The Wolves handed Balamand an 11-try thrashing in Bhamdoun on Saturday afternoon to cement second place behind arch-rivals LAU. Five players scored two tries as AUB’s free-flowing style blew the northerners away. The scale of the victory was so huge, and the manner of defeat so total that questions must be raised over Balamand’s ability to mount a serious challenge towards the business end of the season. Although they had weathered the loss of Espoir duo Darwich Darwich and Amin Maassarani at the beginning of the season stoically, the recent loss of creative pair Omar Darwiche and Gilbert Haydamous hit the Razorbacks hard, and last week their best defender, Najy Bassil, was injured along with promising prop Abdel Kader Jamal El-Dine – and even coach Mohamed Habbous was unable to attend the match due to thumb and ankle ligament damage.

Any team would struggle in the face of such adversity and although Balamand were bravely led by Firas El Mir and Wael Tawil, critical lapses in concentration cost them dearly in the first half, offering an AUB side that needed no second invitations a chance to play with width and no little panache. Australian Darren Kinnaird and Irishman Daniel Egan were again instrumental in stretching the visitors this way and that, while scrum half Anthony Ghossein, turning in arguably his best performance so far this season, combined well with AUB’s big pack. The first half, which ended 34-6, was a steady procession of AUB tries, the pick of the bunch a short-side raid orchestrated by Kinnaird and finished by wing Akram Al Chamaa in the 26^th minute. Ghossein scored the first of his two tries on the last play of the half, dummying past Balamand fullback Riad Khoury before sprinting 80-metres to score.

Kinnaird scored the first two AUB tries of the second half as the men in red galloped through Balamand’s withered three-quarter defences. Despite some strong tackling displays from many of Balamand’s backs, notably Youssef Chaghoury and Tarek Makhlouf, the sheer torrent of possession that was sent their way meant complete tactical domination of the match by AUB.

AUB face an interesting test against Jounieh next week, while Balamand, in their vulnerable state, is the ideal next opponent for USJ.