It was a day to forget for Ballynahinch at Lakelands as they shipped fifty points against Terenure for the second time this season. The home side dispensed with their high-profile coach Carlos Spencer earlier in the week and were clearly fired up to show that they were better than their form suggested.

Adam Craig kept faith with his homegrown lineup which had recorded two comfortable home victories with Zack McCall for the injured Reuben Crothers the only change but plans were disrupted when John Dickson took a bang in the warmup and Matthew Burke stepped up to start in the front row.

The first half was extremely competitive on the 4G surface as the sides exchanged scores. The prolific Chris Cosgrave opened the account for the home side with a smart finish after a period of home pressure. Ballynahinch poured forward after Terenure failed to reclaim the restart and a chip over the top from Chris Gibson on penalty advantage saw Pierce Crowe regather and force his way over to equalise. A superb break and offload down the touchline from Leinster Development hooker Max Russell set up winger Eddie Kelly for a superb try.
Ballynahinch fought back immediately. A surge into the opposition 22 was rewarded with a penalty from Conor Rankin and they took the lead when a superb turnover on half way saw quick ball fed to Aaron Sexton who burned his man on the outside and linked with Paul Kerr for the score. The home side replied straight away with a soft score from the influential Aaron Egan following a missed tackle and when they scored again just five minutes later to secure a bonus point on the half hour Ballynahinch had to stem the bleeding and get through to half time. To their credit they battled to the interval and should probably have scored another try following a series of phases in the opposition 22.

The first score after half time was always going to be crucial and when Terenure increased their lead with a breakaway try to lead by seventeen points they looked comfortable. Highly rated Leinster starlet Caspar Gabriel was now winning everything in the air for the home side and they punished a strangely passive Ballynahinch side with a try from close range following a maul and another try in the wide channels from Kelly.

Terenure continued to smash into their tackles and Ballynahinch struggled to make ground when they attacked but a piece of magic from AIL centurion Bradley Luney up the blind side from a scrum on half way saw him break the line and put Chris Gibson away. The scrum half had plenty to do but finished well in the corner to give Ballynahinch a chance to go for a bonus point. However, Terenure had the last word with another soft try and with results around the league going the wrong way Ballynahinch find themselves in eighth place going into the final four games of the season.

Club Notes

The Womens Premiership continues to be a tough shift for a Ballynahinch side battling a multitude of injuries and unavailability with a heavy defeat to Enniskillen the latest setback.

The 2nd XV bounced back from their Towns Cup exit with a sensational 49-43 victory over old rivals Armagh, scoring with the final play of the match to take the win and cement their position at the top of the league. They have four fixtures remaining and three wins will guarantee the title.

The thirds continued their resurgence with a fine win over high flying Portadown and have moved themselves closer to mid table. They will hope to maintain their form into the Crawford Plate semi final at Harlequins this weekend.

It was business as usual for the fifths as they put fifty points past Banbridge to maintain their quest for another League and Cup double.

The Academy Cup side gave themselves a shot at a Ravenhill final by progressing to a semi-final away at Rainey with a superb victory over Instonians.

All 3 boys youth teams bowed out of their knockout cup competitions at the quarter final stage on Saturday with away defeats but the girls youth sides continue to improve with participation on the rise.