With one eye on an upcoming AIL Promotion Playoff, and dealing with injuries, Valley had sent a heavily-rotated squad to Belfast and were soundly beaten by a clinical Ballyclare.
They set the tone early on with the game's opening try which was scored by winger Josh Cowan, who dived into the corner to finish after being sent clear by captain Joel McBride. Fullback Mark Jackson slotted the difficult conversion on what would be a good afternoon off the tee.
Luke McIlwrath got the second try after gathering a loose lineout and powering over, before another clinical McBride pass opened the defence, this time releasing pacey fly-half Alex Darrah to race clear under the posts.
Blindside flanker Aaron Playfair then got the 4th Ballyclare try after peeling off a lineout maul and driving for the line, before Clogher Valley lock Mark McKenna powered over, with Reece Smyton converting.
However, Ballyclare were quickly in again as McBride again linked up with Cowan, and the winger touched down in the same corner for his second try, with Jackson again nailing a tough kick from the touchline.
McBride then chipped a clever kick in behind the Clogher defence and it was scrum-half James Creighton who was rewarded for a good chase as he gathered the ball and strolled in under the posts. Jackson's conversion was the last act of the first half, and put his side up 40 points to 7.
The Cup holders didn't ease off into the second half and quickly kept the scoreboard moving.
Openside flanker Jack Milton found himself in plenty of space out wide, and he played a neat pass back inside to right winger Owen Kirk who skipped past a few tackles and touched down for another Ballyclare try.
Clogher Valley then made another venture into the Hares' half and it was the forwards who powered over from close range for the try, which Smyton converted.
Ballyclare captain McBride set up his side's next try with another chip kick in behind the defence, with the ball bouncing into the hands of Jackson, and he offloaded to Kirk who got in for his second.
Playfair looked as if he was going to repeat his first half try when he burst through a couple of tackles after a well-worked lineout, but after being stopped short he produced a superb offload which found Matty Coulter, and the hooker crashed over for another score.
Cowan then sealed his hat-trick after another break by McBride, with the captain taking his time to pick the right pass and send the left winger racing clear of the defence.
There was still time for Peter Gillespie to touch down in the corner after the replacement had chased down a kick by James Creighton.
### Teams
Clogher Valley
\[1-15\] Philip Hopper (C), Luke Allen, Nathan Cullinan, Mark McKenna, Joel Busby, Matthew Wilson, Josh Fegan, Tommi Coulter, Neil Trotter, Michael Bothwell, Adam Boles, Corneel Mitchem, Jason Bothwell, Stuart Brown, Robbie Mills
Replacements
Luke Cuthbertson, Rodney Bennett, David Sharkey, Grzegorz Koszylowski, Reece Smyton
Ballyclare
\[1-15\] Adam Barron, Matthew Coulter, Jack Black, Luke McIlwrath, Grant Bartley, Aaron Playfair, Jack Milton, Jack Gamble, James Creighton, Alex Darrah, Josh Cowan, Matthew McDole, Joel McBride (C), Owen Kirk, Mark Jackson
Replacements
Ricky Lutton, James Wilson, Ryan Ilwaine, Scott Martin, Peter Gillespie