It wasn’t such a great weekend for the Ulster sides in AIL1B this weekend with only Ballymena recording a win. The win, in a local derby against Ballynahinch, moves the Eaton Park side to top of the league as the competition takes a break for the holiday period.
It was a tight fought match at Eaton Park with the home side winning 6 – 3. Playing with a strong win at their backs Ballymena took a 6 – 0 lead, through two John Semple penalties, into the break but it didin’t look as though it would be enough as they turned round to face the elements.
A strong defensive display restricted Ballynahinch’s scoring chances and a James Lash penalty was the only score in the second half giving Ballymena a 6 – 3 win. The win saw Ballymena leap for Hinch for the top spot in the league.
Belfast Harlequins will be dissapointed not to have come away from Bruff with a win with a fumble over the line in the act of scoring in the closing minutes. Quins lead 6 -5 at the break but came under intense pressure in the second half with Alistair Heatlie sin-binned.
Bruff dominated the second half and looked to be cruising towards a win when replacement scrum half Andrew Cashman found the line to give the home side a 10 – 6 lead. However Quins dug in and staged one last attack only for that crucial knock on to deny them the spoils! The losing bonus point keeps the Belfast side in 5th place.
Dungannon came unstuck in a frenetic and entertaining match at Dubarry Park. Tries from Chris Cochrane in the first half and A;li Birch in the second weren’t enough against a resurgent Buccaneers side who’s 33 -20 victory sees them overtake Dungannon and move into third place.
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ballymena | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 131 | 96 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 26 |
| 2 |  |
Ballynahinch | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 153 | 98 | 55 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| 3 | |
Buccaneers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 139 | 102 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 4 | |
Dungannon | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 159 | 140 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 19 |
| 5 |  |
Belfast Harlequins | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 132 | 125 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 6 | |
U.L. Bohemian | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 109 | 106 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| 7 | |
UCD | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 122 | 139 | -17 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 8 | |
Galwegians | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 158 | 180 | -22 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 9 | |
Bruff | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 93 | 132 | -39 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | |
U.C.C. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 94 | 172 | -78 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
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