Seniors impress while IIs reach Towns’ final final

9 April 2025

BALLYNAHINCH underlined their status as Ulster’s leading club with superb away victories against Ulster rivals on Saturday.

The senior side were always in control as they condemned Armagh to the All-Ireland League Division 1A relegation play-offs with a bonus point victory at the Palace Grounds.

Meanwhile, the seconds pulled off a 30-24 sensational victory at Mullaghmeen to defeat a strongly fancied Enniskillen side in the Towns’ Cup semi-final to reach the Easter Monday showpiece final at Kingspan Stadium.

Adam Craig and his coaching team balanced their resources as evenly as possible to give both sides the chance of victory and were rewarded with excellent performances from some unlikely sources.

There were three debutants for the firsts, with Kobi Dunn, Josh McMullan and Rory Fulton getting their first taste of the AIL experience, while veterans Kelvin Hamilton and Harry McCormick helped provide a platform for a young back row and half backs to influence the game for the seconds.

In Armagh, a flying start from Ballynahinch left the home side playing catch-up, with converted tries coming from Marcus Rea and Claytan Milligan.

Ruairi Meharg was also on the scoresheet before half-time, but from the home side closed the gap to just seven points at the break and, with the threat of relegation as a motivating factor, Armagh had confidence that they could go on to win against a Ballynahinch side that had nothing to play for.

This scenario looked likely to play out when an Armagh try closed the gap to two points with half an hour to go.

However, Ballynahinch view their excellent AIL record against Armagh with pride and dug in to score another try through Meharg, moving two scores clear once again.

Armagh scored again to set up a grandstand finish, but a smartly taken penalty from the ever-reliable Conor Rankin gave his side control of the game.

Despite a late Armagh rally, Ballynahinch saw the game out in relative comfort, earning a bonus point victory and a third successive fifth place finish in Division 1A.

In Enniskillen, a fired-up seconds team fed off an early intercept score from veteran Aaron Cairns and jumped into a 17-point lead.

The home side bounced back to turn it around at half-time, with the wind at their back and a narrow lead in hand.

They were strong favourites at this stage, given their recent cup pedigree, but a rollercoaster second half saw the lead change hands with every score and left Ballynahinch trailing by three points in the closing stages.

Cairns took it upon himself to step up and become the hero, finishing a fine move under the posts and sending his side into another Towns’ Cup final.

Armagh must pick themselves up off the floor as they head to what is sure to be a packed Ballymacarn Park this weekend, taking on a Senior Cup semi-final and fighting for the right to play a rejuvenated Dungannon side in the final on May 3.

All support welcome for the final Saturday of the season.

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