Ards 2nds welcomed Larne 2nds on a blustery day down at Hamilton Park. Ards 2nds welcomed back Ross Torney and Adam McKee in the forwards, with coach Simon Hamilton starting at outhalf, Chris McClure and Callum O’Hanlon in the centres and young player Reuben Hetherington on the wing and Cameron Upritchard on the bench.

Larne won the toss and played with the wind towards the Lough in the first half. Opening exchanges saw Ards get through the phases and also saw Larne use the wind to their advantage pinning Ards in their half. Following a lineout, Larne scored a converted try after multiple phases. Ards 0 v Larne 7
From the restart, Ards were beginning to go through the phases in the Larne half, with Torney, McKee, Watts and McVeigh making forceful carries into the Larne defence with the outside backs of Abie De Silva, Josh McBride and Reuben Hetherington also putting Larne on notice, with indiscipline costing Ards at the crucial times.

With lineouts troublesome due to blustery conditions, the flow of the game was stop start with scrums. Ards’ defence was regularly put to the test from Larne first phase ball, with the Ards forwards of McVeigh, Millar, Watts and Gray putting in notible contributions defensively during the first half.

After a Larne lineout, a misread in midfield saw Larne score another converted try. Ards 2nds 0 v Larne 14

From the restart, Ards put phases together with the forwards and backs combining well creating opportunities to score, but the final pass on two occasions saw the opportunity fizz away.

Half time: Ards 2nds 0 v Larne 2nds 14

Ards started the second half brightly, putting good phases together and using the wind effectively to pin Larne in their own half. Larne began to work through their own phases, with their centre pairing prominent and Ards guilty of dropping off a few tackles.

Miscommunication from a set piece scrum saw Larne score a converted try. Ards 2nds 0 v Larne 2nds 21

The restart saw Ards again pin Larne in their 22 through strong phases and repeated penalties. From a 5 metre lineout, Torney crashed over from short range after good work from captain Jimmy Gray off the back of a well constructed maul, the conversion was wide. Ards 2nds 5 v Larne 2nds 21
Ards began to show more endeavour in broken field, with Abie De Silva and Reuben Hetherington causing Larne problems, again the clinical edge was missing from Ards after good build up work.

Scrappy play ensued for a while, with repeated scrums and tempers running high saw the referee speak to both captains on discipline. Two late scores from Larne saw them gloss off a performance in which they took their chances and Ards didn’t. Final score: Ards 2nds 5 v Larne 2nds 31

A far better performance from the 2nd XV this week, but ultimately Larne took the chances they had in the game, something for the 2nds to work on this week. Next week, the 2nds have another big game away to Randalstown.