We arrived at Banbridge Academy at 11am on Saturday 30th October to watch their II XV play Kings school Ely, a side from England on tour.
As with any touring side their a very few predictions of how the game will be played and very hard to predict the winner.
The conditions were perfect! The torrential rain had not affected the ground at all, the pristine pitch is on a raised area behind the school and had drained well. A bright blue sky and virtually no wind and a cool autumn air set the scene for an excellent game of rugby.
Banbridge began strong in the first half although their initial try was matched very quickly by an equilizer from Kings School.
The visiting side went behind by a few scores before half time and were stareing defeat in the face. But they marshalled themselves well and their team spirit came to the fore in the second half. Starting well they worked hard, defending, rucking and counter rucking with zeal.
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A number of their players stood out including the centre and their kicker made the difference in the second half converting from distance and almost from the touchline!
The conversions gave the visiting side just the encouragement they needed and the last 5-10 minutes they defended very well against wave after wave of attacks from Banbridge including maul and set peice moves from the line out.
Well done to Kings School Ely and we shall be including their game against Banbridge Academy in our tours section on the home page.
Banbridge Academy I XV may have produced a different score line but in the final analysis the teams were fairly well matched and on a different day Academy IIs may well have won.
A good game played in good spirits and a credit to the standard of rugby at both schools.
Well done to everyone.
