Brian DuToit in possession against Ballynahinch, flanked by Warren Larkin and Paddy Lavelle
Rory McCarthy | Deputy Sports Editor
DUFC 22
Ballynahinch 26
Sport is irrelevant. In our lives sport will grip us. It will cause us joy and sorrow. It might start friendships and it might end some. But in the end sport is trivial. Ballynahinch RFC know this better than anyone. The tragic passing of Nevin Spence along with his brother and father, all proud players for the club cast a cold light on what is really important. The memory of Spence is surely to the
forefront of both Ballynahinch and Ulster as they ride on the crest of a wave at the moment. Ulster are chasing the very real possibility of a second European Cup, while Ballynahinch are favourites to grab promotion to UBL Division 1A. The eloquent words of Johann Muller have forever etched Spence’s name in the annals of history when he remarked ‘that as long as this great club exists the name of Nevin Spence will never be forgotten’. With that in mind it can be hard to really assess the significance of this result for both clubs, as
when all is said and done, sport remains a trivial issue. Ballynahinch have had a remarkable season remaining unbeaten and their draw against Malone in their last encounter is the closest someone has come to stopping this awesome juggernaut.
The game was moved at short notice to nearby Wallace High School, away from the oppressive and intimidating Ballymacarn Park. Ballynahinch’s home ground sits on top of a hill and as such attracts weather of a fairly biblical proportion. It didn’t stop the heavens from opening with rain and gale-force winds playing against both sides. Ballynahinch have a big pack, and play a simple if somewhat rudimentary style of rugby. Their back three is pacy and have no problems counter-attacking, but the rest of the game is built on pretty simple elements. Their outhalf Tim Small knows every sinew of the pitch and his kicking game was ideally suited to the conditions that his side plays in week after week.
Trinity struggled to apply their muscle to proceedings from the off as they played
against the wind in appalling conditions. They fronted up admirably with the usual suspects such as Pierce Dargan and Collin McDonnell getting through spades of work albeit in fruitless circumstance as despite their efforts they couldn’t break down the resilience of Ballynahinch. Brian Du Toit picked up where he left off in 2012 with a few lung-busting breaks but they never really panicked ‘Hinch who used their muscle and the wind to test Trinity’s aptitude for resilience. Trinity’s lineout held together very well in the poor conditions.
Rugby is stereotypically touted as a game for all shapes and all sizes. The lineout is the one area where this adage does not conform. Height is imperative and Trinity are fortunate to have in Dargan, an athletic and rangy jumper, who secures clean ball at the back, and is a solid defensive jumper who can disrupt opposition targets. Dargan clocks in at 6’2. That leaves him a tad short for the second-row in the UBL but he nonetheless contributes positively to his side’s set piece from the flank. Despite problems with the size of the opposition Trinity were dominating the breakdown early on in Wallace High School. David Joyce in for the injured Cathal Marsh was unerringly accurate with his right foot slotting over four penalties to ‘Hinch’s two to make it 12-6 at the break. Trinity’s ferocity and speed at the breakdown were highly encouraging given the tough conditions and the muscular front five that marked them.
The second half immediately removed any suspicions the students might have had about ‘Hinch falling away when Chris Quinn scored an excellent try to make 13-12 immediately reversing much of the hard graft done by Trinity in the first half. Following a swift counter-attack from the mercurial David Fanagan, Joyce added another penalty to make it 20-15. William Scott coming in for his second cap in the UBL brought skill and finesse to proceedings when he came off the bench. The game was by now much more open and loose affair and Trinity decided to test Hinch’s mettle with their danger man. Niyi Adelokun has been in prolific form this year netting five tries and he truly delivered for the students with a superb individual effort that started in his own half. Joyce was spot on with the conversion to bring it to 22-20. Trinity might have expected a shift in momentum with their set piece dominating and their work at the breakdown still as vicious and competitive as ever. However two penalties brought ‘Hinch back in front 26-22 and try as they might Trinity couldn’t get their noses in front. The final whistle shrilled to soberly consign Trinity to another defeat.
Trinity with this result have lost three competitive games on the trot. It is not by any means the time to start writing off this team or bring purges to the starting XV. They still remain in second place and the small matter of UCD and the Colours in less than three weeks is enough to re-energize and refocus the team. Trinity can look at the last three games and say they were unfortunate in Buccaneers, abysmal against Belfast Harlequins and simply the victim of a team driven by something greater than the quest of success. They aren’t the first team to be put to the sword by Ballynahinch and then will not be the last. Trinity are certainly not relegation candidates and while promotion is perhaps becoming a tougher hurdle, they will still set their sights on obtaining it. Promotion is a very real goal for Ballynahinch and the manner in which they dismissed Trinity will provide them with more reassurance that the difficulties they face while great are not insurmountable. If the great club of Ballynahinch have weathered the heartbreak of Nevin’s passing then the challenges of whatever their aims this season are can always be reflected against the sombre light of that tragedy to remind them all that sport is irrelevant.
