Saturday saw Ards' last league match of the season with the visit of City Of Derry RFC to Hamilton Park. The teams were greeted onto the pitch by an honour guard of P6 & P7 players from both clubs, who had provided the warm up match beforehand.

A fine spring day and a firm pitch were a welcome change and a great display of running rugby was in prospect from both teams. The visitors were in good form, unbeaten since before Christmas as they reversed their early season losses. Ards saw little change, with Matthew Walker replacing the injured Matthew Bell and Danny McCullough gaining a rotational start, with Danny Patton moving to the bench.

A fast start from Ards earned a line out penalty and two quick carries saw Matthew Kane crash through for the opening try. The conversion was taken by Joel De'Pledge for a 7-0 lead.

Multiple phases with quick ball from the restart saw another line out penalty, but the chance passed. However, possession was soon regained and a midfield break from Kane was fed on to Tom-Arthur Donnan, who broke through several tackle attempts to run through to score. With De'Pledge adding the extras, Ards were 14-0 with 10 minutes played.

City of Derry saw possession directly from the restart and used it well. Working the ball from touchline to touchline, they finished a move well out to the left for a try of their own and 14-5.

Ards did not take their foot off the gas though, hitting the line hard and earning a penalty. A tap move saw the ball go wide to Aaron May, whose pace saw him glide through the opposition centres to release the ball to Ryan Upritchard on the wing for a strong finish in the corner. The conversion kick was just wide and the score was now 19-5.

Some shared possession saw the visitors threaten, but Ards' wide defence was uncompromising, with Upritchard and Ethan Bell putting in good work, well supported by full back Jack Smith. With the ball, a combination of robust breakdowns and crisp handling saw Ards advance and captain Robbie Johnston step through the line to release Angus Christie to score under the posts. With De'Pledge adding the extras, the score was 26-5.

Following some exchanges in play, a deep kick was gathered on the try line by Smith. Running the ball out, he connected with Bell, who burst through the midfield and chipped through. Gathering his kick in the opposition 22, the ball was recycled to the hard working Walker to take a superb team try. The conversion from De'Pledge was good and the lead moved to 33-5, where it would stay until half time.

The third quarter was a frustrating one for Ards. The energy brought by the substitutes Trevor Devlin, Patton and Rory Christie was clear, earning a number of chances, including two for Devlin, with Christie making line breaks. However, the bounce of the ball and good defence from the visitors denied them a score. With the final quarter underway, another penalty from their dominant scrum gave Ards a tap move from 5 metres, well taken by Kane. With De'Pledge adding the conversion, the score was now 40-5.

Ards continued to threaten and came close to scoring through Luke Megarity amongst others. With minutes remaining, a deep kick from City of Derry was run back by Smith and Johnston and a line break led to a chip through and a try by Johnston. With the reliable boot of De'Pledge adding the conversion, the score moved to 47-5 and the final whistle sounded shortly after.

Ards now look forward to a play off match against CIYMS RFC on 11th April, where a win would earn them promotion to Championship 1 for next season.