‘Hinch fail to take chances in Dublin

‘Hinch fail to take chances in Dublin

19 January 2022

THE back pitch at the Aviva Stadium holds very few good memories for the Ballynahinch faithful and Saturday proved no different as the senior side fell to a heavy defeat in a typically chaotic match on the fast artificial surface.

Ballynahinch travelled without Jack Milligan, who is out for the season with a bad knee injury, and lost Bradley Luney to a bout of sickness on Friday night.

Tom Martin was promoted off the bench to lock with Tommy Donnan shifting into the blind side.

George Pringle made his first start of the season on the wing as Greg Hutley reverted to out half and Paddy Wright returned to the side at full back.

The match was an even contest for 20 minutes with the score 5-3 to the home side following a close-range score and a Hutley penalty in reply. Lansdowne then went on a four-try blitz from the 24th minute, scoring 28 points in 10 minutes and sealing the bonus point before half time. Ballynahinch contributed significantly to their own downfall in this period. The second Lansdowne try came direct from a scrum as they scored from a first phase backs move without a single Ballynahinch defender laying a finger on his opposite number.

Moments later, as Ballynahinch attempted to build pressure in the home 22, a missed tackle from a Lansdowne line-out allowed the Lansdowne back row to gallop clear and one pass later they were over the Ballynahinch line.

The locals were then guilty of forcing the game and when an unsympathetic pass in the wide channel bounced off the intended receiver it was no surprise to see it land in the arms of the Lansdowne winger, who cruised in from the halfway line — it was that kind of afternoon.

The lead stretched to 30 points with another try 

before half-time and when poor defence close to the ruck allowed Lansdowne to score their sixth try in the fifth minute of the second half to take the score to 40-3, things looked extremely ominous.

Despite the scoreline, Ballynahinch had been genuinely competitive and won plenty of ball. This was reflected over the rest of the half as they began to put some respectability on the scoreboard.

Hutley made a great break which took him just short of the Lansdowne line, with the returning Rory Butler scoring from the recycled ball.

Despite another breakaway try for the home side, Ballynahinch continued to exert significant pressure and were rewarded with a penalty try on the hour mark after a superb line-out drive all the way from the 22 was collapsed deliberately just short of the line. 

This proved to be the final score of the day and Ballynahinch will regret a wasteful performance, which should have yielded at least a losing bonus point.

Lansdowne were ruthless and took every chance, while Ballynahinch had three tries disallowed for avoidable offences and certainly had enough possession to make it a much closer game on the scoreboard.

Clinical punishment of mistakes and turnovers has been a theme all season and is reflective of the quality of the league.

The hulking Terenure forwards travel north to Ballymacarn Pack this weekend, fresh from back-to-back wins over Division 1A standard-bearers Cork Constitution.

There is certainly no respite in this league and with Zac McCall also ruled out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle the locals must attempt to escape the without their skipper.

Ballynahinch (1-21): Nacho Cladera Crespo, Zac McCall, Kyle McCall, Tom Martin, John Donnan, Tommy Donnan, Oli Loughead, Callum Irvine, Conor McAuley, Greg Hutley, Aaron Cairns, Ryan Wilson, Tagen Strydom, George Pringle, Paddy Wright, Josh Hanlon, John Dickson Jnr, Diego Vidal Souza, Rory Butler, Chris Gibson, Yasser Omar.