Reports from Senior Level

Barnhall catch a fine victory.
Barnhall RFC 9 Banbridge 3
Saturday the 25th of October 2008

Barnhall eked out a fine first victory in Division 3 of the AIL against a stout effort from Banbridge at Parsonstown on Saturday. Gaining a bonus point was a small reward for Banbridge who owned most of the possession in a second half dominated by the bad weather and by the excellent display of high catching and ball handling by Barnhall's fullback Ben McCarthy.

The game was played at a good pace throughout but the expectations were that a dogged affair would be all that could be expected in the conditions. No so as it transpired as both sets of back lines handled the ball exceptionally well and gave a very entertaining display of running football. Progress in terms of try scoring was stopped in the main by the centres and by both sets of back row forwards who tackled vigorously while at the same time they were sloshing and sliding around in the mud and wet.

The opening score came after ten minutes with Richard Findlay converting a mid range penalty following a good passage of play form the effective Banbridge pack. The visitors three point lead lasted for about twelve minutes when Ben McCarthy was gifted a 25 meter penalty which he slotted home with ease. Few opportunities presented themselves for either team in the first half as both sets of forwards were quite evenly matched. When Banbridge did win possession Findlay looked to test McCarthy with high balls, all of which McCarthy caught and returned with interest. McCarthy cleared his lines time and again or countered with the full support of Mana Harrision and Oliver Savrin. Despite getting no return for hard earned possession Findlay kicked away much of his first half possession into the eagerly awaiting arms of McCarthy. Barnhall were also guilty of similar errors as Leo Quinn also opted to kick out of hand when in the conditions keeping the ball in hand may have yielded a better return. The half time score remained 3 points each.

From the restart Banbridge did keep the ball in the forwards and a siege began which lasted most of the half. On fifteen minutes Barnhall did capture good possession mainly due to the efforts of Barry Dunne who had a fine game in the loose and in line outs. The resulting move forced a penalty out of the visitors and again McCarthy delivered the goods. Barnhall lead 6 points to 3 somewhat against the run of play. Banbridge pushed hard from the restart and camped on the Barnhall line several times but great work from Peter Courtney and Colm Dufficy along with Dunne kept the visitors at bay. The best scoring opportunity came mid way through the half when Harrison chased a kick ahead and was shouldered off the ball and failed to get the touch down over the line. The penalty count was much lower then in the previous outings showing great discipline from both sides. McCarthy missed a kickable opportunity and Findlay missed two close range efforts mid way through the second half.

Banbridge kept pressing the Barnhall pack who were struggling to keep the visitors from overpowering them. With about eighteen minutes remaining of the game Captain Jim Nolan was replaced by Ray Dufficy who made his debut in the AIL for Barnhall. Ray Dufficy a brother of Colm Dufficy and a graduate from the Barnhall mini and youth system performed well in his first outing. Just as the tide was beginning to turn in favour of Banbridge another turnover for Barnhall saw Harrison on his way to the Banbridge line. After floating a well timed pass Harrison was floored with a late tackle about twenty meters out. Harrison was unable to continue the game and was replaced by Conor Harding for the last ten minutes. McCarthy had no difficulty in slotting home his penalty attempt giving the home side a six point cushion in the dying moments of the game. Try as they might Banbridge could not make any dent in the Barnhall advantage and the home side closed out the game 9 points to 3 ahead gaining the first four points of the season.

Commenting after the game Ian Morgan said “ on a day when the world looked like it needed a plumber Banbridge threw the kitchen sink at us and we stood up brilliantly to the challenge” “ All of the games in this division tend to be close and we have had two very close calls that didn't go our way. Today that changed and we have shown the league what we are made of” commented the delighted head coach. Indeed as the dust settled on the day only one of the games in division three proved to be a high scoring encounter. In all of the other games all of the winning margins were of seven points or less giving the loosing teams a bonus point. With a break in AIL activity while the autumn internationals take place Barnhall will look with confidence to the next instalment of this league in Middleton at the end of November.

Barnhall downed by final flourish.
Portadown RFC 10 Barnhall RFC 6
Saturday 18th of October 2008

Portadown RFC edged to the top of division three with a narrow victory sealed in the final minutes of a tense encounter in Chambers Park on Saturday. There was little to separate these two determined teams with both packs of forwards neutralising each others efforts and both sets of backs performing heroics in attack and defence.

Barnhall had much the better of the opening exchanges with a line out and scrum performing much more effectively then in the previous two outings in the league. Greg Boland returned for his first AIL game of the season and his contribution in the early stages forced an early penalty in kicking range for the visitors. Ben McCarthy slotted this 35 meter effort home with ease to open up an early 3 point lead. Barnhall pushed hard and somewhat against the run of play the Portadown forwards pressed home multiple phases of possession before releasing the ball along the back line. Moving swiftly up the field Winger Jonny Holden popped the ball to the covering no 8 Simon Douglas who crossed in the corner. The conversion was missed and Portadown went into a slim lead 5 points to 3 after fifteen minutes.

McCarthy has an opportunity to make up the ground three minutes later when he narrowly missed a long range effort but did secure a good penalty on twenty five minutes to bring the score to 5 points to 6 in favour of the visitors. Neill Cotter who replaced the elusive Albert Nagle after Nagle took a heavy knock after fifteen minutes made a tremendous break only to be denied five meters short of the Portadown line. Despite dominating much of the half Barnhall were unable to extend the slim lead and the half time score stood at five points to six.

A heavy spill of rain followed by persistent misty drizzle made the proceedings in the second half much more challenging and an error strewn game ensued. Connor Feeney replaced Boland just before half time and despite the Feeney's excellent contribution Portadown were beginning to get the upper hand in the front row and it was Barnhall's backline that were called into defensive duties for much of the second half. As if in response to the loss of the front row battle in the tight Colm Dufficy and Peter Courtney excelled in the loose with Dufficy in particular pulling off a number of big tackles. Jason Van Houte secure excellent possession from line outs but a combination of strong defensive work by Portadown and the high error count prevented Barnhall making progress.

With Portadown owning most of the possession and applying significant pressure throughout the second half few opportunities were afforded the visitors. The best opportunity to take control of the game came after ten minutes of the restart. Oliver Savrin intercepted a dangerous line break by Portadown and covered the pitch from the Barnhall 22 to the Portadown 22 before off loading to Mana Harrison. Harrison was stopped about three meters short and Portadown turned over the ball and lifted the siege. Harrison and Savarin proved an impregnable force for the afternoon and denied Portadown time and again with telling tackles. With the clock ticking away it looked as if Barnhall could register the first win of this campaign. However the Portadown man of the match Thomas Overry jinked and side stepped three tackles before grounding close to the corner flag. Portadown secured the four points and Barnhall gained a bonus point for the narrow loosing margin.

After two poor performances Barnhall have taken a huge step forward with this latest performance in Portadown. The penalty count was significantly down on last week's performance and many those that were conceded were well outside of kicking distance. If the rate of improvement continues it won't be long before Barnhall return to winning ways.

Barnhall Pay the Penalties as Connemara trot to victory
Barnhall RFC 5 Connemara RFC 26
Saturday 11th of October 2008

Barnhall had only themselves to blame for this latest defeat to a Connemara side who felt they had escaped to victory at Parsonstown on Saturday. Conceding eleven kickable penalties many at close range was the undoing of the home side that again impressed with the tenacity and overall inventiveness of a talented back line.

From the kick off Barnhall looked indecisive and with only three minutes on the clock conceded a penalty for not releasing the ball once the player went to ground. The kick was straight in front of the posts about 40 meters out and Sean Joyce had no difficulty in slotting home his first attempt of the day. Two minutes later Barnhall conceded the same penalty this time on 28 meters out and again Joyce converted increasing the score to six points. More of the same was offered on ten minutes and Joyce made it three out of three and had opened up a nine point lead.

Barnhall did play rugby in the opening g minutes and Sammy Darragh and Paul Burke were particularly noticeable at this time in attack and in defence. On a strong break by Barnhall which moved the ball from the Barnhall 22 almost to the Connemara 22 a poor pass to the wing was intercepted by Mark Foyle. But for the lack of speed by Foyle and an excellent tackle by Burke Barnhall could have seen the end of this game as a contest in the first fifteen minutes. On fifteen minutes a fourth penalty was conceded and Joyce's effort from 25 meters missed by a good margin. Barnhall did come to life at this point and excellent work by Mana Harrison and Oliver Savrin gave evidence of the potency of this new look backline. Daryl Furlong and Leo Quinn also worked well together and the play was varied and fast in its execution causing much concern to the Visitors.

Jason Van Houte made a terrific break on 22 minutes only to give away possession following a poorly popped pass. Van Houte made immediate amends by making a terrific block down from a clearance attempt by Joyce which saw the ball bumping its way into the willing hands of Colm Dufficy. Dufficy mad the line and opened the account for the home side and gave hope of better things to come. Quinn missed the conversion and at 5 points to 9 the game was well within reach of the home side. On 28 minutes following good pressure Barnhall won a penalty about 48 meters out. Ben McCarthy missed this long range effort and Connemara restarted with vigour and forced a penalty on about thirty meters out and Joyce made no mistakes with this effort and stretched the lead to 5 points to 12. Barnhall had much the better of the exchanges towards the end of the first half but errors prevented any further progress on the scoreboard.

The restart was much like the early stages of the first half and Barnhall returned to conceding easy penalties both in attack and in defence. Three kicks all well within range of Joyce were all missed and this was clearly a let off. Barnhall did manage several excellent moves and the back line moved the ball for many yards before unforced errors either stopped play or yielded easy turnovers which needed last gasp defensive efforts from Albert Nagle, Harrison, Quinn, and Savrin. The absence of Burke and the covering tackles of Darragh were being felt as both men had to take leave at half time due to knocks they picked up. John Lark and Marcus Doyle picked up some good possession off the Connemara line out and Lark captured three line out balls way over the back of the line despite the soaring efforts of Van Houte at no 6 in the line. Joyce missed another straight forward effort from about thirty meters out before he slotted a good effort home on 25 minutes. At 5 points to fifteen Connemara began to apply slow and solid pressure on Barnhall and it was clear the practiced and mature Connemara pack were in no mind to make any mistakes going forward. In a good passage of play for the visitors the pack rolled remorselessly towards the Barnhall line where Peter O'Toole crossed over for a well worked try in the left corner of the park. Joyce very narrowly missed this effort but at 5 points to 20 after 28 minutes of the second half it was clear only one result would come from this encounter.

The never say die attitude that Barnhall always display was again in evidence with Quinn Barry Dunne, Conor Harding and Nagle all in evidence in the vain effort to close the Gap. A series of errors a visit to the sin bin for Harrison and two more close range penalties for Joyce which he converted left a score line of 5 points to 26. Barnhall looked dejected and Connemara were clearly surprised at winning a game where they were totally outclassed by the attacking skills of the Barnhall backline. 11 close range penalties conceded was too heavy a yoke to shoulder for the Barnhall blues and a major improvement will be needed for this squad to return to winning ways.

Barnhall RFC 12 Suttonians RFC 15.
Suttonians gifted a win by new look Barnhall
Parsonstown Saturday 4th of October 2008

A poor start in both halves was to prove the undoing of a new look Barnhall team in the opening game of the AIL division 3 season. It was unfortunate for both Barnhall and Suttonians to meet so early in the season with both teams having made the drop down from Division 2 last year. Indeed the tension in this encounter was such that the contest looked more like a cup game then a typical AIL league fixture. The home side made the poorest of starts and with only three minutes on the clock Suttonians burley no 4 George Flynn pushed his way across the line in the corner to open the scoring for the visitors. David Walsh was unable to add the conversion and Barnhall had hardly taken to the field when they had conceded a very cheep try to the bulky Suttonians pack.
The game could have ended as a contest as Suttonians pressed for further advantage and found that the Barnhall resistance was sporadic. On ten minutes Suttonians has made yet another surge on the Barnhall line and were only five meters from the right hand corner. With the line at their mercy, Suttonian's Alan Dodds floated a lazy pass out to Darragh Higgins who would surely have scored a try but for an excellent jump and catch by Barnhall's Albert Nagle. Nagle raced from his goal line to the Suttonians 22 and was finally pushed to touch by a much relieved and disappointed Suttonians backline. The effort lifted Barnhall and the backline as a unit all stepped up a level and from that point had much the better of the attacking football for the rest of the game. On 22 minutes an excellent move by man of the match Daryl Furlong picked and made a short break before firing an accurate pass to Leo Quinn. Quinn placed a wonderfully floated kick for the corner where Ben McCarthy had to wait for the ball to drop into his hands to cross over for Barnhall's opening try. Quinn could not convert from the touchline and so the core was level at five points each. The home side looked dangerous with Jason Van Houte and Sammy Darragh the most industrious forwards and the entire Barnhall backline performing as a sharp and inventive unit.
Dogged last gasp defence by Suttonians kept the home side form progressing in the first half. The wet and slippery ball also added to the tense nature of this game as a number of good moves by both sides came to premature endings. The sides looked deadlocked at five points each as the first half edged to conclusion. On 42 minutes an error in the forwards awarded a wind assisted penalty from half way and Walsh slotted home a fine kick to edge the visitors three points in front 5 points to eight.
The restart was very similar to the first half and but for some very poor handling Suttonians should have crossed over for a try in the opening minute of the half. The visitors did not have to wait too long for a reward as Tommy Campbell broke from a second phase ball and made a gap for Vinny Patton to rush for the Barnhall line. Patton evaded three tackles before grounding for a try close to the posts. Walsh converted to establish a five points to fifteen lead. Instead of pressing home the advantage Barnhall responded well and looked like they had mastered the conditions and wet ball better then the visitors. On 15 minutes of the second half Daryl furlong made another sniping run this time covering 20 meters before floating a perfectly weighted kick to the corner where Nagle collected. Nagle popped the ball back to Mana Harrison who was also stopped inches short of the line. Harrison managed to feed the ball to Jason Van Houte who crossed over in the corner for a very well taken score. Quinn comfortably slotted home the kick and we had a really close game on at that stage. Living off scraps and less then satisfactory quality of possession the Barnhall backs still pressed the visitors at every opportunity. Cormack Dunne was introduced for Van Houte and lasted less then three minutes on the pitch when he received a yellow card for being on the wrong side of a ruck. Dunned could not believe his short stay punishment but the referee needed to assert himself as the flow of the game was becoming both slow and frustrating as both sides infringed the base of the breakdown. On 30 minutes of the second half over Barnhall had the momentum and were only stopped some twelve meters out when Suttonians conceded a penalty. Captain Jim Nolan looked for calm and prevented Quinn from kicking which would have tied the scores at fifteen points each. Instead of as planned move Nolan fouled the tap and conceded a scrum to Suttonians. This error and a follow up series of indiscipline killed off the Barnhall momentum and ended the prospect of pulling off an opening victory in the Division 3 league.
The referee balanced the penalty count in the final ten minutes with series of penalty awards to Suttonians which allowed the visitors to close out the game for a narrow victory of 12 points to 15.