Understrength ‘Hinch are well beaten by Terenure

Understrength ‘Hinch are well beaten by Terenure

18 December 2024

BALLYNAHINCH travelled to league powerhouse Terenure on Saturday, hoping to bounce back from a poor performance against Clontarf.

Although they were much improved, the result was the same – a heavy defeat and no bonus points to show for their efforts.

The Ballynahinch squad is suffering from attrition on two fronts – injuries within the camp and unavailability of several regulars from the Ulster setup due to the chronic injury list at provincial level.

They looked lethal against Garryowen when fielding a full-strength squad, but have seen their cutting edge blunted with the loss of Aaron Sexton and Zac Ward and the lack of fast, front-foot possession as the forwards have come up against much bigger opponents intent on nullifying their set piece and dominating the close quarter exchanges.

These problems are no different to the other nine teams in this extremely physical league, but have been magnified by the quality of opposition in recent weeks.

On Saturday Ballynahinch fronted up magnificently against a full-strength Terenure outfit and despite a couple of yellow cards and some hardcore red zone defence they went in at half-time just two points in arrears.

They piled on the pressure early in the second half, but were undone by a classic sucker punch when they turned the ball over going for the Terenure line and their opponents scored a length of the field try to stretch their lead to nine points.

Terenure were able to use all their experience and strong bench to keep Ballynahinch at arms length over the final quarter and scored two further tries to clinch a try bonus point and give the scoreline a lopsided look which failed to reflect the close nature of the contest over the opening 60 minutes.

Ballynahinch remain in the play-offs picture and the four-week break before Terenure return in January is more than welcome to allow some tired bodies the chance to rest. A top four place remains the target. 

Ballynahinch (1-21): Matthew Burke, Claytan Milligan, Tom McCallistair, Will Hopes, Declan Horrox, Zack McCall, Reuben Crothers, Bryn Ward, Conor McKee, Harry McKeown, Ethan Graham, Mark Best, George Pringle, Rhuari Meharg, Conor Rankin, Kelvin Hamilton, John Dickson Jnr, Callum Smyth, Ronan McCusker, Chris Gibson, Matthew Booth.