The Schools’ Cup final 2015 between Wallace High School and The Royal Belfast Academical Institution was an excellent game of rugby yesterday at the Kingspan stadium Belfast. Both teams were superb. In the opening phases of the game Instonians took it to Wallace with strong forwards play putting enormous pressure on the Wallace team who fought back against that onslaught and repelled the Instonians attacks. Cold driven hardcore rugby was shown by both teams to leave this opening phase scoreless although the Instonians team kicker TJ will be getting a few mentions of two missed kicks which was a massive learning curve for him as the mantle of kicking those was surely the two most pressured moments of his career and the overall experience will do this player the world of good. Wallace then experienced a short period of possession from which they scored. And so the tone of the game was set.
What we mean is Instonians did have the majority of possession and scored from this continued possession and territory never taking their foot of the gas, never seeking to sit back and let Wallace come at them the Instonians defence in the midfield combined with searching kicks to the corners was continually putting the Wallace side under territorial pressure. Instonians kept the ball tight in the forwards for periods and also drove forward from some neat backs work and kicks.
The tackling was ferocious, ferocious, a full on game of rugby lads. The Instonians took it to Wallace throughout the game with ball in hand and Wallace were the fitting team to be in the final, I would say that the final could have seen MCB, Campbell, CAI, Sullivan, Down High, Omagh Academy and more are knocking on the door of the Semis and the final, Ballyclare High were in the mix again.
The tournament this year was brilliant, it always is. The level of rugby has improved and the coaching, gentlemen all these small steps that everyone is making to move the standard forward in S&C, Pyschology, Nutrition, knowledge of the game is incredible, but once again the mould of success has been exhibited. Ball in hand, possession based rugby, taking it to the opposition and absolutely equally defending. Instonians defence yesterday was superb, absolutely superb. Lets face it, that defence was against Wallace High school and they had played against MCB to get to the final!!!
As George Hook would say – they were selling bottled holy water at shaws bridge last night!!!!!!
Its all part of the job lads, its all part of the job!
