Ballymena under-15s secure first win of season

With a young, inexperienced team it has been a tough season but recent results have shown that huge improvements were being made. The improvements came to a head on Saturday with a well deserved 15-7 victory over the Donegal boys.

From the outset Ballymena took the game to Letterkenny and a five metre scrum led to Ballymena establishing a driving maul which culminated with Dylan McCallion scoring a try in only his second rugby match.

The boys continued to take the game to Letterkenny with outhalf Crooks providing the platform with cleverly weighted kicks and an excellent passing game.

The second half saw the forwards produce more ball with Getty and Hyndeman leading the way. Some excellent rucking saw the ball overturned and a slick backline move saw man of the match Appleton cross for a well deserved try.

The boys sat back a bit at this stage and for the first time allowed Letterkenny back into the match. With their first real possession Letterkenny made the most of several penalty decisions to cross for a try under the posts closing the deficit to three points.

However the Ballymena boys were not in the mood to surrender their lead and with McNeill and McCooke causing problems for the Letterkenny defence, it was only a matter of time before another opening came.

This time out-half Crooks was put clear by a pass from his brother. He sprinted clear and after faking two passes outwitted the three covering defenders to score the winning try in the corner. Overall this was an excellent performance for the boys, four of whom were playing in only their second ever rugby match.

In the other fixture of the day the Under 17s were unlucky to go down 10-0 in a close fought match with Letterkenny.

Having only travelled with 14 players the Under 17s were always going to be up against it, however they showed a lot of fight and determination to take the game to their opponents.

With stand in outhalf Gaston in excellent form Ballymena kept the opposition at bay and created a number of chances. Scrum half Nelson provided excellent ball for the backs and new inside centre Davison was always a danger. However two tries for Letterkenny early in the second half sealed the game.