Needing a victory from their final group game to make sure of a place in the knockout stages of the competition, the home side got off to a disastrous start when they conceded a score under the posts within five minutes of the kick-off.

However, using the dominance of their much more experienced and physical pack, Ophir soon started to get the upper hand and were eventually rewarded with a try from number eight Dave Lucas.

A penalty put the visitors 10-5 ahead, but Willy Cully responded with three points for Ophir as they reduced the deficit to 10-8 at the break.

With the wind at their backs in the second period, the home side’s pack continued to dominate and were soon rewarded with a hat-trick of tries.

Dave Lucas charged over for his second of the afternoon, while scrumhalf Karl Davis and hooker Mark McLaughlin also got on the scoresheet. Fullback Cully converted twice to put Ophir out of sight at 27-10 with just 15 minutes remaining.

Credit to the young Randalstown side who continued to fight until the final whistle, eventually picking up a deserved consolation try in the dying seconds to leave the final score 27-17.

Ophir are now expected to take on either PSNI or Lurgan in the quarter-final.