BANN EXIT CUP TO NINE-TRY 'MENA
BANBRIDGE 1STs 5 Ballymena  55 
February 14, 2009

No.8 Matthew Irvine picks from the base of a scrum

Ballymena cruised into the second round of the Ulster Senior Challenge Cup with a nine-try romp at Rifle Park last Saturday.

Already depleted by the unavailability of five first-choice players, Bann suffered another blow just before kick-off when lock Simon McKinstry was forced to concede that a leg injury picked up in training would prevent him playing a full part in the proceedings. Replacement Andy Brown was drafted in to fill the gap.

Coach Andre Bester had already opted to move Brian Woods from the threequarters to flanker, with Down GAA star Packie Downey making his debut on the wing after a handful of games down the club. With the visitors virtually at full strength, it was always going to be a difficult task for a Bann side struggling to make an impact in both provincial and national leagues this season.

It took Ballymena just nine minutes to get on the scorecard, out-half Tom Woods racing clear under the posts as the greater speed of his backline opened up the Bann defence. Former Ulster and Northampton centre Seamus Mallon grabbed the second 10 minutes later and before the half-time whistle winger Nigel Hall and centre Tommy Seymour had also touched down. With scrum-half Craig Woods slotting over all four conversions Bann faced a 0-28 deficit at the break.

Bann enjoyed their best spell in the opening ten minutes of the second half, taking the game to the opposition and forcing Ballymena for once onto the back foot. Seven minutes into the half the visitors’ efforts to keep their line intact earned hooker Stephen Douglas a yellow card and two minutes later Bann were able to make the numerical advantage count.
Prop Brian Hanna set up a ruck in front of the Ballymena posts and when hooker Paul Ross floated a long pass to the right Brown collected and evaded a couple of defenders to claim his side’s only score.

Four minutes later it was business as usual for the visitors, with Seymour taking advantage of a charge-down to nip in for his second try, with Woods again adding the extras. Full-back Jamie Smith touched down in the 58th and 65th minutes and from the re-start following his second try, Woods raced clear of a beleaguered Bann defence to pile on the misery.

The scoring ended two minutes from time, with replacement hooker Richard McCrudden picking up his side’s ninth try. While that may have been the only contribution made by the Ballymena pack to the team’s points tally, it was the dominance of the visitors’ pack in the forward exchanges that laid the foundation for this facile win.

The lighter Bann pack was always struggling at the set scrum and the lineout offered the AIL Division Three side scant return. And with the faster better-drilled Ballymena threequarters enjoying such an abundant supply of quality possession, the outcome was inevitable.

Ironically late replacement Brown proved to be Bann’s most effective forward and his name is sure to be in the frame when Bester selects his side to start against Corinthians in Galway this weekend. Downey had few opportunities with the ball in hand but almost grabbed a maiden try after he had made good ground down the flank, only to miss out narrowly in the race to touch down his kick over the try line. His name may also come into the frame for the trip west.

Corinthians are the pace-setters in Division Three with eight wins from ten starts taking them to 34 points, two clear of Old Wesley and four ahead of Queen’s and Midleton.

Bann sit uncomfortably close to second bottom, with Sunday’s Well’s losing bonus point from their game against Nenagh last Sunday leaving them just three points behind the Rifle Park side. And with Waterpark next up for the Cork team, they will surely add four and probably five to that tally. So defeat for Bann on Saturday will in all likelihood consign them to the 15th slot, a place which at the end of the season would result in a play-off against one of the provincial qualifying league winners.
However a closer examination of Corinthians results would hold out some hope of making the journey west worthwhile. The Connact side have lost twice on the road, to Old Wesley and Midleton, but more significantly they have been run close by four of the teams battling at the bottom to avoid the dreaded play-off match.

Ards (13-21), Rainey (27-12), Sunday’s Well (18-14) and Barnhall (12-18) all did enough to suggest that Bann could cause an upset on Saturday. McKinstry should be fit to return to the fray and with flanker Darren Cochrane also available to travel the Bann pack should be capable of holding their own at the set piece.

Given parity up front the Bann threequarters should be able to test a Corinthians defence whose points against tally is virtually the same as Bann’s, despite the 13 places that separate them in the table.

Saturday’s game kicks off at Corinthian Park at 2.30pm.

Bann's Andy Brown jumps against Bob Young.

Richard Finlay kicks for the corner

Farr pushes his kick at goal wide