b]Colin Donaldson [/b]reports

Ballynahinch maintained their unblemished record in Division 2 with a fourth consecutive win over a Rainey side depleted by injury. The first quarter was a stalemate as the home side struggled to put their patterns together but a strong maul saw Tiernan McCann open the scoring and some hard carrying by the bigger home forwards then set up the platform for prop Charlie Willis to blast over and give his side a twelve point cushion at the break.

The second half was one-way traffic. Winger Euan Cranston was the first to score following excellent handling from Sam Hoey and Jack Fallon. This was followed by a try from player of the match Callum McCargo after he was on the end of an excellent switch play and break from outhalf Joshua Woods. The forwards continued to turn the screw and an opposition knock-on gave them an attacking scrum deep in Rainey territory. Scrum Half Ethan Donaldson made the most of the opportunity as he sold a dummy and scampered under the posts for an excellent try.

Two further tries added a little gloss to the scoreboard with McCargo finishing off one move and Fallon profiting from more good work from Hoey to score the seventh and final try. Woods continued his excellent form with the boot, converting five tries.
Tougher tests lie ahead for this highly promising young side but coaches Jonto Andrews, Paul Campbell, Colin Donaldson and Donald Blain can be highly satisfied with the first block of fixtures. Ballynahinch have a week off before a trip to Strabane as they aim to continue their unbeaten run.

Club Round Up

The 4th XV were the only senior side to win on Saturday as they kept the bandwagon rolling with a comprehensive 47-7 victory over Banbridge. Home defeats for the 2nd XV in the Junior Cup to Portadown and the 3rd XV to Omagh in the League left both players and supporters counting the cost of an unprecedented injury list.

The U16 boys continue to set the pace in their leagues with a fine victory over Bangor whilst the U14s fell to their first defeat versus Bangor and there were defeats for the U14 and U16 girls against Ballymoney.