AIL Division 1
Clontarf 45 Ballynahinch 16
By James Kirk
ADAM Craig took his patched up Ballynahinch side to Clontarf hoping for a first ever victory at their Castle Avenue fortress on Saturday.
The titanic tussle with Terenure had added key men Claytan Milligan, Callum Smyth and Mark Best to an already lengthy list of absentees while Ulster’s long injury list meant only four players were released to the squad.
The well-deserved callup for Tom McCallister to the Irish U-21 camp compounded the situation.
However, Matthew Burke and Goerge Pringle returned and the County Down men travelled in good spirits.
The artificial surface combined with a perfect January afternoon promised a fast game of high octane rugby.
Clontarf, by their own admission, were at ‘full metal jacket’ strength, with a European Cup weekend allowing Leinster to play all their internationals and release squad players back to clubs.
Rising midfield star Hugh Cooney, part of the Ireland Six Nations camp and lock Brian Deeney bolstered an already formidable side including the abrasive Soroka brothers and skipper Dylan Donnellan.
Ballynahinch supporters were of the opinion that they had never seen a forward pack of such size and power and with similarly enormous replacements ready to come on, it promised to be a difficult afternoon.
There were some postives to take from the final two quarter. Read the full report in the current issue.
