Slaughtered at Shaw's Bridge

Bangor were prepared for a tough Ulster Premier League encounter against high-flying Instonians, but hopes for a respectable scoreline were dashed as the home side easily romped home by 77-7.

Instonians continued their remarkable run of bonus point wins and, not content with the league-winning side they had assembled last season, had further bolstered their player pool with several high-profile signings over the summer. Given the lack of pressure and expectation from this fixture, Bangor took another opportunity to blood some of their new players, and also experiment with regard to positioning – a big step up given the quality of opposition.

From Bangor’s kick-off, it was clear they were going to have a hard day at the office. Instonians were quickly into their stride and within 12 minutes were 21-0 ahead. Bangor manfully stuck to their task and were rewarded for their perseverance with a well-taken intercept by Conor Lusty in the centre who then forced his way into the Instonians twenty two. Connor Scollan then took the short pass that set him free to evade the last few defenders and touch down under the posts. With Mark Widdowson’s straightforward conversion, Bangor had got on the scoreboard at 21-7.

Unfortunately, Bangor’s hopes of keeping in touch with their opponents were clinically dashed, as the home side found another gear and raced off to a 42-7 lead at half time.

It was a case of ‘more of the same’ in the second half, with Instonians running in another 5 converted tries. Bangor could almost be forgiven for dropping their heads, such was the gulf in quality between the two sides. However, the game was played in good spirits, and with no player injuries to either side. On a positive note, its unlikely Bangor will face this level of opposition in Division 2C of the All Ireland League when it begins in October. Before then, though, Bangor face Omagh and Harlequins in the remainder of the Ulster Premiership, and will be expecting a much better performance and outcome from these games.