VALIANT U14s LOSE AT THE LAST
Malone  19  BANBRIDGE Under 14s 3
May 9, 2009

Bann’s Under-14 side, sponsored by The Leader, eventually succumbed to the greater power of a strong Malone outfit in Saturday’s Ulster final at Ravenhill.

The Belfast side went into the final unbeaten in all games this season, but for all bar the last fifth of the game the Rifle Park lads dealt with anything thrown at them. Indeed it was Bann who took the lead, with Andrew Sleator’s penalty from 25 metres edging his side in front with ten minutes remaining and giving the supporters real hope of pulling off an unlikely win.

But within two minutes Malone had scored, a scrambled try and conversion restoring confidence that had been dented by the locals’ battling display. And in the closing minutes the pre-match favourites’ greater physicality really told as they ran in two further tries to leave Bann losing by a cruelly unreflective margin.

Bann’s decision to play into the extreme elements in the first half was fully vindicated by a rousing first half performance which saw Malone enduring endless frustration in their efforts to break down the defence.

The tackles came in relentlessly with hits from Ben Cross, Steven Ruddock, Jonny McCreery and Neal Cochrane catching the eye. And backing it all up was Macauley Little, who was coolness personified at full-back as he dealt with a series of garrowens and punts with faultless handling and kicking.

Nor was it all one-way traffic as Bann showed their confidence by running ball out of defence and showing handling skills which belied the conditions as they eventually won a penalty which was kicked to touch close to the Malone line. That danger was cleared but Bann were able to bring more pressure to bear on the opposition before the half ended with Malone again pounding, in vain, at the Bann try line.

Now with the wind at their backs, Bann knew that they were in the driving seat. And ten minutes into the second half Kyle McConnell almost got in at the corner, after collecting a kick on the Malone 10 metre line and rounding his opposite number, only to be brought to ground a metre short of the try line.

But quality possession was proving difficult to come by as the Malone back row harried and tackled to good effect. And when Malone worked their way inside the Bann half an intercepted pass almost saw them grab the opening score of the game, with their flanker losing control of the ball as he attempted to touch down.

From the resultant 5-metre scrum Bann out-half Ryan Graham launched a mighty punt which bounced just outside the Malone “22”. The Malone fielder was caught in possession, Bann won a penalty and Sleator stepped up to convert to tumultuous acclamation from the big crowd of travelling Bann supporters.

Malone’s response was immediate as their pack rumbled towards the Bann line before one of the forwards crashed over, with the conversion added for good measure. As Malone began to dominate possession Bann were increasingly playing on the back foot. The earlier defensive efforts began to take their toll and as gaps appeared in the Bann ranks the Belfast side began to play with increasing confidence, adding a second converted try in normal time before grabbing a third touchdown deep in prolonged injury time.

Notwithstanding the scoreline this was a tremendous battling performance from a Bann side containing a number of players who had only taken up the game this season. With a squad of just 17 available players, coaches Alan Harvey and Richard Jennings had worked wonders to steer the team to their first-ever appearance in a Ravenhill final at this grade.

Ultimately they were beaten by a talented, well-drilled Malone side who must take credit for achieving the Ulster league and cup double. But Bann played their full part in making this an exciting final, with both teams displaying high skill levels and a willingness to play attractive rugby in the most difficult of conditions.

The Bann team was:- Macauley Little, Steven Ruddock, William Baird, Andrew Sleator, Kyle McConnell, Ryan Graham, Josh Coyle, Thomas Carlisle, Jack Kearns, Matthew Beck, Adam Kelly, Jason Lamont, Neal Cochrane, Ben Cross, Jonny McCreery (Capt). Replacements (both used):- Joshua Stewart, Adam Copes.