Joy as Carrick Ladies clinch promotion

The teams had met twice before during the season, with Ballymoney responsible for Carrick’s exit from the Rejenerate Cup at semi-final stage, and their only league defeat of the season.

The sun made a rare appearance at Randalstown RFC, much to the delight of the sizeable crowd and the match was kicked off by Ballymoney to begin what was certainly the fiercely contested game.

An eventful 40 minutes ensued, with Carrick making a strong attacking start and taking play straight to their opponents’ 22. Several phases were played through before a penalty allowed Carrick to score their first points, courtesy of Arlene Devine.

The attack continued, but Carrick were held back by an intent defence before another Devine penalty put them in a 6-0 lead.

Ballymoney went on the offensive and play quickly moved to the Carrick 22 where a well-drilled defensive line prevented a try, however a misplaced hand-off from Ballymoney number eight Julie Newton saw her sin binned moments before the half time whistle. Carrick attempted to take advantage of their numerical superiority, but the half ended at 6-0.

The second session began with another attack on the Carrick try line, however Ballymoney were left deprived as they were unable to break through the defensive line.

An acrobatic overhead kick by scrum-half Laura Johnson forced a line-out and gave Carrick time to regroup and recover. A Carrick intercept saw Aimee Ellis break and perfectly timed pass allowed Hilary Cawood to touch down between the posts to make the score 11-0. Devine added the extras to put Carrick into a comfortable 13-0 lead with around 60 minutes gone.

Unsurprisingly, the Ballymoney side responded as they saw the league title slip from their grasp and the remainder of the match was played mainly in the Carrick half.

Ballymoney came extremely close to scoring, falling just short of the line at one point. Attack after attack was unleashed on the Carrick line, but their defence stood firm until the 80th minute when Ballymoney crashed over for a score. The conversion was missed and the ball was dead, and it signalled the end of the match at 13-5.

There were cheers and tears from the Carrick team, coaches and supporters and even more so when Nathan Moore from NM Sports Performance stepped forward to present the trophy to captain, Lydine Wilson.

This season has been one of change for both the team and the coaches. It saw the arrival of several new players, some of whom had never previously set foot on a rugby pitch, yet played an instrumental role in the season’s victories. Previous player Nikki took up the role of head coach at the start of the season and has used her knowledge and experience to build a solid core team around the new and more experienced players. Newly-qualified forwards coach Alan is also new to the set-up.

There was no rest for the team as last weekend they took part in a cross-community Peace III project, where they visited Cavan and trained in rugby and Gaelic football with Killygarry Ladies team. Both teams then spent the afternoon at Tanagh Outdoor centre where they took part in archery, wall climbing and a low ropes assault course.

Carrick ladies would like to thank the people who made this season possible, including sponsor Bill Crymble from Forever Living Products and the players, coaches and volunteers who contributed to each team this season.