James Kirk reports

Ballynahinch travelled to Limerick searching for their first points of the season and despite a much-improved performance they fell to a third consecutive defeat. Injuries and unavailability saw them travel without stalwarts Bradley Luney, Chris Gibson, John Dickson and Mark Best as well as talented young back rowers Jon Rodgers, Ryan Connolly and Josh Hanlon. Mike McKeever and his coaching team were given a lift with the return of Pierce Crowe allowing Matthew Booth to step back into midfield and Joe Charles returned to take a place on the bench.

An early Young Munster penalty was the sole score in a competitive opening half an hour as the Ballynahinch defence stepped up and the away side took the lead from a Claytan Milligan tap penalty under the posts after a period of pressure on the Young Munster line. However they were undone by a familiar failing as they conceded a try on the halftime whistle to fall behind at the break. The Young Munster pack carried deep into the Ballynahinch 22 and sucked in the wide defence before spreading the ball wide for a fine score.

The home scrum began to dominate in the second half and Ballynahinch fell further behind after a disruptive scrum allowed the home side to score from short range on the blind side and then a quick tap penalty from a scrum infringement saw them stretch their lead. To their credit Ballynahinch battled back and Number 8 Martin Maloney eventually forced his way over following a frenetic passage of play started by a good carry from Booth. At 22-14 the game was still alive but another home try following a superb grubber kick into the corner secured the bonus point and as Ballynahinch chased a bonus point of their own in the final moments Young Munster intercepted a wide pass and scored a length of the field try to give the scoreboard a lop-sided look.

Coaches and players alike will welcome the rest week as they seek to reset following their difficult start to the season. A lot has been asked of some young and inexperienced players and Division 1A represents a very steep learning curve.