2nd XV Continue Good start
11 October 2023First XV beat Midleton
7 November 2023Saturday 7th October 2023
Omagh Accies 1XV - 34
Ballina 1XV - 7
Omagh Accies 1st XV returned to the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields on Saturday as they entertained Ballina RFC 1st XV in the All Ireland League. A big day was forecast at the club with the unveiling of new 1st XV shirts, the opening of the refurbished members bar and the much anticipated Rugby World Cup quarter finals taking place. Roles were reversed from the previous week as the Accies put in their best performance of the season but Ireland exited the scene after a heartbreaking defeat to the All Blacks.
In changeable weather, Omagh played up the hill and received the kick off from the visitors. Starting brightly, they exited their territory well and put pressure on Ballina’s lineout early on. With some very good defensive sets, Omagh set their stall out early as they played with aggression and pace and they were rewarded when second row Jamie Sproule went over for the first try of the day. Soon after Ben Henry found himself in space on the right wing and finished brilliantly to send the Accies into an early 10-0 lead – both difficult conversions were missed.
Omagh were all over the visitors and seemed to know the next score would be crucial as they fluffed their lines a number of times when they had opportunities to pull away from Ballina. Thankfully the returning Taine Lagan at scrum half, who looked lively all day, spotted space at the edge of the ruck and used his power to dot down from close range for a converted try. The referee’s whistle blew for half time soon after and the Accies led by 17 points to nil at the break.
The half time team talk revolved around how positive Omagh’s performance had been so far but they seemed to become complacent after the break as the visitors got the first score of the second half through a converted try to leave the score at 17-7 with 45 minutes played.
This seemed to work as a wake up call for Omagh as from then on they were clinical and ran in a further 3 tries to see the game out as 34-7 winners. Some brilliant work in defence and at the lineout made the visitors live off scraps and when Omagh gained some quality possession they secured the try scoring bonus point after a lovely pass from Josh Kyle in the centre to captain Mitchell.
From this point there was only going to be one winner and further tries were scored by Mark Hopton Brown and debutant Conor Spencer. MHB’s score came from a dominant lineout maul and debutant Spencer controlled a loose ball expertly to dot down and close out a successful day for the Accies.
A dominant defensive display coupled with a strong scrum and lineout from Omagh led the way to a satisfying five point win. The Accies showed they can also play with ball in hand in a much improved performance from the previous week’s loss to Enniscorthy. Coach Glenn Kyle and his backroom team will be hoping for more of the same this week when they travel to Tullamore in search of more valuable league points.
Afterwards everyone at Coneywarren was amazed by the worksmanship and finish in the newly refurbished Members Bar and credit must be given to all who were involved. A special shout out must go to Club Chairman Allan Duncan for his running of the project and Wayne Kerr and his team at Kerr Home Improvements for the fantastic job they have done. Unfortunately Ireland could not mark the occasion by getting over their RWC quarter final hoodoo but everyone left the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields knowing the future looks bright at OARFC.
OARFC 1XV (1-20)
- Braden, P. Ewing, S. Creane, Ja. Sproule, R. Sproule, J. Duff, S. Wilson, N. Magee, T. Lagan, C. W-Spencer, R. Mitchell (c) J. Kyle, Sc. Ballantine, B. Henry, S. Elliott, M. H-Brown, G. Sherrard, M. Edgar, M. Eccles & J. Wood.
Other Results:
INSTONIANS 2XV - 64
OARFC 2XV - 0
OARFC 4XV - 66
PORTADOWN 3XV - 13
BALLYMENA U18 - 34
OMAGH U18 - 0