The good citizens of Ballymena experienced something of a culture shock late on Saturday afternoon. That was when the Eaton Park clubhouse resounded to a rousing rendition of The Fields of Athenry, marking the latest milestone in the remarkable story of Buccaneers RFC.
"Now, was it worth the train journey?" an erstwhile travelling sceptic was asked by a delighted colleague. With the club celebrating their first away win in Division One, to claim fourth place in the table, a reply would have been superfluous.
Indeed, the Westerners, who have a match in hand on the three teams above them, recorded another significant achievement on their first visit to Eaton Park. After four earlier wins in the current campaign, this was the first time their margin of victory was more than one score.
"Those matches could have gone the other way," conceded their coach Eddie O'Sullivan afterwards. "But this was different. So, instead of having to struggle for first division survival as I feared we might, we are now in with a chance of the play-offs."
O'Sullivan added: "We've been called a one-dimensional side and if people keep thinking that way, we'll be happy." On that point, he will be pleased to hear that Ballymena feared they might be as good as they were. "We studied videos of them and they've proved themselves to be a very balanced team with a very solid front row," said Willie John McBride, the Ballymena president.
In the aftermath of Ulster's European Cup success, Buccaneers were aware that this fixture had fallen at an opportune time, with Ballymena missing forwards Steven Ritchie, Mark Blair and Tony McWhirter from that win.
A reshaped pack was in trouble from the start against a powerful Buccaneers scrummaging unit in which props Jimmy Screen and Martin Cahill were extremely effective. But it was erratic lineout throwing that prompted Ballymena to switch hooker Rodney Lorimer with loose-head Norman McKernan in the 23rd minute.
Either way, the damage was done by that stage. In a sparkling opening quarter Buccaneers tore into their opponents with chilling determination. And by way of emphasising the balance to which McBride later referred, their first try was the product of powerful scrummaging, while the second came from a fine back movement, completed by full-back Robert Lee.
Then, having extended their lead to 20-8 at half-time, they concentrated on closing down their opponents. In fact, the only occasion that Ballymena seriously threatened the Buccaneers line in the second half was when Andy Matchett scored a 60th-minute try in the corner.
It could be argued that in such dominant circumstances, it wasn't all that difficult for Buccaneers to retain discipline. Still, it is to their credit that they conceded only two close-range penalties, both of which were converted by Simon Mason.
The other key element was their scrummaging power. Allowing for the weakened Ballymena pack, it was impossible not to be impressed by the manner in which the Northerners were driven off the ball when a concerted shove became appropriate.
This was especially evident midway through the second half when Buccaneers scored the third of their four tries. From a sequence of scrums close to the Ballymena posts, the Westerners earned a put-in from which they drove the opposition over the line, making Des Rigney's try entirely predictable.
Meanwhile, out-half Simon Allnut had the considerable satisfaction of outshining the redoubtable Mason in place-kicking, with two penalty goals and four conversions. And not for the first time, his partnership with scrum-half Stephen McIvor was more than worthy of the forward effort.
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: J McVeigh try, S Allnut con (0-7); 10: S Mason pen goal (3-7); 15: Allnut pen goal (3-10); 22: R Lee try, Allnut con (3-17); 40: S Stewart try (8-17); 42: Allnut pen goal (8-20); 45: Mason pen goal (11-20); 58: D Rigney try, Allnut con (11-27); 60: A Matchett try (16-27); M Devine try, Allnut con (16-34).
Ballymena: S Mason; S Stewart, J Wells, S McDowell, S Culter; D McAleese, A Matchett; N McKernan, R Lorimer, R Irwin, R West, G Longwell, A Graham, J Andrews, D McCartney. Replacements: C McCarey for West (40 mins), A Park for McDowell (46 mins), P McBride for Longwell (60 mins), D Topping for McCartney (65 mins), A Simpson for Matchett (78 mins).
Buccaneers: R Lee; M Devine, O Cobbe, E Molloy, R Southam; S Allnut, S McIvor; J Screen, J McVeigh, M Cahill, B Rigney, C Rigney, D Rigney, M Steffort, E Brennan. Replacements: A Connolly for Lee (46 mins), C Hannon for Screen, P Lynch for Southam, R Keady for D Rigney (all 80 mins).
Referee: D Tyndall (ARLB)
