Having not faced each other in competition for many years, the stage was set at Hamilton Park for this eagerly anticipated meeting between Ards and Bangor. Thankfully, the conditions were excellent and the hope was that, as Ards kicked off with the breeze behind them, there would be plenty of good running rugby on show for the large crowd of spectators.

From the outset, Ards used the wind to kick for position, forcing Bangor to run it back. However, several handling errors by both sides resulted in a scrappy start to the game. It was also noticeable that the pace at which the home side had started contributed to the various mistakes made by Bangor. With 14 minutes gone, an Ards scrum just inside their own half was cleanly won and a good wrap-around move by their back line led to the first score of the game with a well-taken try to the left of Bangor’s posts. With the added conversion, the home side were ahead by 7-0.

Bangor remained unsettled, with more poor passing and kicks being taken advantage of by Ards who continued to play the game at pace. Some wild tackling by Bangor as they tried to stifle another Ards attack led to a penalty in front of their posts which was easily kicked, extending the Ards lead to 10-0 with a quarter of the game played.

From this point, as if shaken to their senses, Bangor managed to correct their earlier mistakes and started to build some better attacking platforms. From a typically direct attack started by Adam McCusker from his full back position, play was taken on by Jason Morgan before passing to Rob Gamble who managed to squeeze over in the right hand corner for Bangor’s opening try. The difficult conversion was missed, making the score 10-5.

As the first half drew to a close, steady but sustained Bangor pressure resulted in a yellow card for one of the Ards flankers after repeated offences at the breakdown. With the home side anxiously trying to hold on to their lead until half time, it was now them who were becoming unsettled, allowing Bangor to move steadily towards their line. Patience in the build-up finally paid off for Bangor as a simple but well-executed back line move set Davy Charles free on the right hand wing, giving him a relatively easy run in to touch down in the corner. Again, the conversion was missed, but as the referee blew for the end of the half, the score was now tied at 10-10.

As Bangor got the second half underway, the contrast with the start of the first half was obvious. Now it was Bangor who enjoyed most of the meaningful possession, and their set pieces in scrum and lineout were growing in dominance. Having kept Ards pinned down in their own twenty two, Bangor were repeatedly awarded penalties as the home side struggled to halt the attacks. At each occasion, Bangor opted for the scrum which moved ever closer to the Ards goal line. Eventually, some good control of the ball by David Bradford at number 8, saw the Bangor pack rumble over the line before Jason Guthrie quickly dived on the ball to win the try. This time Jason Morgan’s conversion was good, and Bangor were now in front for the first time by 10-17, with 11 minutes of the second half gone.

Whether it was in response to Bangor’s growing pressure in the scrums, or as a consequence of their breakneck start to the game, Ards started to look ragged and growing indiscipline in loose play led to their second yellow card, this time to a second row forward. The already creaking scrum was now targeted by Bangor as they chose this option against kicks for goal, and almost inevitably this resulted in another push-over try, this time touched down by a more alert David Bradford. Although another conversion went adrift, this try secured Bangor’s try-scoring bonus point.

With the score now 10-22 in Bangor’s favour, another penalty shortly afterwards was successfully kicked by Morgan. However, the try-scoring continued just minutes later when from a lineout close to the half way line the ball was won by Darren Kelly and then passed to Jason Guthrie at scrum-half. With just enough space to nip through the immediate Ards defence, Guthrie then proceeded to jink through the tackles before running clear and scoring, putting Bangor further ahead by 10-30.

Ards stuck doggedly to their task, although Bangor continually looked the more dangerous when in possession. With so much ground to make up, Ards had to push up at every opportunity, but this was leaving them thin in defence. This proved to be their undoing when, after 31 minutes, a wayward pass was intercepted by Bradford close to his own twenty two line who then set off to run the length of the pitch to score his second try of the day. Ross McCloskey took over the kicking duties, but was unable to make the conversion count, making the score now 10-35.

As the game drew to a close, Ards suffered yet another setback when their full-back was yellow carded for an unfortunate dump tackle. Bangor simply controlled the game in the final minutes to record another convincing league win and extend their lead at the top.

Bangor’s performance, though far from perfect, was well controlled and most importantly was able to be sustained through the whole 80 minutes of the game. Far from having a ‘soft underbelly’ Bangor has demonstrated a well-developed team physique and one certainly more fit for purpose than many others. It was also encouraging to see all the players come through relatively unscathed by injury – an important factor given the current state of player availability in the senior squad. With the added prospect of some returning from injury next week, the club can look forward with confidence to the Junior Cup quarter final against Ballynahinch 2nds at Upritchard Park next Saturday.

Bangor team: O McIlmurry, A Jackson, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, D Caughey, J Clegg (c), D Bradford, J Guthrie, J Morgan, R Gamble, M Weir, D Fusco, D Charles, A McCusker

Subs: R McCloskey, G Burton

Bangor scorers: R Gamble (1T), D Charles (1T), J Guthrie (2T), D Bradford (2T), J Morgan (1C, 1P)