It was a challenging day for Bangor’s 1st and 2nd XVs on Saturday, with each side facing strong Enniskillen teams that are sitting at the top end of their respective leagues. Thankfully, the wet and windy weather of the previous couple of days had passed and playing conditions were good. With Dromore only one point ahead of Enniskillen at the top of the Championship 1 league, the visitors were hoping to keep up the pressure with another bonus point victory, whereas Bangor were hoping to put in a better performance that their last league meeting when they fell to a heavy 54-10 defeat.

Following Bangor’s kick-off, Enniskillen took control for most of the opening quarter, and showed just why they are one of the top teams in Championship 1. Incisive running, slick handling and superb support play saw them run into an early 0-21 lead. Bangor perhaps had the upper hand in the forward set pieces, and this provided the platform for Conor Lusty to force his way over in the 25th minute and get Bangor on the scoreboard at 5-21.

However, Enniskillen continued to exploit gaps in the Bangor defence and ran in two more converted tries to bring the half time score to 5-35, and also secure their bonus point.

As the second half got underway, the fear for Bangor supporters was that the home side would suffer an even bigger defeat than before. However, to Bangor’s credit they stuck to their task and picked up three further tries – from Ryan Young, Patrick Dobie and Marty Withers – to earn a try-scoring bonus point. Enniskillen managed two more tries to take the final score to 29-47 and finish as worthy winners.

Although this was another defeat for Bangor, they can take comfort in the fact that they are only the second team this season to have picked up any league points in games against Enniskillen, with the other team being the current league leaders Dromore. Now sitting comfortably in a mid-table position, Bangor will be looking to cut loose in their remaining three league games and finish with a flourish, and maybe even contend for a top four final placing. Next weekend they host Randalstown and will be hoping to repeat their solid victory from earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, Bangor’s 2nds were pitched in a close match with Enniskillen 2nds, with the scores level at 10-10 at half time. However, as the second half got underway, it was the home side that took control, running in four further converted tries, to take a well-deserved 38-20 bonus point victory and close the gap at the top of their league table. The game was also notable for the debut appearances of Bryn Watson, Rory Harris and Ollie Morrison who were making the big step up from school to senior rugby. It’s great to see such exciting new talent coming up through the ranks, and hopefully they will enjoy many more successful games for Bangor in the future.