The players arrived onto the Affidea pitch, to a raucous reception, Dromore in navy and Omagh wearing green-and-white.
Dromore won the final’s first penalty, smack bang on halfway, opting for a scrum. Omagh then turned them around to gain an early chance for territory. Reece Braden’s first lineout provided Omagh an attacking platform, on the edge of the 22, Dromore’s defence standing strong.
Atino Toeoaanna then scorched through the 22, right to left, finishing ferociously in the left corner, a quality moment to light the Bank of Ireland Towns Cup Final touchpaper. Connor Spencer’s conversion, from the left touchline, wibbled and wobbled, before being helped over for the full seven via the crossbar.
Omagh piled on the pressure, desperate to maximise their fast start, with Dean Dillon (one of three related Dillon's playing for Dromore) required defensively to help his side stay within seven.
Faster to the breakdown and relishing the physical duels, Omagh soon had another penalty, which Spencer into touch. Reece Braden, advised by his brother David, threw the lineout as Omagh entered the 22 again. Omagh went from left to right and back in-field searching for their second try. Captain Matthew Clyde then delivered it, a fine carry and dot-down under the sticks, giving Spencer an easy extra two to add on, putting Omagh 14 to the good.
Dromore, though, didn’t take that lying down and blitzed back, through the heart of Omagh’s defence, almost immediately, Ethan Patterson with a flying run and offload, wisely, to Dean Dillon, up in support, who duly scored. Jonny Hunter converted and suddenly Dromore had halved the gap.
The feelgood factor flowing through Dromore, they only went and repeated the trick seconds after the restart, the pacy Patterson proving he had his bag of skills packed, lightning feet seeing the winger scamper inside from the right touchline, zooming all the way in and under the posts. Hunter’s second simple conversion restored parity, as Omagh were left flummoxed and Dromore supporters rubbed their eyes, in giddy disbelief.
Momentum was tilting back and forth, Omagh rocked by their sudden loss of the lead, as they sought a way of reclaiming it before the half-time interval.
The end-to-end enthralling nature of the final continued, Dromore inflicting another blow, devastatingly, as they countered from their own defensive lineout, prop Nicky Woods the unlikely man to make up half the pitch! Dromore kept the fast ball coming, eventually sending their skipper, Ryan Hughes, over the whitewash. Hunter converted Hughes’ score and now it was Dromore’s turn to lead by seven, 21-14 ahead.
Unlike Omagh, Dromore built on their lead and swiftly had their fourth unanswered score, Patterson to Dillon, who salsased in under the sticks, with a swagger, to bag himself a Bank of Ireland Towns Cup final brace! Hunter’s unerring kicking continued, taking Dromore to a 28-14 advantage, the 14-point deficit now Omagh’s to make up.
The tries kept on coming in a thrilling final and Omagh responded through Toeoaana, quiet since scoring, to throw a quite sublime backdoor pass out wide right to winger, Scott Ballantine, who sprinted in superbly, to squeeze himself home in the corner. Eventually a kicker blinked from the tee, Spencer unable to close the gap to seven again, as he missed from the right touchline.
Instantly gorging themselves on the attack again, Dromore were held up on the line, as they sought a fifth, both teams contributing to a dazzling, dizzying first 40 minutes of rugby befitting of a final’s occasion. Dromore, having rallied from behind, took their hard-earned lead into the half-time period.
HT: Dromore 28 v Omagh 19
Omagh full-back, Scott Elliott, grabbed the start of the second half by the horns, determinedly driving deep into the 22, before being wrapped up crucially by covering Dromore defenders: it signalled, though, that the free-flowing, sunlit rugby was set to continue, even with the tension of a coveted Bank of Ireland Towns Cup trophy at stake!
Keen to put the final beyond doubt, Dromore surged onwards again, only to find the ajar door slammed emphatically shut by Omagh’s frantically covering defence. Both sides knew one more score could prove pivotal and Dromore, after knocking persistently, blew the house down, with winger Blair McDonald locating the gap, to give his side try number five and, more importantly, breathing space. The conversion went wide but Omagh now needed two converted tries, again, just to get level.
As a tight and tense second half unfolded, Omagh had to come on the offensive again, with it being Dromore’s turn to soak up the carries and make their vital, sustained, defensive hits. When it won them a penalty, the Dromore fans unsurprisingly erupted in the Grand Stand, knowing their side were inching closer to Towns Cup glory, which would taste all the sweeter, after the pain of final defeats in 2022 and 2025.
Omagh refused to let Dromore relax, pounding on in search of a heart-stopping try, to set up a grandstand finale. The killer pass, though, continued to evade Omagh, until some good old-fashioned direct play, grunt work from Jamie Sproule earning reward, as he spun to score. Needing the conversion to move within one score, Spencer skewed his conversion wide, keeping Omagh’s deficit at nine.
Keen to finish with a flourish, Dromore regained the initiative, as the sun streamed down, Richard Dickson dragged to the turf just short, before replacement Callum Bradley gobbled up next, his might forcing him over, with Hunter’s fifth successful conversion taking Dromore to 40.
Not that Dromore were done there, either: the winners-in-waiting were in party-mode, a mood only increased by Patterson’s latest pacy injection, Patterson bagging an Affidea brace, which Hunter again converted with complete ease, Dromore now just three shy of a half-century.
Despite not quite crossing that landmark of points, it was still to be Dromore’s day under the Affidea sunlight, Dillon’s double and Hunter’s kicking just two parts of an outstanding team performance. Omagh, having started so strongly, lost their way but can take pride in pushing Dromore to minute 80 and beyond.
A thrilling final, played in perfect conditions and with countless stand-put performers across both teams, this was, above all, an amazing advert for the enduring power of Towns Cup rugby.
As a beaming Hughes arrived onto the trophy platform, having serenaded his squad, the Dromore captain raised the Bank of Ireland Towns Cup trophy, kickstarting a long-awaited party, for a club which finally has a final’s occasion to remember fondly.
FT: Dromore 47 v Omagh 24
Player of the Match: Dean Dillon (Dromore)
### Teams -
Dromore
15 Jack Dillon, 14 Ethan Patterson, 13 Luke Dillon, 12 Dean Dillon, 11 Blair McDonald, 10 Jonny Hunter, 9 Harvey Patterson, 1 Adam Hanna, 2 Rory Stewart, 3 Nicky Woods, 4 Richard Dickson, 5 Matthew McMaster, 6 Ryan Hughes ©, 7 Ben Carey, 8 Gary Dillon
Replacements: 16 Callum Bradley, 17 Matthew Miller, 18 Matthew Thompson, 19 Ryan Hanna, 20 Aaron Stewart
Omagh
15 Scott Elliott, 14 Scott Ballantine, 13 Scott Barr, 12 Atino Toeoaanna, 11 Ryan Mitchell, 10 Connor Spencer, 9 Sam Beattie, 1 David Braden, 2 Reece Braden, 3 Simon Creane, 4 Jamie Sproule, 5 Sam McKenzie, 6 Joseph Duff, 7 Scott Wilson, 8 Matthew Clyde ©
Replacements: 16 Richard Hemphill, 17 Glenn McKinley, 18 Shea Daly, 19 Alistair Beckett, 20 Fintan Lagan
SCORERS
Dromore:
Tries: D Dillon (2), E Patterson (2), Hughes, McDonald, Bradley Cons: Hunter (6)
Omagh:
Tries: Toeoaana, Clyde, Ballantine, Sproule Cons: Spencer (2)