Rankin seals win at death for ‘Hinch

Rankin seals win at death for ‘Hinch

19 February 2025

AFTER licking their wounds following the see-saw defeat by Lansdowne at Ballymacarn Park it was crucial that Ballynahinch secured a result in Limerick against bottom side Garryowen.

That they did so following a week of withdrawals and further injury issues is testament to their character and to the quality of the coaching and management team.

The side which eventually took the field was significantly changed from the one selected on Tuesday.

Conor McKee and James Humphreys were both pulled by Ulster on Thursday, leading to call-ups for Chris Gibson and Harry McKeown, while Kyle Gill was unable to travel due to a bad back.

However, Adam Craig was able to welcome back the finishing ability of Zac Ward as he took his place in a dangerous looking back line.

The chief beneficiaries of this disruption were Junior Cup semi-final opponents and neighbours Dromore as they faced a patched-up seconds outfit which lost its half backs, as well as up and coming back rower Ryan Connolly to the senior squad and the talismanic Aaron Cairns to injury.

The high flying Barban Hill outfit duly completed a comfortable victory.

Meanwhile, in Limerick Ballynahinch opened the scoring with a sharp finish from Ward before falling behind to a spirited Garryowen side who scored two tries to lead at half-time.

A second Ward try on the hour saw his side regain the lead before a Conor Rankin penalty sealed the win with five minutes remaining.

It may not have been a great spectacle, but given previous implosions when favourites in Limerick and the disrupted build-up, Ballynahinch were delighted to pocket the four points and head north for a week off before the visit of Young Munster on March 1.

The condensed nature of the table means everything is still to play for.

Ballynahinch (1-20): Matthew Burke, Kelvin Hamilton, John Dickson, Will Hopes, Ronan McCusker, Declan Horrox, Zack McCall, Bradley Luney (Capt), Chris Gibson, Harry McKeown, Zac Ward, Mark Best, George Pringle, Conor Rankin, Will Alexander, Harry McCormick, Ryan Connolly, Peter Heasley, Rhuairi Meharg.