THIRDS DEFEAT HIGH FLYING ARMAGH
BANBRIDGE 3RDs 26 Armagh 2  13 
February 21, 2009

Bann Thirds managed an unlikely victory at Rifle Park on Saturday, in the end winning comfortably against top of the table Armagh Seconds who were previously unbeaten in the league.

Prop Neil McKinney was called upon to step into the hooker’s role for the game but proved very capable, combining well with jumpers Steven Nelson, Marc Eadie and Brian Curran to offer plenty of clean possession. He also added his physical presence to a strong Bann pack that dominated the opposition, managing to take a number of scrums against the head.

The game also saw a welcome return to action for wing forward Mark Hill who until Saturday had only managed half an hour of rugby this season due to a persistent shoulder injury. Hill covered a lot of ground in the game and has clearly maintained a good level of fitness despite his injury layoff.

The experienced midfield pair of Francois Viljoen and Albert Finney worked off the good supply of possession from the pack to control the game, gaining good ground from the boot and releasing Bann's pacy threequarter line to good effect, continually testing the Armagh defence.

Under-18 squad member Gareth Hammond enjoyed his first run out for a senior side at the club and performed very well, putting in an accomplished performance on the wing.

Playing into a stiff wind, Bann started strongly and were soon rewarded for the pack’s efforts up front with a score from winger Packie Downey. The backline moved the ball wide following a series of phases inside the Armagh “22” and Downey beat his man and touched down in the corner for the opening score.

Armagh soon replied with a penalty, before full-back Barry McKevitt responded with a penalty of his own for Bann. Another penalty apiece were exchanged before half-time and McKevitt added another early in the second half putting Bann eight points ahead.

With the wind behind them and the pack continuing to exert their dominance, Bann enjoyed their best spell of play in the opening exchanges in the second half, managing a further two tries to put the result beyond doubt.

Scrum-half Andy Cowan had managed to exploit the space behind the Armagh scrum on a number of occasions and it was from this that Bann engineered their second try. McKinney and Gareth Jelly combined in the front row of the scrum to steal another Armagh put-in and Cowan broke down the blind side, attacking the gap in the Armagh threequarters and winning the sprint to the line. Barry McKevitt slotted over the conversion to push Bann further ahead.

Armagh attempted to clear their lines but the out-half failed to make the touchline with his kick. The ball was fielded by blindside Hill who charged down the right, managing to draw in a number of defenders before releasing full-back McKevitt who raced over in the corner, effectively sealing the win with Bann's third try.

Armagh, to their credit, refused to give up despite the result being beyond them and they pressed hard in the remaining minutes for a try of their own. Bann's defence looked to be holding firm and when the ball was turned over in what the referee had advised was the last play of the game they looked to have denied their visitors a try. Eadie gathered the ball from the ruck and attempted to clear the ball out to touch to end the game, however his kick was charged down and gathered by an Armagh player who crossed for a consolation score. The conversion was added and followed by the final whistle, giving Bann a hard-earned but deserved 26-13 win.