2025 Bateman Cup Final
Clontarf 21
Ballynahinch 16
By John Dickson
Playing away from the clubhouse, and with the breeze at their backs in the first half, Hinch started well in the opening exchanges, winning the battle for the ball on the ground and gaining a number of early penalties. Hinch took the lead in the ninth minute with a well-struck penalty goal from fullback Conor Rankin. 0-3. Good pressure from the visitors in the 13th minute caused Clontarf to spill the ball forward following a well-placed box kick from Chris Gibson. Hinch gathered and attacked left through Aaron Sexton, who managed to force a penalty near the corner. The lineout was scrappy, but Hinch managed to secure possession, and after a series of drives, the County Down men were held up over the line.
Despite having most of the field position, the wind made securing clean lineout ball difficult. After a long period of pressure on the Tarf line, the visitors managed to force their way over the whitewash in the 21st minute. Prop Tom McAllister scored the try, and Rankin added the extras to take the Hinch 0-10 clear. Rankin increased the Hinch tally in the 26th minute with his second well-struck penalty goal to make it 0-13. Tarf thought they had scored in the 29th minute after the ball had been charged down, but after consulting with his assistant, the referee disallowed the try, and the score remained 0-13.
Clontarf kept the Hinch under pressure for the next five minutes, and eventually, they were awarded a penalty try in the 35th minute when Hinch deliberately collapsed a maul on the line. Hinch skipper Claytan Milligan was yellow-carded as the Hinch lead was reduced to 7-13. To their credit, the visitors immediately replied with a third Rankin penalty goal after great work from Bradley Luney set up a good field position. After the successful goal, the referee blew the halftime whistle with the Hinch 7-16 in front.
Now with the wind at their backs, the home side won an early penalty from the restart. The ball was secured from touch on the Hinch 22, where the home side drove for the line, only to be held up inches short by a determined Hinch defense. Tarf threw everything at the Hinch in the opening exchanges of the second half, but they met a resolute defense, assisted by some excellent clearance kicks from scrum half Chris Gibson. One defensive dive in the 55th minute took Hinch from their own line up to the Tarf 10m line.
After 20 minutes of pressure, Clontarf finally crossed for their second try in the 60th minute when Alex Soroka wriggled over from close range. Connor Kelly converted to close the gap to 14-16. A long-range penalty from Kelly in the 72nd minute drifted left of the posts. As the finish line approached, poor discipline under pressure started to cost Hinch. In the 75th minute, Joe Charles was yellow-carded, and Tarf kicked for the corner. The ball was won, and Tarf managed to drive Ivan Soroka over, with Kelly adding the extras to take Clontarf 21-16 in front with three minutes remaining.
Hinch managed to get into the Clontarf 22 for the first time in the second half in the final minute of play, but they couldn’t hang onto possession, and the home side eventually cleared to touch to claim victory and the Bateman Cup for the first time, also taking the league points. Hinch deserved this one—an incredible effort from all 23—but they returned home with a losing bonus point as their only reward on this occasion.
Clontarf
15 Hugo Lennox, 14 Ross Deegan, 13 Alex O’Grady, 12 Tadhg Bird, 11 Peter Maher, 10 Conor Kelly, 9 Sam Owens, 8 Jordan Coghlan, 7 Aaron Coleman, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Alan Spicer, 4 Fionn Gilbert, 3 Niall Smyth, 2 Dylan Donellan, 1 Alex Usanov.
Replacements
16 Declan Adamson, 17 Ivan Soroka, 18 Paul Deeny, 19 Michael Moloney, 20 Mark O’Sullivan, 21 Charlie Ward.
Ballynahinch
1 Matthew Burke, 2 Claytan Milligan (C), 3 Tom McAllister, 4 Declan Horrox, 5 Ryan Connolly, 6 Zack McCall, 7 Reuben Crothers, 8 Bradley Luney, 9 Chris Gibson, 10 Paul Kerr, 11 Aaron Sexton, 12 Matthew Booth, 13 Pierce Crowe, 14 Adam Bennett, 15 Conor Rankin.
Replacements
16 Josh Hanlon, 17 John Dickson, 18 Joe Charles, 19 Stephen Campbell, 20 Jon Rodgers, 21 Ruairi Meharg.
