Last Saturday Ards 2nds kept pressure on league leaders Academy with a strong performance in testing conditions. The Hamilton Park men were a handy combination of youth & experience with head coach Simon Hamilton bringing Aaron Bittles, Jonny Millar & David Thompson into the pack while young debutant Evan McClean was paired in the centre with Will Shankey and the ever-present David Chivers was named amongst the replacements.

Ards started the game promisingly, with Bittles, Ryan Copeland & Lewis Gordon making some impressive carries in the opening exchanges. Ethan Barrett pulled the strings comfortably at 10 and the Ards team made good strides into the opposition 22. However, some strong defending led to Quins regaining possession which allowed their strong and physical pack to start punching some holes of their own. Quins opened the scoring after some good ball retention led them to setting down close to the posts, with the successful conversion putting them 7-0 up.

This only seemed to fire the Ards men into another gear as straight off the kick off they put the visitors under pressure. Michael Lyttle was impressive all day in defence, and got off the line quickly to force a mistake within the Quins half. An outstanding line from fullback McFarland saw him cut through the Quins line for Ards’ first of the day. Ards 5 v Quins 7

Despite the poor conditions, both teams continued to play exciting brands of rugby; with the Quins’ out half particularly showing some flare to move his team deeper & deeper into the home team’s territory. Ards were deemed too keen at the breakdown by the referee & were penalised multiple times in quick succession, which found the opposition camped 5m out from their line. After some impressive defence and two crunching hits from Neil Horner & Adam Barnes Quins’ finally found the killer blow, fizzing the ball wide to their confident full back who did extremely well to finish in the far corner. Ards 5 v Quins 12

Again, this lead did not last long as Ards refused to allow their heads to drop. This time it was Quins’ turn to defend their line. After some ferocious carries from Thompson, Shankey & Millar, Ards found themselves inches from a second score. After numerous phases hooker Lewis Gordon lead the way with a pick and go and the Quins defence soon discovered why the former Regent House man is renowned for his low body height carries as he went crashing over the whitewash. Ards trailed by two going into the break.
Half time: Ards 10 v Quins 12

The second half started much the way that the first half ended. The tempo was fast and an impressive tackle from young McClean saw ball turned over to the Ards men. Quin’s were pinged for an offside just inside their half and replacement fly half Gaw backed himself for the shot on goal. The penalty was confidently slotted, seeing the men in black lead the game for the first time. Ards 13 v Quins 12

Some tired defence saw fresh faces introduced, with the returning Mark McLean coming into the centre and instantly being put to work. A questionable penalty for offside at the breakdown after Thompson had seemed to turn the ball over again allowed Quins’ to enter deep into the home teams territory, and with pick and go seemingly being the chosen approach for both teams, the Ards defence was once more put to the test.

The away team retained ball extremely well, and after a long period camped in Ards 22 pressure finally lead to their third try of the game. Ards 13 v Quins 17

Once again Ards knew they had a fight on their hands, which seemed to kick them into life again. Some impressive interplay between Gaw, McClean & Barnes again saw Ards turning the screw. This allowed for Copeland, Lyttle & Chivers to implement some abrasive carrying which once again saw pressure applied to the Quins line. After some impressive defence from the visitors, Neil Horner bundled his way over the line for what proved to be a vital score with Gaw adding the extras. Ards 20 v Quins 17

The final 20 minutes saw Quins dominate possession within the Ards 22. Constant pressure saw multiple turnovers but much to the dismay of the home team coaching staff the referee penalised on numerous occasions, allowing Quins to continue bombarding the Ards line. With a score seeming inevitable, the home team emerged with the ball after some outstanding work at multiple breakdowns from Patton, Lyttle & Copeland. Gaw found his touch and that brought and end to an extremely physical and entertaining encounter. Full time: Ards 20 v Quins 17

Ards 2nds finish 2023 second in the league. An exciting second half to the season is in store as this young and exciting team continue to make a charge for a league title.