Ballymena Under 17s Impress in the Rain
Ballymena’s Under 17 Rugby Team opened their season with an impressive performance in a round robin tournament in Coleraine. They were unlucky to lose their first match to a last minute try by City of Derry in a result which did not reflect the passage of play. However as the skies began to cloud over and the rain sweep in the 17s set about their next opponents Ballymoney. With man of the match Troy Wilson leading the pack the boys soon began to dominate possession. Despite Ballymoney’s physical superiority the Ballymena boys battled hard at the breakdown to deprive their opponents of the ball. It was only a matter of time before the pressure from the forwards began to tell and Jordan Millar crashed over for the first try. The match continued in this vein with Ballymena moving the ball quickly from the breakdown and allowing the backs to come more into the game. One such passage of play saw inside centre Phillip Clements being released to sprint clear from the covering defence and to touch down for the match winning try. The game ended with Ballymena 10 – Ballymoney 0.
The last match was against hosts Coleraine who were at this stage undefeated. However the 17s with several players playing their first match for the Club had now found their feet and from the outset they were too strong for their opponents. With the pack again dominating at the breakdown it was only a matter of time before the impressive McLoughlin released Spence who crossed for a well deserved try. The forwards were in no mood to stop however and open side flanker McKee soon collected the ball to cross for a further score. Fly-half McNeill then kicked what was to be his first of four conversions to take the game away from the hosts. It was remarkable that in a twenty minute match the boys were able to run in a further four tries from Millar, Crawford and Clements (2) to take the score to an impressive 40 – 0 in their favour.
The tournament has really shown what the boys can do and they are looking forward to several more friendly matches before the League season starts in October. With the potential the boys have shown both in training and on match day everyone is looking forward to the rest of their campaign.
The Under 15s were not so fortunate being depleted with so many boys attending the North West Airshow they struggled at Ballymoney despite stand out performances from Conor McNeill, Phillip Jennings and Denver Mills. However the squad will be strengthened next week with the return of several key players and the boys are looking forward to a trip next week to local rivals Ballyclare.
Youth Rugby is in full swing at the Club but new players are always welcome. The Club will be running four teams at Under 13, Under 15, Under 17 and Under 19 level. New players are welcomed to join at all ages irrespective of playing experience. Just come along and give it a go – details of training can be found on the Club website and everyone is welcome.