On Saturday the Ballymoney 2nd XV took to the road to face Ballynahinch 3s. With Matthew Blair and Marcel Ngyutin returning from long injury lay-offs, and Andy Young, Tyler McNeil, and Luke Stewart available again, this looked like a strong side to be taking to a perpetually tough venue.

With the weather warning for wind in place, however, the conditions would prove to be the major factor in the game, and the side that took the most of its opportunities would prevail.

Playing into the breeze in the first half, Ballymoney played for possession and inched their way up the field on a regular basis - Ngyutin and Heggarty carrying a heavy workload. But any lost possession or lack of discipline and the hosts would end up gaining 50m.

Just as Ballymoney were on the front foot, however, a loose ball at a ruck 5m out was grabbed by the Hinch winger, who scuttled free and took off down the length of the pitch to open the scoring.

The Toon men hit back immediately- a good lineout maul and several forward carries left room for Andy Young to wriggle through a gap near the posts. Young then converted his own try for 7-7.

Hinch then got a prolonged spell of possession in the Ballymoney 22, and despite generally sound defense, a penalty conceded 10m out was not handled well, and the hooker wriggled over for a 12-7 lead.

Ballymoney then got back in control, this time with a series of penalties in the scrum, where Blair, Bustard, and Clyde were in complete command. And eventually Heggarty took a quick tap and scooted over for an equalising try just before the half.

With the match level and the conditions set to turn in their favour, the Ballymoney side were confident at half time. And the second half continued in a similar fashion - scrum dominance from the away side leading to a lot of possession but few clear chances - and the Hinch side playing their part with the centres in particular looking dangerous on the ball.

As the rain got heavier and the ball slippier, scoring became a tough challenge for both sides. For Ballymoney, after turning down a shot at goal but losing the ball in possession, Matthew McCluggage received the clearance 30m out on his wing, and found Tyler McNeil infield, who casually slotted a drop goal to take the lead for the first time.

Despite some ferocious forward battling from both sides, and knocks to Anderson, Heggarty, and Speer forcing the bench to be rotated, there was to be no further score until the last minutes of the half. Ballymoney defended their lines well for a long spell and eventually found themselves with a scrum just inside their own half. Opting to try a set piece launch play in the backs, disaster struck - the ball was lost in midfield, and with players running their attack angles, the Hinch centre was able to get a toe on the ball, hack through, and win the footrace for the winning try.

A disappointing finish for the Toon men, making a long trip in horrible weather to come up with only a losing bonus point to stay in the middle of the league table. But some positives included Blair and Ngyutin getting through 80 mins and having plenty to do, and a lively performance from McNeil at fullback.

Next week the 2s have no game, but will likely be out in force at the Toss Skelton memorial match on the 28th. Then January has a full month of league fixtures before the cup campaign re-starts in February, so there is plenty more to come this season.