First Ulster League win for Banbridge

BANBRIDGE picked up their first win in the Ulster League under the Chambers Park floodlights last Thursday night.

After a run of six defeats in the provincial competition they opened their account in emphatic style, scoring six tries to which Portadown could only respond with four penalties.

The two local rivals meet again on Saturday week with All-Ireland League points at stake. No doubt the respective coaches had that game in mind when they selected their squads for this fixture, as both showed significant personnel changes from their most recent AIL selections.

Indeed of the Bann side that started in their most recent winning outing at Connemara, only six started this game and of those just four were in the same position. But significantly two of them were the Irvine brothers, Matthew and Stephen, who picked up four of the six tries from the back row.

Younger brother Stephen, fresh from his try-scoring AIL debut in Clifden, grabbed two tries in the opening period with Portadown relying on the boot of scrum-half Craig Woods to register two penalties.

After the break the Bann pack continued to dominate, especially in the loose, where the home side struggled to cope with their close driving play. Out-half Alex Malcolm showed his power as he burst through two tackles from 12 metres out for the third Bann try. Centre Alan Gibson, who somewhat reluctantly took on the place-kicking role for the night, managed to convert to take his side 17-6 clear.

Prop Michael Cromie, who had made ground every time he had possession, proved unstoppable from close range for Bann’s fourth. Woods continued to offer his side consolation with two further successful penalty attempts, but Bann underlined their overall superiority with two further touchdowns in the final minutes of the game.

And it was No 8 Matthew Irvine, not to be outshone by his sibling, who crashed over the Portadown line on both occasions to seal the comprehensive win that lifts Bann off the bottom of the table.

This Saturday play their re-arranged All-Ireland League game against Wanderers at Rifle Park, looking for the win that will keep them well in contention for a top four finish.

The line-up for this game should have a more familiar look, with winger Chris Leathem possibly sufficiently recovered from injury to again come into the reckoning. Robin Thompson and Richard Finlay are not yet ready for a return to action, but the younger Finlay brother, Ashley, will probably line out at full back following his outing as a replacement for Ulster ‘A’ last week.