Ballymena Rugby Club youth sides eye trophies

The 17s had already beaten Ulster champions Virginia away from home before they played much fancied Portadown on Saturday.

The 17s had lost a second row, winger and their eight who were all on holiday and were therefore up against it and it was only some excellent tackling from McLeister and man of the match Logan which kept the visitors at bay early on.

Ballymena took the lead through a McNeill penalty before some loose play saw the ball dropped in the Ballymena ‘22’ and Portadown’s winger scooped up the loose ball and crossed for a converted try.

Another McNeill penalty brought Ballymena back to within a point of their opponents before the Braidmen were awarded a penalty after a Portadown defender was adjudged as offside.

McNeill stepped up with only one minute left on the clock. Showing no nerves he calmly hit the ball between the posts to give the boys the lead. A frenetic last minute saw Ballymena make a series of great tackles before bundling the ball into touch. Final Score - Ballymena 9, Portadown 7.

UNDER-13

The 13s were also up against Portadown and were put onto the back foot from the start with the strong Portadown pack taking control of the early skirmishes.

This pressure saw the visitors running in two tries to give them the lead at the break.

However the second half saw the 13s led by Pattison fight their way back into the game. A neat backline move saw McKenzie release Wallahan, he passed to Haveron who crossed for a well deserved try.

The 13s were now pushing hard and McAuley drove deep into the visitors half before passing to the impressive McLoughlin who crossed for the first of his two tries. Ramsey converted and the 13s were now in the lead.

The boys were in determined mood and pushed Portadown back before Marks collected a pass which saw him touch down under the posts. Ramsey again converted and the 13s were in control of the game.

The visitors now realised they were beaten and as their heads dropped McLoughlin ran in another score. The great come back was rounded off by Morrison who scooped up a loose ball before crossing for his first try of the season.

Final score - Ballymena 29, Portadown 10.

UNDER-19

Ballymena Under 19s have been hit hard by injuries in the past two weeks despite this they travelled to Lurgan with high hopes of progressing to the Bowl Final.

In November the 19s had lost their coach and had only 5 or 6 players playing regularly however coaches Chris Smith, Tom Wiggins and Manager Ryan Wiggins pulled the boys back together and have managed a remarkable transformation.

After a spell of early pressure at Lurgan, man of the match McBurney off loaded to Kieran Bowes who collected before crossing for his first off four tries. Rainey stepped up and slotted the conversion and the boys were on their way.

From a lineout the ball broke to McIlwaine, his off-load saw the ball move to Bowes who dived over for his second score of the game. However the game was by no means over and Lurgan hit back with a try from their impressive eight who drove strongly from the base of a ruck to score. The 19s were spurred into action and Johnston drove strongly before releasing McCooke. Despite playing out of position he ran strongly and released the ball to the new scrum half Mulholland. His pass found Bowes and he crashed over for a try beneath the posts. Rainey converted and the boys were again in front.

The second half was an equally tight affair with Lurgan getting an unconverted try almost from the restart. However the 19s were not to be denied and they drove strongly up the pitch through Hyndeman and McLaughlin. The ball broke to McGarry whose off load to Curtis Bowes saw his pass release his brother Kieran for his third try of the game.

The boys drove strongly into the Lurgan half and McCooke took the ball past two tacklers before unloading to Kieran Bowes he handed off the Lurgan defender before crossing under the posts for a try converted by Rainey. The 19s were now in control however a lapse in concentration saw Lurgan’s impressive eight make good ground before releasing his winger who scored in the corner.

The final place was now up for grabs with only seven points dividing the teams. Ballymena showed the spirit which had brought them together as a team. With flanker Millar now coming to the fore the boys were soon taking more ground. A slick move saw Rainey join the line before passing to McGarry, his inside ball saw Foster sprint past two defenders before he neatly side stepped the full back to score. Rainey hit the conversion and the final whistle saw the boys celebrate a remarkable victory.

The 19s are now in the Bowl final and Tom Wiggins says: ‘The boys are an absolute credit to the club, they are the future of Ballymena and we are going to the final with high hopes of bringing a well deserved trophy back to Eaton Park’.