Banbridge Rugby Club - Northern Ireland

From the kick-off Bann started the way they began against Lurgan by testing the Ballymoney defence with a series of forward pick and drives through Alex Megaw and debutant Haughey. This brought Bann into the opposition "22" and the quick thinking Josh Cromie saw Jason Jardine in space. The big centre hit the ball at pace and crashed over for the score in the corner. Cameron Cromie got the tricky conversion.

From the restart Jake Dennison caught the ball well and took a charge at the Ballymoney forwards. Support was quick to set up the ruck and the ball was quickly flashed out to the backs. With the wind behind him Cameron Cromie launched a huge Garryowen into the home "22" and with Jardine and William Wilson following up the Ballymoney full back knocked on. The resulting scrum deep in the opposition "22" led to quick release from Josh Cromie to Cameron Cromie who drew in two tacklers before timing his pass perfectly to Jonny Bates. The winger neatly side-stepped his marker to score in the corner, his first try for the club. Cameron Cromie again struck over the testing conversion to give his side a 0-14 interval lead.

Ballymoney started the second half as Bann did the first and kept the ball in their pack. The big Ballymoney lock broke free from the maul to run in for a try with two Bann tacklers hanging onto him. The conversion was missed.

Some solid defending from Jake Chambers, Haughey and Wayne McCurry, gave an indication of Bann's determination to prevent another soft score. The defence was resolute as Ballymoney, with the momentum and the wind at their backs, kept possession for the next 10 minutes. They weren't getting any joy with the Bann forwards, well marshalled by Alex Megaw and Chambers, keeping the ‘Money pack at bay. The backs, led by Keelan McCambridge and Josh Cromie, kept their line in place to ensure there were no gaps and no missed tackles for the opposition to expose.

The last five minutes saw Bann keep possession and play the game out to deny Ballymoney any sniff of a comeback. And when Bann won a penalty 30 metres out, Cameron Cromie who had his kicking boots on, easily slotted over the three pointer to leave the final score at 5-17.

All in all this was a mature performance with several regulars missing. With their two tries the threequarters gave further evidence of their attacking potential. And the pack, which had impressed against Lurgan, has been further strengthened by the addition of Haughey, with his regular turnovers, big hits and charging runs.

Best player in a Bann shirt on the day must go to William Wilson who on the wing chased everything and made at least two try-saving tackles. His speed and strength make him a very valuable asset to any team.

With Ballynahinch at home next Saturday this decent performance will need to be improved on and be stepped up another notch, which the coaches John Shannon and John Mullan have no doubt the team are capable of, providing all the guys turn out to training. We should welcome Lee Jackson and Andrew Orr back from injury.