Win lifts Buccs above relegation zone

Buccaneers made it two vital wins in succession with a nail-biting 22-17 AIB League Division 1B victory over Ballynahinch at Ballymacarn Park in the foothills of the snow-capped Mourne mountains on Saturday. A more than good start proved half the battle for the midlanders in a rip-roaring contest played in decent conditions on a nippy but gloriously sunny Co. Down afternoon. Buccaneers made two changes, one enforced, from their recent home win over Dungannon. Captain Colm Rigney was ruled out with a hamstring injury and he was replaced at lock by Padraig Burke who was returning after a longish injury lay-off. In the backline, Billy Henshaw was preferred to Sean Stapleton on the left wing in a youthful Buccs squad. Kolo Kiripati operated at No. 8 with Stephen Burke switching to flanker. With so much at stake for both clubs, the teams went at each other hammer and tongs from the kick off. It was often frantic and mistakes were a regular feature After an early scare, Alex Hayman and Conor Lavelle combined down the left flank after six minutes but the northerners defence scampered back in time to curtail the danger. Buccs had an even better chance on eight minutes but Adam Kennedy's straight-forward penalty rebounded off an upright and David McGregor tidied up for the homesters. However, Buccaneers were soon to grab a lead they would never relinquish. Following a Hinch lineout on halfway, Garreth Halligan blocked McAleese's attempted kick and the hooker reacted quickest to seize possession. He hared down the left flank and comfortably withstood Cullen's tackle before grounding the ball between the uprights for a superb try, giving Kennedy a handy conversion to restore his confidence. Next it was Ballynahinch's time to go close, Stuart Morrow's counter attack brought to a halt by a shuddering Padraig Burke tackle on 20 minutes while two minutes later the home centre intercepted a telegraphed Kiripati lay-off intended for Touhy but this time the Athlone side turned over possession to alleviate the danger. The big Samoan, however, was hugely influential throughout and he soon made amends when making good yardage before off-loading to Kennedy and the scrumhalf sent Touhy careering down the right touchline where he stretched to ground the ball at the corner flag for a wonderfully-taken 26th minute try. Kennedy was unable to add the difficult conversion but Buccaneers now had a hugely promising 12-0 advantage. With resonances of Twickenham the previous weekend, Ballynahinch had the greater share of possession without making the most of it while Buccaneers defensive work was committed and sustained for the greater part while the Pirates looked the more likely to score with ball in hand. They also regularly turned over possession and this was to prove instrumental in the lead-up to Buccs timely third try just before halftime. Hayman put in a terrific punt towards the left corner and the chasing Lavelle gave Cullen little option but to kick to touch. James Tormey claimed a splendid lineout catch and the ball was moved smartly left to right to Hayman who exquisitely dummied as if to continue the move and, with the home defence suddenly wrong-footed, the centre marked his captaincy on the day with a deft change of angle to dive in for a try near the posts. Kennedy duly added the conversion and Buccs really had their tails up, 19-0 to the good after a smashing first-half display. Hayman put in another splendid kick to touch soon after the restart to signal Buccs intent and, shortly afterwards, had Henshaw been more direct he may have grabbed a bonus try wide on the right. But Ballynahinch had upped their tempo following the change of ends and had simply to go for broke and they were rewarded after some patient play on 49 minutes when Kirkwood got in for a try wide on the right. Seven minutes later they were very much back in the game. Stuart Lamb got by a rare missed tackle in midfield and he thundered towards the visitors' 22 where J.H.Potgeiter put in a crunching tackle to stop the home captain but Michael Graham was on his shoulder to pick up possession and get in for Hinch's second try. However, Bambry and McAleese respectively missed the conversion attempts and Buccs still had some leeway on the scoreboard, stretched to 22-10 just before the hour mark when impressive fullback Potgeiter drilled over a tricky 28 metre penalty. Buccaneers forays were now less frequent as the midlanders tired noticeably in the final quarter. Ballynahinch were now spending more time than was comfortable in the visitors' half, yet the tackles continued to be put in as Buccs struggled to stem the fightback. But stem it they did until the 79th minute when Aaron Ferris got by three tacklers to somehow conjure up a try on the left which McAleese did particularly well to convert. Now Hinch threw everything at Buccs in a protracted six minutes of added time but, although the Pirates were clearly wilting at this stage and Paul Harte was sin-binned, they never shirked from their endeavours and responsibilities as they held on for a crucial win in an exciting finish while their hosts had to settle for a losing bonus point that keeps matters exceedingly tight at the bottom of the league table. Nevertheless, this victory has leap-frogged Buccaneers over both Ballynahinch and Dungannon in the standings, and the midlanders have given themselves a more than fighting chance of avoiding the sceptre of relegation. Their destiny is now not dependant on other results whilst confidence, self-belief and pride is again flowing through their veins. This was a very honest collective effort with a superb effort by the pack in which Kiripati was outstanding. Colin Watters, despite suffering from a virus, was also magnificent while young Padraig Burke made light of his recent lack of matchtime as he more than ably returned to action. Hayman revelled in his role at standoff, Touhy put in an adroit and assured shift in the centre, and Potgeiter was tremendous at fullback, confidently clearing his lines and also showing the steelier side to his game with a number of wonderful tackles. Buccaneers :- J.H.Potgeiter; B.Henshaw, P.Harte, B.Touhy, C.Lavelle; A.Hayman (captain), A.Kennedy; M.Staunton, G.Halligan, C.Higgins; P.Burke, J.Tormey; S.Burke, C.Watters and K.Kiripati. Replacements used:- B.Gilligan (for Staunton, 74 mins) and G.Kelly (for S.Burke, 75 mins). Ballynahinch :- J.Cullen; M.Kirkwood, D.Nicholson, S.Morrow, A.Ferris; R.Bambry, H.McAleese; C.Stevenson, D.McGregor, L.Johnston; R.Greer, J.Graham; M.Graham, J.McCall and S.Lamb (captain). Replacements used:- J.Napier (for M.Graham), D.Harris (for Nicholson) and G.Taylor (for ? ) Referee:- John Carvill. (Leinster).