AIL Division 2C – Round 3
Venue: Towns Park, Midleton

Towns Park played host to another dramatic AIL afternoon as Midleton edged out Ballyclare in a thrilling 25–23 victory, decided in the final play of the game.

Ballyclare were first on the scoreboard, slotting a penalty after 18 minutes to take a 3–0 lead. Midleton responded superbly, building phases through the forwards before spreading the ball wide for Conall Doyle to finish brilliantly in the corner, putting the home side 5–3 ahead.

The visitors hit back on 32 minutes with a converted try to move 10–5 in front, but Midleton finished the half strongly. With the pack dominating close to the line, a powerful maul was brought down illegally by Ballyclare, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty try. That gave Midleton a narrow 12–10 lead at halftime.

Ballyclare started the second half the brighter, adding a penalty and a converted try to stretch their advantage to 20–12 by the 55th minute. Conall reduced the deficit with a well-struck penalty just before the hour mark, but Ballyclare quickly replied with another three-pointer to make it 23–15 — a two-score game heading into the final quarter.

Midleton’s never-say-die attitude came to the fore once again. On his AIL debut, Evan Chester powered over from the back of a dominant maul in the corner to bring the score to 23–20. The conversion drifted wide, but momentum was firmly with the home side.

As the clock ticked into the red, it looked as though time might run out — until Midleton earned one final opportunity with a lineout inside the Ballyclare half. In a finish reminiscent of last season’s late heroics, the forwards and backs combined superbly, going through multiple phases under penalty advantage before captain JB du Toit crashed over for the match-winning try and bonus point. The conversion wasn’t needed — Towns Park erupted as the final whistle confirmed a dramatic 25–23 victory.

It was a day of milestones too, with Shane O’Driscoll making his AIL debut for Midleton, returning to the club where he played all his underage rugby. Alejandro Martínez Jiménez, who joined from Madrid this season, also made his first AIL appearance and impressed with his impact off the bench.

Results elsewhere mean Midleton sit joint 2nd in Division 2C after the opening block of three games, with 10 points on the board — a strong platform heading into the next phase of the season.

The senior team now have a weekend off before travelling to Virgin Media Park on Friday, 25th October, to face Cork rivals Dolphin RFC.

Even though the seniors have a week off, there’s plenty of rugby happening in Towns Park this weekend — check out the fixtures below and come down to support all our Midleton teams in action!

Finally, everyone at Midleton RFC would like to wish the Midleton Senior Hurlers the very best of luck this Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh as they take on Sarsfields in the County Final.