Club Rugby Preview - 08 Dec 2018

Preview of this weekend's club rugby action in the All Ireland League and Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship... ALL IRELAND LEAGUE ROUND 8 DIV 1A Garryowen (5) v Shannon (6). Friday 7.12.18. KO 8PM Clontarf (2) v Dublin Uni (4) Cork Constitution (1) v Young Munster (8) Lansdowne (3) v UCC (9) UCD (7) v Terenure College (10) DIV 1B Ballymena (10) v Ballynahinch (4) City of Armagh (6) v Naas (2) Malone (1) v Old Wesley (7) Old Belvedere (9) v Buccaneers (8) St Mary’s College (5) v Banbridge (3) Ballymena v Ballynahinch This is the second meeting of the two teams at Eaton Park this season, with Ballymena having lost their Premiership game 20 – 17 on the 8.9.18. The teams will meet twice in January. First up will be their First Trust Senior Cup semi final at Eaton Park on Saturday 5th January followed by their return AIL game at Ballymacarn Park on the 26th January. Both teams need the league points this weekend for different reasons - Ballymena to move away from 10th place in the league and Ballynahinch to build on their back to back wins to maintain their promotion challenge. For Ballymena it is a case of improving their performances against fellow Ulster teams after losing to Malone, City of Armagh and Banbridge. Ballynahinch drew their game at home to City of Armagh and won their match at home to Banbridge two weeks ago. Can Ballymena make it three wins at home after defeating St Mary’s College and Old Belvedere? One of their stand out performers has been second row Connor Smyth who has scored four tries in his last four games including a brace against Old Belvedere. The presence of Ulster props Kyle McCall and Tommy O’Hagan has strengthened the Ballynahinch front row with Ulster full back Peter Nelson contributing 17 points at Old Wesley. Two weeks in a row former Ulster and Jersey winger Ross Adair has made a significant impact off the bench for the clubs second xv and the 1st xv by scoring crucial tries in his comeback from a long term injury. Ballymena Head coach Andy Graham was delighted with the manner of the team’s performance in defeating Old Belvedere last weekend. The team were more clinical and put in a big physical performance against their Dublin opponents with the backs putting in one of their best performances of the season. With Alan Smyth picking up an injury last Thursday night Darrell Montgomery came in to partner Matthew Norris in the centre with Johnny McMullan replacing Montgomery on the wing and James Wheeler coming on to the bench. Jordan Foster presented a threat on the wing with Matthew Norris impressing in the centre against Old Belvedere. The coaches recognise their is much work to be done with the playing squad but they are seeing a big improvement week to week with 40 + players at training on Tuesday night enabling the coaches to put out two sides against each other. As Andy Graham put it the destiny of the 1st xv this season is all in their own hands. The team continue to develop with a huge improvement being made since pre season. The goal for the coaches and players is to build strength in depth and maintain their performances each week. Both Connor Smyth and David Whann raised their performance playing alongside John Andrew, Matthew Rea, Marcus Rea and Clive Ross in the forwards with Josh Bill making an impact in the front row last Saturday. Injury doubts remain over Connor Smyth, JJ McKee and Matthew Norris for this week with these players undergoing late fitness tests on Thursday night. Work commitments will determine whether Jordan Foster is released. Glenn Baillie remains unavailable due to a Hamstring injury. Ulster releases will include Clive Ross, Marcus Rea and Azur Allison with the release of John Andrew, Bruce Houston and Robert Balacoune to be confirmed. Ballymena team will be from 1. Josh Bill /Nacho Clandero Crespo, 2. John Andrews/ Jonny Spence, 3. Chris Cundell, 4. David Whann, 5. Connor Smyth/JJ McKee. 6. Clive Ross, 7. Marcus Rea (Capt), 8. Stephen Mulholland/ Azur Allison, 9. Michael Stronge, 10. Timothy Small/Bruce Houson, 11. Johnny McMullan, 12/13. Alan Smyth/Matthew Norris/ Darrell Montgomery and Bruce Houston, 14. Jordan Foster/Robert Balacoune, 15. Rodger McBurney. Bench replacements to be finalised on Thursday night after 1st xv confirmed. Both James Wheeler and Eoin Ritson were on the bench last Saturday. Andy Graham and his players are under no illusions about the task they face against a very good Ballynahinch team this week. They are one of the form teams in Ulster as their league positions demonstrates. He will be looking his players to fight, chase and play at the top of their game to get a win on Saturday. Because of their league position there is an edge to their game knowing that they have their backs to the wall in the league. He believes this situation gets the best out of his players as they demonstrated in the second half of last season. This week is all about the players focusing on the Ballynahinch game. Ballymena are a club in transition and are building for the future. They know where they want to be in 2/3 years time. Ballynahinch: Ulster releases – Peter Nelson, Tommy O’Hagan, Zack McCall and Iwan Hughes. Ballymena have won 2 and lost 5 in the league Ballynahinch have won 4, Drawn 1 and lost 2 in the league City of Armagh v Naas The County Kildare side slipped to a surprising 23 – 8 loss at home to St Mary’s College last week after losing their previous game at Malone. Their form against the Ulster teams had brought them wins at home over Ballymena and Ballynahinch and a win at Banbridge. On the road again this week they will be looking to avoid a third defeat in a row against an Armagh side looking to bounce back from their 24 – 17 defeat at Buccaneers. Hooker Andrew Smyth has scored four tries in his last six appearances for City of Armagh this season. Saturday was a set back for Armagh at Buccaneers with the players showing real character to come back and leave Dubarry Park with a vital losing bonus point. From Chris Parker the squad have a few bumps and bruises with a few players facing late fitness tests including centre Jonny Pollock on Thursday night. One piece of good news for the coaches is that number 8 Neil Faloon came through 50 minutes of rugby with the second xv on Sat and will come into contention for this weekend. The coaches are aware of the workload the team have over the next 10 weeks with games in the All Ireland League, Ulster Premiership, First Trust Senior Cup and the All Ireland Bateman Cup. Busy programme for the players. The key in training has been keeping the players fresh with the focus on short and sharp sessions. Rather than contact it has been about upskilling the players during this busy period with the players having their conditioning programme they work to each week. When the team had a two week break it was an opportunity for the coaches to do a lot of fitness work with them. For the coaches the key in analysing their opponents is getting across two/three messages that will help the players. It is also crucial to get the mental side right with small things motivating the players. The problem in the defeat at St Mary’s College the mindset of the players was not right taking the pitch. Both the coaches and the players are looking forward to the Naas game with both teams suffering defeats at the weekend as they look to win this Round 8 match. The coaches are looking a similar performance from the players that saw them defeat Old Belvedere at the Palace Grounds. It will be a big ask at home in front of their supporters. The key for the team is to focus on themselves this week in training in preparation for the Naas match. City of Armagh have won 3, Drawn 1 and lost 3 in league Malone v Old Wesley Old Wesley have a good record against Ulster teams defeating City of Armagh, Banbridge and Ballymena until they met Ballynahinch last Saturday at Donnybrook. Despite leading 13 – 12 at halftime Ballynahinch came back to win 27 – 16. Malone came unstuck at Rifle Park against a Banbridge side who maintained their nine match unbeaten run against the East Belfast side that goes back to September 2015. Malone Head coach Paddy Armstrong was disappointed his team did not pick up a losing bonus point in their 21 – 11 defeat at Banbridge. Banbridge took their chances better and that was the difference between the two teams. He is still waiting to hear confirmation on their Ulster releases this week for the Old Wesley match. Ben McCaughey fresh from his exploits with the Ulster under 19 side against Australian Schools will come back into the team. Old Wesley have shown in their results they are a formidable side with his players expecting another tough challenge in our last home game before the Xmas break. Ulster releases: Adam McBurney, Graham Curtis and Stewart Moore with Ross Kane to be confirmed. Malone have won 5 and lost 2 in league St Mary’s College v Banbridge The Banbridge side bounced back from their loss at Ballynahinch to defeat league leaders Malone 21 – 11. The Dublin side remain undefeated at home in three games including wins over Ballynahinch and City of Armagh. They recorded their first away win at Naas to move up to 5th place on the back off back to back wins. Difficult trip for Banbridge this weekend. The ever reliable number 8 Stephen Irvine has scored 3 tries in his last four matches with centre Andrew Morrison scoring tries in his last two games. Banbridge Ulster releases: Caleb Montgomery and Greg Jones, with Rob Lyttle, Alex Thomspon, Jonny Stewart and James Hume to be confirmed on Thursday night. Banbridge have won 4 and lost 3 in league DIV 2A Blackrock College (9) v Old Crescent (6) Navan RFC (3) v Galwegians (10) Nenagh Ormond (8) v Highfield (1) Queens University (4) v Cashel RFC (2) UL Bohemians (5) v Dolphin (7) Queens University v Cashel Difficult fixture for students coaches Serek Suffern and DJ Creighton. Cashel RFC have only lost one game so far this season. That was a 17 – 10 home defeat to league leaders Highfield on the 13 .10 .18. Queens went down to their fourth defeat of the season losing narrowly at Navan 24 – 17. Three away defeats have seriously damaged their promotion ambitions. Nothing less than a win over Cashel RFC is required to keep them in 4th place and the playoff position. Ulster releases: Angus Kernohan. Queens University have won 4 and lost 3 in league DIV 2B Belfast Harlequins (8) v Skerries (10) Dungannon (9) v Greystones (1) Galway Corinthians (5) v Sligo (7) MU Barnhall (2) v Wanderers (3) Sunday’s Well (6) v Rainey OB (4) Belfast Harlequins v Skerries Two teams separated by three points with Skerries still searching for their first league win. Both Quins wins have come on the road with Head coach Nicky Wells and his players looking for that elusive first win at Deramore Park. The team showed the potential within the playing squad before going down narrowly to Rainey last Saturday. Stand out performers were back row forwards Ben Alexander and Jaz Andress. The team will need a big performance from these two players if they are to win this crucial match on Saturday. Prop Tom Fraser also made a big impact off the bench to steady the scrum during the game. Belfast Harlequins have won 2 and lost 5 in the league. Dungannon v Greystones Unbeaten league leaders Greystones will be clear favourites to extend their run when they travel to Stevenson Park this week. Can Head coach Andy Hughes lift his Dungannon players to end their four match losing run. The coach is confident he has the players to turn around their season. He is looking the players to replicate the 50/60 mins performance that had them leading against MU Barnhall at Stevenson Park only for the team’s errors and mistakes to allow Barnhall back into the game to win 22 – 15. What frustrated Andy Hughes at Wanderers last Saturday was the team again created more openings than their opponents. In the first half five scoring opportunities were missed with players having the ball stripped from them on two occasions when they were over the try line. He can’t fault the work rate of the players - it is their inability to be more clinical with the ball that is letting them down. The focus in training is cutting out the silly errors and individual mistakes that the players have to eradicate in their play. Despite only trailing 13 – 3 at halftime against Wanderers early mistakes had the team chasing the game. The worst thing the team can do is to start panicking. They need to take a step back and fix the errors that are hurting them on a Saturday. For 80% of the game at Wanderers the team did a lot of good things. One of the players’ problems was adapting to the referee who allowed their opponents to hold on to the ball on the ground. This resulted in the players becoming frustrated with the referee yellow carding Dungannon number 8 Jonah Mau’u. These are experiences the players will have to learn from as they didn’t adapt to the referees interpretation of the breakdown. The coach just felt his players were out thought by the opposition who exploited the referees interpretation of the break down. Andy Hughes believes in his players and is convinced this group of players can win against Greystone. He welcomes back Captain Stephen Todd who missed the game at Wanderers. Full back Andrew McGregor remains a doubt with an ankle injury. Others who returned to training this week include Ross Stewart, Peter Doran and Andrew McPhillips. Former captain James McMahon and hooker Malcolm Allister are targeting Xmas for their return. Selection will be finalised on Thursday night. Dungannon have won 2 and lost 5 in the league Sunday’s Well v Rainey OB Sunday’s Well have lost their last three AIL matches including a heavy 53 – 17 defeat at leaders Greystones last Saturday. This included defeats against top four teams MU Barnhall and Wanderers and a defeat away to 5th place Galway Corinthians. Rainey Head coach John Andrew’s will be looking his team to extend their undefeated run to five matches when they travel to Cork this weekend. Rainey OB have won 4 and lost 3 in the league DIV 2C Ballina (1) v Bangor (5) Malahide (6) v Bruff (2) Midleton (3) v City of Derry (7) Omagh (4) v Seapoint (9) Thomond (10) v Tullamore (8) Ballina v Bangor If Bangor have any ambition to be in the promotion mix they will have to inflict a first home defeat on league leaders Ballina this weekend. Having lost their previous two AIL matches they showed the character within the squad to win at Seapoint on Saturday. Omagh lost 23 – 19 at Hefferan Park on the opening day of the season with newly promoted Ballina surprising many with their performances to date in the All Ireland league. Bangor have won 4 and lost 3 in the league Middleton v City of Derry Director of Rugby Paul O’Kane knows any points picked up on the road will be vital as his team battle to keep their place in the All Ireland League. They have lost all three games on the road. The key for his team is winning their home matches. The win over Thomond at the weekend was crucial. City of Derry have won 3 and lost 4 in the league Omagh v Seapoint Discipline is an issue Omagh Head coach Philip Marshall will have to address after his team felt the wrath of referee Barry Maloney at Bruff on Saturday. One red card and four yellows denied his team another win on the road. Seapoint will come looking the points after their home defeat to Bangor. Another must win game for Omagh if they are to maintain their promotion ambitions. Omagh have won 4 and lost 3 in the league KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 1 Ballyclare (1) v Coleraine (10) Carrickfergus (8) v Instonians (2) Cooke (5) v CIYMS (9) Grosvenor (4) v Dromore (3) Ballyclare v Coleraine Ballyclare have won 6 and lost 1 in league Coleraine won 1 and lost 6 in league Carrickfergus v Instonians Carrickfergus have won 1, Drawn 2 and lost 4 in the league Instonians have won 6 and lost 1 Cooke v CIYMS Cooke have won 4 and lost 2 in league CIYMS no wins, Drawn 1, and lost 7 Grosvenor v Dromore Grosvenor have won 5 and lost 2 in league Dromore have won 7 and lost none. KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONF DIV 1 Enniskillen (11) v Ballynahinch seconds (5) Portadown (9) v City of Armagh seconds (2) KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 2 Clogher Valley (2) v Ballymoney (5) Larne (8) v Academy (4) Limavady (3) v Lisburn (9) UUC (10) v Lurgan (7) Clogher Valley v Ballymoney Clogher Valley have won 6 and lost 2 in league Ballymoney have won 3 and lost 3 Larne v Academy Larne have won 2 and lost 4 in league Academy have won 6 and lost 1 in league Limavady v Lisburn Limavady have won 6 and lost 1 in league Lisburn no wins and lost 6 in league UUC v Lurgan UUC no wins and lost 7 in league Lurgan won 2 and lost 6 in league KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONF DIV 2 Ballymena seconds (4) v Randalstown (2) Bandridge seconds (8) v Ards (9) Omagh seconds (11) v Malone seconds (7) KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 3 Civil Service (7) v Monaghan (2) Donaghadee (1) v BHSFP (8) Holywood (3) v PSNI (4) Letterkenny (10) v Strabane (5) Newry (9) v Cavan RFC (11) Ophir (12) v Virginia (6) Preview compiled by George Millar.