Instonians secured victory over Ballymena in a high-scoring encounter, running out 48-24 winners at home.
The match began with Instonians making an early statement. A set-piece move from a lineout deep in their own half saw their No. 13 break through Ballymena’s defence, driving into the 22. This initial attacking was stopped, however a penalty and lineout maul, resulted in the home side scoring the game’s first try, putting them ahead 5-0.
In the 8th minute, Instonians’ Ian Whitten was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, giving Ballymena an early opportunity. However, a turnover allowed Rob Whitten of Instonians to intercept a loose ball, and despite Ballymena’s Vercoe-Rogers making a superb cover tackle, support from Instonians’ No. 13 ensured an easy run-in for their second try. Instonians extended their lead to 12-0.
Ballymena responded well with a well-executed maul try of their own. Clarke found his man in the lineout, and Mark Lamont joined at the back of the maul to score. Callum Patterson’s successful conversion narrowed the score to 12-7. Shortly after, a penalty against Instonians for not releasing in the tackle allowed Patterson to convert another three points, closing the gap to 12-10.
Instonians continued to pose threats with their slick handling, scoring a classy try following a sweeping move from their own half, which finished in the corner, restoring their lead to 17-10. Ballymena showed their resilience when Adam Lamont broke from a lineout, was tackled, but got up again to score. Patterson’s conversion levelled the match at 17-17 with 30 minutes gone.
Before half-time, a kick through from Instonians bounced awkwardly for the Ballymena defence, leading to another try for the home side. Sean McKay charged down the conversion attempt, keeping the deficit at 22-17 as the teams headed into the break.
Jacob Oliver came on for Ballymena at half-time, making his AIL debut. However, the second half began with trouble for Ballymena, as Connor Smyth was controversially yellow-carded for a high tackle five minutes in. Despite some determined defending, Ballymena struggled to hold off Instonians, who capitalised on a one-two between the Whitten brothers, with Rob finishing under the posts, extending the lead to 29-17.
Ballymena fought back with another maul try, reducing the deficit to 36-24, but Instonians effectively closed out the game with another maul try and a late score from their impressive No. 13, sealing a 48-24 victory.
It was an encouraging performance from Ballymena with some outstanding individual performances across the side. In the back 3, McLean, Neilly and McKay, all new to senior rugby having just left school, were particularly impressive, especially given their inexperience at this level.
Final Score: Instonians 48 – 24 Ballymena
1. Mcwhirter
2. M Lamont
3. Mawhinney
4. J Browne
5. Milford
6. P Browne
7. Clarke
8. A Lamont
9. O Smith
10. Millar
11. McLean
12. Vercoe-Rogers
13. Patterson
14. Neely
15. McKay
16. Forsythe
17. Oliver
18. C. Smyth
19. Weerarathne
20. O’Rawe
