Provincial South – Phase 1
Saturday 26th September 2026
Try Scorers: M Pitts, P McKenna, S McOscar, T Eakin, M McCullough
Conversions: S McOscar (4)
Rainey 3rd XV travelled to Rifle Park on Saturday for their second Provincial South – Phase 1 league fixture of the season, facing Banbridge 4th XV in a game that certainly delivered plenty of entertainment for the spectators.
In a high-scoring encounter, the home side eventually ran out 72–33 winners, despite Rainey making an excellent start to proceedings.
There were eight changes to the Rainey side that had opened their league campaign the previous week, but the visitors showed from the opening whistle that they were ready for the challenge.
Rainey kicked off and immediately put Banbridge under pressure. Captain and back-row forward Matty McCullough produced an excellent piece of work, ripping the ball from the Banbridge attack before powering his way over the line to score the opening try of the afternoon.
Scrum-half Sean McOscar added the conversion to give Rainey an early 7–0 lead.
Rainey continued to dominate possession and territory, and their second try soon followed. After a series of strong ruck phases and good clean ball, prop Matthew Pitts found himself with an opportunity to attack the line. With the ball moving smoothly through the hands and Banbridge being drawn into the ruck, a gap opened up and Pitts made no mistake, surging through to score.
McOscar once again converted to put Rainey 14–0 ahead.
The visitors were playing some excellent rugby and added a third try shortly afterwards. Centre Pearce McKenna received the ball inside the Banbridge 22 and showed good pace to gallop over the line for Rainey’s third score.
McOscar maintained his 100% record from the tee, adding the extras to make it 21–0.
Despite Rainey’s impressive opening, Banbridge gradually worked their way back into the contest. The home side scored three tries, one of which was converted, before adding a penalty to close the gap considerably.
At half-time, Rainey held a narrow 21–20 advantage, setting up an intriguing second half.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Banbridge came out strongly after the interval and went on to add a further 52 points through a combination of tries, conversions and penalties.
Rainey continued to show plenty of attacking intent, however, and added two further tries of their own.
Young out-half Thomas Eakin was responsible for the first. After coming around the blindside and calling for the ball, Eakin helped organise the Rainey attack before receiving quick ball from a ruck. Spotting space in front of him, he backed himself, using quick feet to step the Banbridge defender before diving over for an excellent individual score.
The conversion was unsuccessful.
Rainey’s final try of the afternoon came from McOscar. Taking a quick tap penalty from inside his own half, around the Rainey 10-metre line, the scrum-half embarked on an impressive run, weaving his way through the Banbridge defence before racing under the posts.
McOscar converted his own try to bring his tally for the afternoon to four successful conversions.
Despite Rainey’s five-try haul and an outstanding opening 40 minutes, Banbridge’s strength in the second half saw them pull clear and claim a 72–33 victory.
There were plenty of positives for Rainey to take from the opening half, particularly the attacking rugby that produced three early tries and a 21–0 lead. The 3rds will now look to regroup and take those positives into their next Provincial South fixture.
