Ballynahinch RFC

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Ballynahinch Rugby Football Club are a Division 3 Ulster Rugby club from Ireland. It was founded in 1954 at a Royal British Legion meeting. At the moment they are playing in Division 3 but by the 07/08 season they will be playing in Division 2.

From it's founding date in 1954 the Club membership quickly grew and to date is one of the most popular clubs in Ulster. With players travelling from all parts of County Down, the South side of Belfast and as far as Kilkeel. This could explain the great success of the club.

[edit] History

The present club was formed at a meeting in the Ballynahinch Royal British Legion Hall in April of 1954. The initiative and enthusiasm to form the club came mainly from the first honorary secretary, Mr. W. Steele, who came to the town as a cashier in the Ulster Bank, having played rugby for Coleraine R.F.C. before the war. About a dozen people attended the meeting and they agreed that a club should be formed and application be made to enter the Junior League in the season 1954 / 55. The application was duly made, and accepted by The Ulster Branch, and the Club played their first match in September of 1954.

The Club membership quickly grew, with players travelling from all parts of County Down and from the South side of Belfast and even the Kilkeel and Mourne area. Credit must be given to all those players who participated so well at those early stages as the Club was promoted from the lowest end of the Junior league to highest section of the Junior League in the minimum number of seasons possible.

A suitable pitch had been acquired at Ballykine, rented from Mr. McGurnaghan, and excellent changing rooms and showers were available in Mr. A. Shaw's back yard. In reality, these changing facilities were in Drew Shaw's garage, and on many occasions his car had to be manhandles out of the way so that access could be gained. Christmas in Shaw's yard was always an interesting experience as the scene in the yard was rather Dickensian when the turkey plucking was in full flow - just think of what the Chaps! from Belfast thought of that - you can just picture the scene.

In the early 1960s, the Hinch was a vibrant, throbbing community; rugby was not just a game, it was a way of life. There were many characters playing at that time, many of whom are still actively involved in the Club today. Names such as, Joe Carlisle or (Wee Joe) as he is much better known, Brian Kirkpatrick, Cecil and George McFadden, Dem Finney, Arthur Gibson, Murray Lee, Neville Johnston, Harry Snodden, Willie Vance, Trevor Finney and John Orr to name but a few.

During this period, the 1st XV won the Ulster Towns Cup when they defeated Bangor by one try and one-drop goal and one penalty goal to nil. It was a victory as decisive as the scoreline suggests and one that was never really in doubt from early in the game. The same team of players went on to win the Junior Cup in consecutive seasons first beating Dungannon 1965 /66 then Kings Scholars 1966/67.

This success helped promote the game within the locality and the Club continued to grow and it wasn't long until the members realised that they needed to find their own ground and construct their own Clubhouse. In August of 1970 a search ensued for the appropriate property which resulted in the purchase of Mr. Whitford's farm of approximately 16 acres and a house situated near Spa Golf Club on the outskirts of the town, the cost - £6,500. When the sale was completed, the Club Council sold the house and a few acres for £3,000.

The Club continued to grow and a new generation of Ist XV stars took to the newly named Ballymacarn Park. Names such as Jim Kirk, Sam Robinson, Raymond Gourley, Ed Tormey, Jimmy Hilland, James Napier, David Donnan, Lesley McGaughey and Ted Magowan to name but a few.

In 1984, the Club toured Canada under the captaincy of Sam Robinson, it was a tour that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and helped to build the foundation for the successful years to follow. In 1984, the Hinch side had young blood injected into it; Mark Napier and Colin Magowan at halfback were to prove to be an outstanding partnership. Philip Gregg at full-back had a fantastic accurate boot, Raymie McCavery, Peter Magowan, Lesley McGaughy and Trevor Scott.

Thus evolved the nucleus of the side which would go on to dominate Junior Rugby for the next ten years. In this period the aforementioned names played in five Ravenhill finals - winning all five. First was the epic final of the 1986 Towns Cup, when the Hinch beat a much-fancied Enniskillen side. The following year they won the double, the first club side to achieve that distinction since Ballymena in 1911. In the Towns Cup final, they defeated Banbridge and in the Junior Cup Final, they beat Ards. At the time these two victories, although just another successful conclusion to a cup campaign, were really quite an achievement, one that both the Club and players involved can justly feel proud of. The 1989/90 season saw the 1st XV return to Ravenhill for their third Towns Cup final, this time their opponents were Ballymena and as the history show, it was the Braid men that left the big smoke without the famous trophy. The last big Ravenhill final of that era was in 1991/92, when again Ballymena provided the opposition. The result was clear from the outset and the Junior Cup went back to the trophy cabinet at Ballymacarn Park.

It should also be noted that during this period the same side had considerable success in winning the Knutty Krust - Portadown RFC Floodlit Tournament. Those cold Tuesday evenings at Portadown provided much craic and banter as we lifted the Trophy on three occasions, 1985, 1986 and 1990.

It is now the early 90's and change was afoot, change that was long overdue. The Stevenson Report recommended that promotion and relegation from Junior to Senior status should be implemented over a three year period, with the promotion winners in that third year gaining qualification as a Senior Club and entry into the new All Ireland League Structure.

This was a goal that the Club had fought for over many years, and Club Council set the structures in place to help achieve this goal. During the previous ten years the 1st XV had many annual fixtures with Senior Ulster Clubs, these were known as Senior Friendly matches. More often than not, the Ballynahinch side would win such an encounter so the Club Council knew we had the ability to survive at that level.

Under the captaincy of Brian Wilson new players fitted into the squad extremely well, as the AIL Division 4 became a two horse race between ourselves and Suttonians, a Club like ourselves newly promoted from Junior rugby in Leinster. The title went down to the last match with the Hinch travelling to Suttonians only to lose narrowly in a very close encounter. However, as we finished in second place in the League we gained promotion to Division 3.

The1997/1998 season started without the services of Andy Ward who had come to the attention of the Ulster Selectors, but despite this set back at Club level, the players performed well, and maintained their run of excellent results. Again, the league developed into a two horse race between Portadown, and ourselves, with Portadown winning outright promotion and the Hinch finishing second.

Now in Division 2 the 1998/1999 season was not great, in fact it was awful. Injuries to a number of essential players and the bad rub of the green meant that we were relegated back into Division 3 only winning one AIL game, against Old Wesley. This year Ballynahinch are looked set to go back up to Division 2

[edit] Club Honour's

5 Ulster Towns Cup- 64,87,88,90,95

5 Ulster Junior Cup- 66,67,88,92,95