervening years than it did last Saturday. A home win this weekend would surely secure that status for another season, but Bann can ill-afford another half like the one on Saturday which had coach and supporters fearing the worst.