Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Semi-Final Previews Monday 29th February February/Tuesday 1st March 2016.
The Danske Bank Ulster schools’ Cup semi-finals will take place on Monday 29th February and Tuesday 1st March 2016 with both games being played at the Kingspan Stadium.
The first of the games will feature the current Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup holders Royal Belfast Academical Institution against Ballymena Academy. Both these teams have come through their recent Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup encounters relatively unscathed with neither team conceding a try in the course of those two games. The Royal Belfast Academical Institution team has been scoring tries for fun having run four tries in against Coleraine Grammar School in their 3rd Round game and six tries against Sullivan Upper in their quarter-final game. Most of these tries have been scored by the Belfast Inst backs but Inst forwards, such as Charlie Cloke, have been responsible for a couple of tries as well. The Belfast Inst coaches, Director of Rugby, Dan Soper, and Richard Hedley, know their young charges are keen to emulate the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Class of 2015 and will have a great desire to hold on to the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. However, they will have to overcome the not insignificant challenge the Ballymena Academy team will provide and the Inst coaching staff will not be allowing their squad to look beyond that game. They will be hoping the Belfast Inst pack, with players such as Callum Reid, a potential Ireland U18 player, John Dickson, Neil Saulters, Jake Chambers and Charlie Cloke to call upon will at least get parity with the strong Ballymena pack at set piece time. They will have to if the Belfast Inst half backs, Rhys O’Donnell and Michael Lowry, are to be allowed to impose their undoubted game management skills on the proceedings. Outside backs such as James Hume, another potential target for the Ireland U18 Management team, Ben McGavock, Joe Finnegan and Mark Keane have thrived off the good work from their pack and half backs in the course of the current Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign. However, it seems that the Belfast Inst player who has benefitted most from the good work from his team mates has been the Royal Belfast Academical Institution captain, Conor Field. Early season Conor was dogged by injury. However, his carefully managed rehab programme has seen Conor being able to return to play in a most outstanding manner. His pace, power and panache as a winger were all clear to be seen in his last two Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup outings. His gather, chip, chase and touch down try against Sullivan Upper in the quarter-final was a superb piece of skill which had the supporters from both schools joining together in great appreciation. The Ballymena Academy defence will have to ensure Conor receives a limited supply of possession in the course of this first Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup semi-final.
The Ballymena Academy players, coached by Joh Andrews and Gavin Murray, have gone about their business in a most efficient manner in their last two Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup games. Their 12-3 victory against a very good Wallace High School team in the 3rd Round instilled a great deal of confidence in their squad of players which was carried through their 4th Round game against a committed Belfast Royal Academy team. The Ballymena Academy squad has a good mixture of youth and experience among the ranks. Team captain, Marcus Rea, who has also captained the Ulster U19 team, is one of a number of players who has played for three years in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup competition. Alexander Clarke, a member of last season’s Ireland U18 FIRA squad, is a key player in the Ballymena Academy pack. His throwing, striking, carrying, tackling and decision making skills displayed against the Belfast Royal Academy team in the quarter-final game were of the highest order. Alexander is still eligible for the Ireland U18 squad this season. Jonny McKeown, also a member of the 2015 FIRA squad, is joined by team captain, Marcus Rea, and the ever present Azur Allison in a dynamic Ballymena Academy back row. Marcus and Jonny will have their performances in the semi-final closely monitored by the Ireland U19 Management team. Jonny gives great support in terms of leadership to Marcus and, as Head Boy of the school, is in a prime position to do so. Josh Bill, another member of the Ulster U19 squad, is another player who is important to the Ballymena Academy pack. These are the three players who will be playing in their 3rd Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign. David Forsythe, the Ballymena Academy loose head prop, has currently played thirty seven consecutive games, over two seasons, for his team. His front row battle, along with that of Alexander Clarke and Josh Bill against their Belfast Inst counterparts could be one of the keys to the eventual outcome of this game. The Ballymena backline has a number of players who can work well with the ball in hand given the right conditions and quality of possession.. Michael Stronge is an emerging scrum half who has the ability to influence the outcome of games. He has already featured with the Ulster U19 team despite being two years young. His half back partner, Bruce Houston, is very young but has a mature head on his shoulders. He has scored over 120 points for the team this season. He was very accurate with his boot against the Wallace High School and the Belfast Royal Academy teams in the previous two rounds. Bruce has displayed great ability with the ball out of hand as well as off the tee in both those games. If these two players can get their “act” together it could be a difficult afternoon for the Royal Belfast Academical Institution defence. There is an abundance of pace and power in the wider Ballymena Academy channels with players such as Angus Kernohan, another Ulster age Grade player, Conor Cosgrove, Ryan McKee and Alan Small all willing to take on the opposition defenders. Angus put in a superb try scoring performance against the Belfast Royal Academy team and he would be delighted with a repeat of that performance against the Belfast Inst team. Mark Thompson, another attendee at the recent Ireland U18 Camp, is an exciting prospect at full back on the Ballymena team. All of these players have scored tries for the Ballymena Academy team this season and will need to be closely monitored by the Royal Belfast Academical Institution defence throughout this Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup semi-final game.
This Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup semi-final is due to kick off at 2-30pm on February 29th.
The Dalriada School players, coached by Rab Gregg and Benji Van Der Byl, have surprised a lot of people, with the possible exception of themselves, by reaching the semi-finals of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. They have overcome the challenges presented by a very good Omagh Academy team at home in the 2nd Round, away against a committed Foyle and Londonderry College in the 3rd Round and at home against a very confident Bangor Grammar School team, which had spent the night before the game on the North Coast, at the quarter-final stage. The Dalriada team has scored quite a few tries in the course of those games and will be hoping to adopt the same positive approach as they prepare to play Campbell College on Tuesday March 1st. Campbell College defeated Dalriada by 46-13 in the 1993 Schools’ Cup final and how the current group of Dalriada players would love to turn that score around on Tuesday. The coaching staff did their homework on the Bangor Grammar School team prior to the quarter-final game and the players carried their game plan out to a “tee” in the course of the game. The fact they had to replace a number of players who had picked up an illness bug just prior to kick off did not seem to impact heavily on the performance of the Dalriada team against Bangor Grammar School. The same amount of preparation will have gone to into this intriguing game and, once again, the Dalriada players will have to step up to the mark. The foundations for the Dalriada success against Bangor were laid by the Dalriada pack. They squeezed the life out of the opposition pack for most of the game and denied the Bangor Grammar School team any real quality possession with which to work for long periods of the game. They were more than comfortable at scrum time but it was in the lineout area where the hard work really paid off. Hooker, and scorer of the first Dalriada try against Bangor, Jack Dowey, was deadly accurate with his throws. Jack Horsborough, scorer of the decisive try towards the end of the game, ruled not only his own lineouts but even took time to relieve the Bangor team of a number of theirs. The backrow players ran themselves into the ground with players such as Matthew Kernohan and Alan Montgomery excelling in all aspects of play and especially at the breakdown. Matthew is joined by Aaron Christie and Matthew Lockhart in his third Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign. Team captain, Angus Johnston, is the top try and points scorer for the Dalriada team. Angus forms an astute halfback partnership with Matthew McConnaghie and their aim has been to move the opposition around the park in their previous games. The dominance of the Dalriada pack in those games has allowed them to use this tactic successfully. There is power and pace aplenty in the Dalriada back line. Their direct lines of running and pace of attack have caused problems for opposition defences all season. Players such as Ross Fallows, Thomas Hunter and Gavin Mc Connaghie will enjoy using the wide open spaces afforded to them on the Kingspan pitch if their pack, and fellow backs, can create sufficient ball and opportunities for them to do so. Stewart Moore, a Year 12 pupil at the school, is perhaps the jewel in the Dalriada back division crown. Stewart is a very talented rugby player who has scored many points this season through tries and goal kicks. Stewart was successful with three out of four conversion kicks against Omagh Academy, four out of five against the Foyle and Londonderry College team and scored points against Bangor Grammar School as well. He has also scored tries in many games this season. He is another player who is being closely monitored by the Ulster Rugby Talent ID Department. Stewart has had a fine Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign so far and he will be out to further impress in this Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup game against Campbell College.
This Campbell College, Belfast squad of players are seen by many observers of the game at schools in Ulster as being clear favourites to win, not only this semi-final clash, but the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup final as well. Their last appearance in the Ulster Schools’ Cup final was in 2011 when the competition was sponsored by the Northern Bank and the team was captained by John Creighton. They won the game on that occasion and the current Campbell College captain, James Boyle, would love dearly to emulate that success. The Campbell College team had a resounding victory against the Friends’ School, Lisburn team in the 3rd Round of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup but was made to work very hard by a committed Methodist College team for their 11-10 victory in the course of their quarter-final clash. That result was described as being as good as the performance was poor. The Campbell College coaches, Brian Robinson and Jonny Cupitt, will have worked on the aspects of the performance against Methodist College they felt were not up to the high standard expected of the team. They will not allow their charges to take the challenge provided by the Dalriada team lightly. The Campbell College preparation for this game will reflect that. Team captain and hooker, James Boyle, leads his team from the front. He has been involved with Ulster Schools’ training squads and both props either side of him have been as well. Loose head prop, Matthew Russell, has been with the Ulster Schools’ training squad while Tom O’Toole, on the tight head side, has been involved with the Ulster Schools’ Ulster U18 team as well as with the recent Ireland U18 Camps. Second Row, James Nelson, featured with the Ulster Schools’ U18 team earlier in the season and is joined by Marcus Collim another talented Campbell College player being monitored by the Ulster Rugby Talent ID Department. Backrow players, flankers Matthew and John Crowther, and No 8, Jack-Barry Glendinning, have all been involved with Ulster Schools’ U18 teams. John showed another side to his game against Methodist College when he converted a superb penalty kick opportunity from all off 45 metres. Jack-Barry Glendinning was the try scorer for the Campbell team against Methodist College. Malcolm Corry, Jonny Haldane, Paddy Beverland, Ben Webb, Oscar Yandell, Nicholai Koplewski and Jack Howard are players in a very talented Campbell College backline who love to get a chance to run with the ball at every conceivable occasion. They have all been regular try scorers for their team throughout the season. They will all be looking for further opportunities to repeat their try scoring feats on Tuesday. Malcolm Corry is another first rate place kicker who will take full advantage of any opposition indiscretions. The Dalriada School team will need to be disciplined for the duration of the game against Campbell College.
This Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ semi-final is due to kick off at 2-30pm on March 1st.
