Under 15s Sitting Pretty
League leaders - Ballymena Under 15s maintained their 100% record with a well deserved victory over local rivals Randalstown. The boys made hard work of the opening minutes. Against a strong wind the 15s tried to play some open running rugby with Logan and Thompson making charging runs into the Randalstown half. However the hosts held firm and managed to keep the boys at bay. A flowing move with Stewart and George saw Ballymena drive into the twenty-two. As McKillen ran through he was stopped with a high tackle. The resultant penalty was knocked over by McNeill and the 15s had their noses in front. With the play being fairly even Randalstown made some ground and a couple of penalties took them deep into Ballymena territory. Despite some excellent tackling from Jennings and Mills Randalstown managed to drive across the line for the opening try. The try was converted and the teams went into the break with Ballymena trailing by four points. The second half however was a totally different affair with Ballymena dominating from the kick off. With Kerr and Crooks causing problems for the Randalstown defence it was only a matter of time before they took the lead. A strong run from Bell realeased Hunter his pass was collected by Getty who drove over to touch down under the posts. McNeill converted and the boys were back in the lead. The half continued with Randalstown unable to halt Ballymena’s advance. Mackness had now joined the play and his strong run was only halted by a last ditch tackle. With McWilliams and McLeister driving strongly towards the line some quick thinking saw Forrester scoop up a loose ball and pass to Fyffe who gratefully ran across the line to touch down for the decisive try. McNeill converted and the game was now beyond Randalstown. Ballymena continued to threaten through Fullerton and substitute Crooks. However Randalstown held out to the final whistle.
Final Score - Randalstown 7 Ballymena 17.
Ballymena Under 13s were in equally good form and proved much to strong for their hosts. From the outset the forwards took the game to Randalstown with McMaster and Roebuck exerting pressure in the loose. With Ballymena firmly camped in their opponents half it was only a matter of time before the first score appeared on the board. A slick backline move Mark release inside centre Mills who ran clear to score in the corner. Ballymena’s new look backline was able to make the most of the possession offered by the forwards. With Loggerenburg and O’Neill providing quick ball outside centre Luke Mills sprinted down the wing to touch down for his first try of the game. This was the way the match stood at half time. In the second half Ballymena really began to exert pressure.and a strong run from Lamont saw him play in Pattison who drove strongly through several tackles before crossing for a try. The boys were now firmly on the front foot and McIlwaine took the ball into contact before releasing McGarry who touched down for another score. Ballymena had put the game firmly beyond their opponents and both Boyle and Mills crossed for the final two tries of the game to emphasise the 13s superiority. The 13s are also top of the league and take their unbeaten run back to Eaton Park next week.
Final Score - Randalstown 0 Ballymena 30.
Ballymena Under 17s were not so lucky. Having lost influential number eight McLaughlin to injury before the game the boys were always going to find this a tough battle. This was compounded with the loss of their captain Millar who appeared to suffer a serious injury to his knee. However despite these setbacks the boys fought for every ball. Having conceded two early tries the 17s battled back into the game. A strong run from McNeill released Appleton. He passed to Gilkinson who took on a defender before passing to McAfferty. A quick pass released McAllister who sprinted 60 metres to touch down for a well deserved score. The boys kept battling but the loss of influential players began to tell and the second half saw Randalstown secure two late tries which did not really reflect the passage of play in the second half. However the boys were not disheartened and are really looking forward to next week’s match at home to Limavady.
Final Score - Randalstown 22 Ballymena 5.