Banbridge Rugby Club - Northern Ireland

This was the second of three encounters between the teams over a four week period. Given the 15-17 scoreline in the provincial league game three weeks earlier, with Armagh picking up the four points on that occasion, this was always likely to be another tight game. And so it proved, with the interest of the large crowd held until the final whistle as Armagh fought their way into the Bann half to launch a final series of attacks. But Bann held firm, with their pack nullifying a couple of Armagh set scrums in the final action of the game.

And it was the power play of the home pack that again laid the foundation for the win. After James McBriar had kicked the visitors into the 8th minute lead that their early edge warranted, a foul on Bann's Kiwi full-back Brendan Ward as he chased his own hack behind the Armagh line set Bann up for a 5-metre scrum.

The defending pack was penalised and inevitably Bann skipper Simon McKinstry opted to re-set the scrum. The pressure was too much for Armagh and another infringement resulted in the referee awarding a penalty try, to which Robin Thompson added the conversion.

Armagh hit back with a second penalty from out-half McBriar. Then an incisive backline move ended with winger Andrew Willis finding space outside Andrew Kirkwood and seemingly all set to score. But the referee deemed that the ball had not been grounded and he reverted to the penalty in front of the posts that he had already signalled. The normally reliable McBriar skewed his kick off-target and it looked as if Bann would change ends one point to the good.

But with the last action of the half Armagh kicked themselves deep into Bann's "22" and when Jonny Pollock was deemed to have tried illegally to thwart an Armagh chase of a neat grubber kick, he picked up a yellow card and his team was left to defend a 5-metre lineout.

Armagh's pick and drive looked like being held out but scrum-half Harry Doyle produced a nifty piece of footwork to dance through the narrowest of gaps and dive over for a try. McBriar's conversion brought the interval tally to 7-13.

Bann began to turn the screw in the forward exchanges and with Stephen Irvine in the vanguard their pick and drive tactic had Armagh on the back foot. The No 8 made good ground from a scrum just inside the visitors' half and with the support of the other forwards, play was taken to just short of the try line. The final feed was to McKinstry and with only scrum-half Doyle standing between him and the try line it was a David and Goliath scenario that inevitably went the way of the big lock. Thompson's conversion edged his side ahead by a single point, but as Bann continued to edge the forward battle the out-half was given another penalty chance which he tucked away.

But Armagh were far from being a spent force. McBriar's penalty from in front of the posts came at the end of a sustained attack which might well have yielded a try. Then as play moved to the other end Thompson was again on target to leave Armagh four points in arrears, a lead Bann clung to despite the best efforts of the enterprising Armagh threequarters.

After their set-back at Cashel the previous week, this was a game Bann simply had to win. And to achieve that win against an Armagh side which had racked up over 50 points against Wanderers the previous Saturday will do wonders for team confidence.

The two teams lock horns again this Saturday in the Ulster Senior Cup when they will go all out to secure a semi-final slot. But there is no question that of the three games, last Saturday's was the one that meant most to both teams. With that star prize now safely tucked under their belts, Bann can go into the cup game confident in their ability to out-muscle their local rivals.

Bann team v Armagh:- Brendan Ward, Jonny Pollock, Andrew Morrison, James Andrews, Andrew Kirkwood, Robin Thompson, Adam Ervine, Michael Cromie, David Weir, Brian Hanna, Colin Bickerstaff, Simon McKinstry (Capt), Dale Carson, Andy Brown, Stephen Irvine. Replacements:- Jonny Murphy, Alan Conn, Chris Allen, Neville Farr, Jonny Little.