Energia Bateman Cup Final Preview: Clontarf v Ballynahinch

Either Clontarf or Ballynahinch will enjoy their Christmas dinner that little bit more having won the Bateman Cup for the first time in their club’s history. The prestigious Energia-sponsored competition concludes for this season with today’s all-Division 1A decider at Castle Avenue (kick-off 4pm – live on irishrugby+).

ENERGIA BATEMAN CUP FINAL:

Saturday, December 13 –

CLONTARF (2nd, Div 1A) v BALLYNAHINCH (6th, Div 1A), Castle Avenue, 4pm (live on irishrugby+)

Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Clontarf: LWWWWWWW; Ballynahinch: WLWWLWLL
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Clontarf: Points: Conor Kelly 62; Tries: Dylan Donnellan 7; Ballynahinch: Points: Conor Rankin 31; Tries: Ethan Graham 6

Energia Bateman Cup Titles – Clontarf: -; Ballynahinch: -; Previous Final Appearances – Clontarf: 1 (2015 Runners-up); Ballynahinch: –

Recent Energia Bateman Cup Finals –

2011 – Bruff 24 Dungannon 18
2012 – Garryowen 24 Ballymena 6
2013 – Cork Constitution 24 St. Mary’s College 19
2014 – Cork Constitution 19 UCD 6
2015 – Cork Constitution 24 Clontarf 9
2016 – Galwegians 19 Cork Constitution 38
2017 – Old Belvedere 13 Cork Constitution 18
2018 – Cork Constitution 12 Lansdowne 32
2019 – Garryowen 45 City of Armagh 21
2020 – Lansdowne & Cork Constitution declared joint winners due to Covid-19-affected season
2022 – Lansdowne 46 Young Munster 13
2023 – Terenure College 71 Buccaneers 13
2024 – Terenure College 22 Young Munster 15
2025 – Lansdowne 38 Instonians 26

Paths To The Final –

CLONTARF:

Leinster Senior Cup
– lost 31-29 v UCD home
– won 19-15 v Old Belvedere away
– won 69-19 v Dublin University home
– won 19-17 v Lansdowne (final at Energia Park)

Energia Bateman Cup semi-final
– won 34-29 v Nenagh Ormond away

BALLYNAHINCH:

Ulster Senior Cup
– won 24-0 v Malone away
– won v City of Armagh home (match conceded by City of Armagh)
– won 50-3 v Dungannon (final at Kingspan Stadium)

Energia Bateman Cup semi-final
– won 78-0 v Sligo home

Preview: An early Christmas cracker for supporters to enjoy at the Bullring, as Clontarf and Ballynahinch go head-to-head in a league fixture that doubles up as this season’s Energia Bateman Cup final. Neither club has won the prestigious national trophy before, so an exciting 80 minutes awaits.

Leinster’s Alex Soroka will start at blindside flanker for hosts Clontarf, with his older brother, prop Ivan, on the replacements bench. Jordan Coghlan and Aaron Coleman complete a powerful back row.

Former Ireland Sevens international Hugo Lennox’s selection at full-back undoubtedly catches the eye, while Alex O’Grady and Tadhg Bird make up a new centre combination for Andy Wood’s men, who overcame Nenagh Ormond 34-29 at the semi-final stage.

Ballynahinch have been given a significant boost with former captain Bradley Luney making a quicker-than-expected return from the knee injury that kept him out of last week’s 14-0 home defeat to Division 1A leaders St. Mary’s College.

The talismanic Luney will join Zack McCall and Reuben Crothers in another high-quality back row unit. Ulster Academy prop Tom McAllister comes in at tighthead, and there are starts for Chris Gibson and Adam Bennett in the backs.

Paul Kerr moves to out-half for ‘Hinch as James Humphreys is on the bench for Ulster’s EPCR Challenge Cup trip to Cardiff. Coached by Adam Craig, the County Down side have not beaten Clontarf since January 2020 when Aaron Cairns scored their only try in an 11-10 victory at Ballymacarn Park.

In last season’s two meetings, Clontarf were convincing winners on both occasions. Twelve months ago, a four-try second-half performance saw ‘Tarf win 32-12 at Ballynahinch, before winning the return match 45-16 thanks to a 20-point haul from the ever-influential Conor Kelly.

Clontarf have waited a long time for a return to this stage. Their only previous Bateman Cup final appearance was in the 2014/15 season, when they defeated Saturday’s opponents, Ballynahinch, in the last-four before falling to Cork Constitution in the decider.

The trophy is one of the oldest in Irish Rugby, a relic of a different era. Winning it would not just be an achievement, but an inheritance. A mark on the club’s lineage. That is why the atmosphere this week has felt different. Not panicked. Not tense. Just charged.

Castle Avenue has been a fortress this season. The north Dubliners are nbeaten at home in Division 1A, and have strung together seven wins in a row in the league. Their last home defeat in the top fight was in October of last year.

‘Tarf captain Dylan Donnellan commented: “A final in itself, it’s a one-off game, it’s a one-off result. And then obviously you’ve got the added benefit or added pressure, whatever way you want to look at it, of it costing you league points as well.

“So, look, it’s double the risk, double the reward kind of thing. I suppose you put whatever positive or negative spin on it that you want in that regard.

“If you look at the way Ballynahinch have been going, I think bar one result, they’ve been right up there with the top teams. They’ve been putting scores on teams when they’re struggling, when they’re off the mark on the day.

“They’re a quality outfit. They’ve been kind of there, thereabouts now for semi-finals for the last couple of years. So you can’t take last season into it, definitely not.

“Definitely not underestimating them in any way, and I think the final probably just helps kind of solidify the mind there and just get you right for it.”

Meanwhile, Ballynahinch’s 2009 All-Ireland Cup triumph, back when it was a different competition with a different structure, remains one of their great historical touchpoints, a reminder that silverware is not a fantasy but a concrete reality etched into the club’s story.

When the Bateman Cup format was reinstated in 2011, with its restored trophy and tightened prestige, ‘Hinch were often there or thereabouts. This weekend, all of that shifts. This weekend breaks a ceiling. Skipper Claytan Milligan can feel it in the way the squad moves.

“Clontarf are a solid side. They’ve only lost once all season, they’e the reigning league champs, you know the list goes on,” said Milligan, who was involved as a replacement during their 78-0 semi-final success against Sligo.

“But there’s a lot of pressure on that for them as well to stay at the top and to be on the money each week, and I think that’s one of the factors we’re going to look to push. Build on that and add the pressure as we go down.

“Definitely it is a strange one that it is a cup final and a league game. It sort of makes sense. Two very abrasive sides, so for squad contingency in terms of injuries, it makes sense.

“Everyone loves the big events. You have the mentality of it’s just another league game but then you also bring in that emotional side. This is a cup, this is an opportunity for us to take home some silverware and make history.”

Recent League Meetings – Saturday, December 7, 2024: Ballynahinch 12 Clontarf 32, Ballymacarn Park; Saturday, January 18, 2025: Clontarf 45 Ballynahinch 16, Castle Avenue

IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Clontarf to win

CLONTARF: Hugo Lennox; Ross Deegan, Alex O’Grady, Tadhg Bird, Peter Maher; Conor Kelly, Sam Owens; Alex Usanov, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Niall Smyth, Fionn Gilbert, Alan Spicer, Alex Soroka, Aaron Coleman, Jordan Coghlan.

Replacements: Declan Adamson, Ivan Soroka, Paul Deeny, Michael Moloney, Mark O’Sullivan, Charlie Ward.

BALLYNAHINCH: Conor Rankin; Adam Bennett, Pierce Crowe, Matthew Booth, Aaron Sexton; Paul Kerr, Chris Gibson; Matthew Burke, Claytan Milligan (capt), Tom McAllister, Declan Horrox, Ryan Connolly, Zack McCall, Reuben Crothers, Bradley Luney.

Replacements: Josh Hanlon, John Dickson, Joe Charles, Stephen Campbell, Jon Rodgers, Ruairi Meharg.

Referee: Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)