Revenge for ‘Hinch thirds

Revenge for ‘Hinch thirds

28 October 2015

IT was a bright if windy afternoon at Ballymacarn Park when Ballynahinch thirds kicked off with a big score to settle.

However, this Omagh side bore little resemblance to the one that conquered the ‘Hinch in last season’s Crawford Cup final at the Kingspan Stadium.

After missing an early penalty attempt from far out on the right hand side it wasn’t long before the second opportunity came when Chris Stevenson was tripped and Joe Bingham made the penalty count. 

The next 20 minutes of the game were relentless and the Accies were completely shell-shocked by the pace and aggression shown by the home side.

The structure of the ‘Hinch pack, with their direct carries and the crisp, decisive passing from a sublime back line led to tries from Bingham (2), Carlisle and Graham to secure the bonus point try. Bingham was successful from the boot on all occasions.

The fourth try seemed to stir something up in Omagh and they came back at ‘Hinch strongly in the last 10 minutes of the half.

A series of powerful carries and some close play by the visitors, coupled with multiple infringements by ‘Hinch, meant that Omagh battered the Hinch line, but the defence was resolute and held firm.

The half time whistle came and the 28-0 scoreline reflected what was a massive first half by the Ballymacarn men.

The second half never really got going as a spectacle and Omagh did the only thing they could by disrupting the play and using their powerful pack to drive forward when they had the ball.

On 63 minutes the Ballynahinch had Ryan Smith sent to the bin for an alleged dangerous tackle — a popular infringement in this game, particularly for the visitors.

Through a sustained period of phases the Accies finally came up with extra numbers on the outside and got over the try line in the corner.

Not to be outdone, Hinch got their fifth try shortly afterwards through their captain, Mark McCormick.

The game was over as a contest and with the visibly exhausted visitors waning, the last ten minutes of the game were a stop-start affair that seemed to consist only of ever tiring scrums. 

Omagh got a meaningless second try shortly before the end through a push over scrum, but the real story of the day belonged to the Hinch team and their performance in the first 30 minutes of the game.

Another massive match this weekend away to Armagh. ‘Hinch will need to extend the ferocity of first 30 minutes to the full 80.

Ballynahinch III 35

Omagh II 12

JUNIOR LEAGUE SECTION 1