It was a busy day for Bangor RFC, both on and off the field of play. With the pre-match build-up being billed as “the last lunch” before the clubhouse begins its renovations, a large number of members, ex-players, sponsors and other guests descended on Upritchard Park. It was also the long-awaited reveal of the 1st XV’s new shirts, and several key sponsors were in attendance to show their support. One of these sponsors, Amour Flooring, had also played a key part in the refurbishment of the club’s McCall Room which is now fully usable again, and provided the perfect setting for the pre-match drinks which had been kindly provided by Copeland Distillery. It was also good to welcome Regency Carpet Manufacturing as the club’s new Youth Pathway Partner, which will see them support both our youth rugby and cricket sections which are crucial to the club’s future growth. Club Chairman Mark Thallon added that every sponsor played a vital part in sustaining the facilities for sport at Upritchard Park, and thanked them all for both their past and continued support.

Just prior to the afternoon kick-offs, the players and spectators observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for the passing of club stalwart Trevor Lloyd, who passed away earlier in the week.

After all formalities were completed, the rugby got underway with Bangor getting proceedings underway against Randalstown who were similarly placed in the lower half of the Championship 1 league table. Although Bangor had previously enjoyed league success against Randalstown, recent poor results had created additional pressure to ensure they maintained their positive record against the County Antrim side. With the return of a few players from injury or unavailability, hopes were high that they could produce a winning performance.

Those hopes were given an early boost when, after just 3 minutes of play, Conor Lusty broke clear and touch down beside the Randalstown posts for the opening try, which Rhys Larmour also converted. Although Lusty was on hand for his second try shortly afterwards, credit is due to the Young brothers, Ryan and Danny, for creating the opportunity from deep within the Bangor half.

Bangor were now 14 points ahead in as many minutes played, and looking on track to add more. Unfortunately some early injuries necessitated some reshuffling in the pack. However, one of the bench replacements was man of the match Patrick Dobie, making a welcome return to the side, who immediately injected additional strength and pace into the Bangor attack. A typical solo break saw Dobie weave around several Randalstown players before cutting through the defence and then releasing his backs. As the ball got moved from right to left, Andy Smyth came into the line and powered through the final tackles before scoring in the left hand corner. Larmour was just off-target with the touchline conversion, but Bangor had now stretched their lead to 19-0, and the prospect of a try-scoring bonus point was very much in sight.

In fact, it only took a further 6 minutes before Danny Young rounded the Randalstown defence before running through for a comfortable try under the posts, which Larmour duly converted. With the game now approaching the end of its first half, Larmour made amends for his earlier missed conversion when his long-range drop goal cleared the Randalstown posts to extend Bangor’s lead to 29-0.

Bangor now appeared to be cruising to victory, with a comfortable lead already secured and another 40 minutes left to play. However, a clever lineout move by Randalstown in the last play of the first half caught Bangor unprepared, allowing them to capitalise on their opportunity with a well-taken try in the corner which, although unconverted, had got them on the scoreboard and lifted their hopes for the second half.
With the wind now at their backs, Randalstown got the second half underway with renewed vigour. Although their earlier attempts to power over Bangor’s line from close range had been successfully rebuffed by the home side, Randalstown’s confidence in their lineout and drive combination eventually produced the desired result within the opening minutes of the second half and, although the conversion was missed, they were now 29-10 behind and beginning to close the gap.

The pressure was beginning to mount as Randalstown used their big forwards to keep Bangor pinned down within their own twenty two, finally resulting in a yellow card for Conor Lusty. Despite this setback, Bangor defended well and used their nippy back line attack to quickly take play deep into Randalstown’s half. Now it was Bangor’s turn to use their power play when close to the Randalstown goal line. After a couple of drives were pushed back, Bangor popped the ball to Connor McKee who took it at pace before crashing over for the try, again converted by Larmour, which brought the score to 36-10, with just 10 minutes left to play.

While this looked to be the final nail in Randalstown’s coffin, the visitors weren’t ready to give up. A well-taken try in the left hand corner, and the successful touchline conversion, brought the score to 36-17, with just one more try needed for Randalstown to pick up a try-scoring bonus point. Building on their late surge, Randalstown threw everything into attack and were once again within striking distance. With the last roll of the dice, they lunged for the goal line but equally desperate defending saw Bangor manage to bundle the attack into touch and the chance was gone.

This was undoubtedly a much improved performance and welcome result for Bangor. Now their attention turns to the opening round of the Towns Cup when they face City of Derry at Judges Road next Saturday.