Ballynahinch 3s vs Grosvenor 2s
With a number of Grosvenor players away on a Stag Weekend it was a somewhat disrupted 2nd XV that travelled to Ballymacairn Park to take on ‘Hinch 3s. In bright blustery conditions Grosvenor started with the wind behind them and both sides set out their stalls with lots of wide running rugby in the early stages. Hinch opened the scoring when their big centre carved his way through the middle for a converted try. Grosvenor’s scrum was solid and their jackal tacklers won a number of penalties but a mis-firing line-out meant they couldn’t establish field position in the opposition half. After ten minutes a crunching tackle by centre Fitzimmons dislodged the ball, and a foot rush took the ball deep into the Hinch half, followed by good pressure which forced a penalty, converted by Allen. 7-3
Buoyed by this success Grosvenor took the game to Hinch and some great charging runs by Cartmill, McCormick and Davidson created an opening for Fallows to dive over for a try. Conversion added 7-10. Hinch struck back almost immediately when a missed tackle out wide allowed their winger to dive over in the corner. 12-10. Another fine Grosvenor attack looked to have brought another try but the ball was held up over the line. With ten minutes left Grosvenor attempted to run the ball from deep but were called back for a forward pass and from the ensuing scrum in the 22 the home side scored another try 17-10. With seconds remaining on the clock Grosvenor appeared to have switched off and the big centre cantered through the middle for another try. 24-10 HT
Grosvenor started the second half brightly with Dougan, Fallows and Young in the backs all catching the eye with some great attacking runs, and Baird, Lynn and Kaymak mixing it with the big Hinch forwards. However Hinch absorbed the pressure and then took advantage of the wide open spaces of the big pitch, running in a few unanswered tries. With ten minutes remaining Ben Coard darted over for a great try to bring the score to 34-17. A few minutes later Ben stopped a charging Hinch player dead in his tracks with a crunching tackle but unfortunately had to leave the field with a head injury. Hinch brought on some fresh legs and ran in a few more unanswered tries in the closing minutes to leave the final score 52-17.
A disappointing defeat for this young Grosvenor side who came up against a very strong Hinch side who fully deserved their victory. There were many promising aspects in the Grosvenor performance including a good scrummaging unit, some serious pace in the backs and a fine blend of youth and experience up front.
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