With the old Ulster Senior League now rebranded as the SONI Premiership, and the league structure now comprising 2 divisions, Bangor find themselves pitted against established Ulster senior teams, some of which are playing 2 divisions higher in the All Ireland Leagues. It was therefore going to be a stern test when they hosted Malone at Upritchard Park in their opening game of the season.

Although missing some new signings as they were involved in Ulster U19 duties, Bangor introduced a few new faces to supplement last season’s players. Conor Pyper (hooker), Ali Lockhart (scrum half) and Phil Broderick (wing) made the starting XV, with Conor McIllmurray, David Moody and Lewis Loane on the bench. New captain Phil Whyte led out the team, knowing they had a hard game ahead of them.

In perfect playing conditions, Malone kicked off and immediately had the home side pinned down in their own twenty two. Despite good work in the lineouts, Bangor were unable to get any meaningful possession and, after 6 minutes of sustained pressure, Malone opening the scoring with an unconverted try on the left hand side.

Just 5 minutes later, Bangor’s loss of possession while moving forward led to a clinical counter attack by Malone which led to their second try. This was followed shortly afterwards with another good try by Malone which brought the score to 0-17 after 20 minutes.

However, by now Bangor had shown glimpses of the type of play that had served them so well in previous seasons, with good breaks by Jason Morgan, Ross McCloskey and Craig Burton. However, Malone’s defence was strong and, having turned over possession at a ruck, went on the attack once more. Another try looked inevitable, but a good interception appeared to have stopped this. However, a hasty pass missed its intended Bangor recipient and instead was gratefully accepted by Malone who had a clear run to score under the posts, making the score now 0-24.

Undeterred, Bangor fought back and just 4 minutes later came close to scoring when a good backline move found Mark Widdowson on the left wing. As he was closed down by the Malone defence, he made a dive for the line, but lost control of the ball in the process, and the chance was gone. To make matters worse, Malone capitalised on a turnover in the next minute and, having chipped through the Bangor defence, ran through for another converted try.

Despite Malone’s now commanding 0-31 lead, this last try was somewhat against the run of play, with Bangor exerting lengthy periods of pressure inside Malone’s territory. After Widdowson’s close call, another promising attack looked as if it would break the Bangor duck, only to be denied by a deliberate knock-on by Malone. Several subsequent attacks within 5 metres of the Malone line were unsuccessful as the visitors left no gap in their defence, but as the first half drew to a close, Bangor looked in much better shape, with hopes of better things to come.

As the second half got underway, Bangor’s hopes suffered a sudden and unnecessary setback when, after just 2 minutes, a speculative Malone kick towards the Bangor line looked as if it would be easily collected by full-back McCloskey, but instead continued into the goal area where it was pounced on by the Malone attacker.

To Bangor’s credit, their heads didn’t drop, despite falling further behind. Almost immediately, McCloskey redeemed himself with another good run out of defence, setting up a good attacking move through the Bangor pack before releasing Morgan who cut through to open Bangor’s score with a try in the right hand corner. Bangor continued to compete well, but were caught out again by another well-worked move by Malone which earned them another converted try.

Undeterred, Bangor kept driving forward and were rewarded when, after a typical burst by Jamie Clegg, the ball came to Morgan in the centre. A long pass towards the left wing found David Bradford who deftly chipped over the approaching defence then followed up his kick to gather and score. The solid work put in by Bangor’s pack was further rewarded 5 minutes later when a period of sustained pressure on the Malone line gave the home side a 5 metre scrum. Bangor’s set piece had looked secure and strong throughout the game, and finally made this count when Curtis Stewart picked up from the back of the scrum to drive over for the try, which Morgan converted.

However, by way of a reminder as to who was the day’s better side, Malone gathered the ball from their own restart, then ran several cutting angles through the Bangor defence to score once again.

The final word, though, came from Bangor who needed one more try to salvage a 4-try bonus point. With the forwards having played their part in the previous two scores, it was now the backs who were throwing the ball from right to left, then back again, before finding Phil Broderick on the wing, who produced great speed and footwork to squeeze over in the corner for the all-important try. Following Morgan’s missed touchline conversion, the referee blew for full time, with Malone the worthy winners by 22-50, and both sides picking up a try-scoring bonus point.

This was a tough game to start the season with, and there will certainly be more to come. However, the fitness and determination of the players was unquestionable and will serve them well as they embark on their All Ireland League campaign next Saturday when they host Rainey Old Boys at Upritchard Park.

Bangor team: P Whyte (c), C Pyper, J Leary, C Burton, C Stewart, M Weir, M Aspley, D Bradford, A Lockhart, G Millar, M Widdowson, J Morgan, D Fusco, P Broderick, R McCloskey

Subs: C McIllmurray, O McIllmurray, D Moody, J Clegg, L Loane

Scorers: J Morgan (1T, 1C), D Bradford (1T), C Stewart (1T), P Broderick (1T)