Having been starved of competitive rugby at Upritchard Park for many months, and with senior rugby not expected to return until the start of the new season in August, it was left to the newly formed U20 squad to provide the finale to what has been a disjointed and strange season. With the memories of last weekend’s tough encounter against Clogher Valley still fresh in their minds, the Bangor players were hoping to put in a better performance against local rivals Ards and round off this short series of games with a win.

Right from the kick-off, this game was shaping up to be a battle between the powerful Ards forwards, and the speedy Bangor backs. There were worrying signs for the home side after the Ards scrum repeatedly pushed the Bangor pack back, forcing turnovers and penalties as a result. By contrast, when Bangor were in possession and in space, their fast, accurate passing combined with confident running put the Ards defence under pressure. This was most evident within the opening minutes of the game when Shay Storey set off down the left hand touchline. With little room to work in, his clever chip over the Ards defence was followed up by Danny Young who collected the ball and ran through to score under the posts. With the added conversion by Rhys Larmour, Bangor were first on the scoreboard by 7-0.

Not content with setting up this opening try, Storey soon got in on the scoring act with a try of his own, splitting the Ards defence and touching down under the posts. Another simple conversion stretched the lead to 14-0. Unfortunately, Bangor’s lack of concentration at the restart allowed Ards to regain possession and start to apply pressure through their forwards. Patience and determination was soon rewarded with a try on the left hand side which, although unconverted, got them off the mark and back into the game.

However, for the remainder of the first half, it was Bangor who were calling most of the shots, adding three more converted tries through Cameron Stewart, Conor Lusty and another from Danny Young. Ards put in a concerted effort in the final minutes of the half, looking to make their forward play count again, but Bangor’s defence was equal to it, keeping the score at 35-5 as the referee blew for half-time.

With both sides drawing on their large pool of player replacements, the game took on a slightly different appearance, as Bangor’s scrum now matched that of their opponents, and the Ards backs more fluent in their attacks. Importantly for Ards, they managed to stem the flow of Bangor tries with a hard-worked one of their own, making the score 35-10 early in the second half. In similar fashion to the first half, this simply spurred Bangor on, and two converted tries from Ben Gibson all but ensured a home victory. The visitors did manage to add a third try to their total, but once again Bangor replied with another two of their own, this time through Lewis Bret and Carl Andreasson, bringing the final score to 61-15.

This was a fitting way in which to finish the 2020-21 season, and one that will inspire confidence ahead of the pre-season friendlies scheduled for August. For Bangor’s part, it is encouraging to see young players like this come up through the ranks and vie for a place at the highest level in the club. As the new season for Mini, Youth, Women and Senior rugby approaches, and the prospect of All Ireland rugby recommencing in early October, there is much to look forward to across the whole of the club.