A late Pierre Nasr try edged Jounieh home against Balamand on Friday night as the Bank of Beirut Rugby League championship emerged from its seasonal hiatus with a tough top-of-the-table tussle. Nasr touched down with two minutes remaining to break a 12-12 tie, converting his own kick to put the finishing touches on a masterful personal display that erased any lingering bad memories he may have had of his awkward performance against LAU in December. Then, in Jounieh’s last match, a 20-18 defeat, the Liban Espoir captain fumbled two kicks which led to LAU tries, but tonight his touch was more Midas than mule. Nasr’s two tries take him to within five of second place on the all-time leading try-scorers chart, with Jawad Fakih’s mark of 48 four-pointers looking decidedly more vulnerable with every passing week.

Al-Galacticos controlled most areas of the match, although their habit of dropping far too much ball on their trips up north almost came back to haunt them, manifestly in a blue and gold No. 6 shirt. Omar Darwich, Balamand’s influential utility, who played Jounieh like a fiddle in their first meeting this season, scored two tries in a ten minute spell that saw Balamand take the lead against the run of play. The match featured some strong defending, with the no-prisoners duel fought between the competition’s two best centres, Balamand’s Najy Bassil and Jounieh’s Ghassan Dandash, a pulsating feature throughout.

Jounieh were pushed forward by impressive front row Amer Hashem and lock Youssef El Helou, returning from a shoulder injury. The deadlock was finally broken in the 31^st minute when El Helou’s break gave Dandash the opportunity to slide in. Nasr scored with three minutes to go in the half, but with utility Wissam Chami missing both kicks Al-Galacticos led only 8-0. Darwich, who leaves for Australia later this month, took full advantage of a Balamand purple patch, scoring in the 50^th and 59^th minute, while Jounieh’s nuggety scrum-half, Danny Chemaly, leveled matters on 71 minutes.