Clotworthy stars as Ballyclare see off Grosvenor

Skipper Ian Holmes had his backs division strengthened by the inclusion of former senior players Gary Clotworthy at fly-half and Stevie Bailie at centre, and after scoring three unanswered tries in the first half, the White Hare lads proceeded to add four more to record an emphatic 43-0 win.

Clotworthy opened the scoring with a try that he also goaled, and he added the extras when stalwart lock Michael Stevenson crossed, before pacy winger Alex Ottey made it 19-0 at the break.

Ballyclare’s dominance continued in the second half with further scores by Tom Wilson, Andy Watson and Ryan Tweed, before Nigel Moore came off the bench to complete the scoring on his return from surgery.

Clotworthy added two conversions to take his personal tally to 13 points.

The win lifted Ballyclare in to a healthy mid-table position.

Ballyclare II: S Reid, A Ottey, A Neilson, S Bailie, T Watson; G Clotworthy, A Watson; J Brownlee, R Scott, D Tweed, M Stevenson, C Gawn, P Robinson, I Holmes (C), R Tweed. Replacements: N Moore, R Montgomery.

The 3rd XV didn’t fare so well when they took on undefeated Randalstown II in a Junior 3 fixture at The Cloughan, where the visitors enhanced their top spot with a 39-8 win.

Their only points came from a John Wasson penalty and a Johnny Birkmyre try.

Ballyclare youth teams produced three good wins on Saturday morning. The U18s and U14s recorded victories against Larne, and the U16s putting in a good performance to beat a Ballymena second string.

All Ballyclare teams are in cup action this weekend. The seniors welcome Omagh to The Cloughan for the Junior Cup semi-final, when Ballyclare will looking to book their place in the final for the second consecutive year.

The 2nd XV take on Lisburn II in a Crawford Cup first-round tie at home, while the Thirds and Fourths play Lisburn III and Dromore III respectively in the first round of the Forster Cup.