Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Round Up Saturday 23rd September 2017.
There was a number of midweek games played in the lead in to a full list of schoolboy fixtures, plus the last of the Schools’ age grade fixtures, played on Saturday 23rd September.
On Wednesday 20th a Friends’ School played against Dromore High School in a game that ended as a 7-7 draw. Ross Stewart scored the Friends’ School try which was converted by Reece Malone who was featuring in his first game of the season. The Dromore High School points came from an Aaron Lyttle try which Reuben Cobb converted.
Ballyclare Secondary School hosted Sullivan Upper 3rdxv in a midweek game the Sullivan Upper team won by 10-8. The Ballyclare points game through a Kofi Balmer penalty and an unconverted try from Jack Milton.
The Sullivan Upper School points came through tries from AJ Tierney and Alex Dowling.
On Friday 22nd September a Ballyclare High School xv played Larne Grammar School in a game the Ballyclare team won by 21-17. Micah Stevenson, Aaron Gallagher and Jason Ward scored tries for the Larne Grammar School team with Euan Glenn adding one conversion. For the Ballyclare team Lewis Shaw, Ben Dixon and Alex McVicker all scored tries with Mark Jackson adding one conversion and Alex McVicker two.
On Saturday 23rd September the last of the Ireland Schools’ Age Grade Inter Pro fixtures took place when the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ U18 team travelled to play their Leinster counterparts at the Donnybrook Stadium in Dublin. In a closely contested it was the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ team that won the game by 18-17 and, with the win, returned home as Inter-Provincial Champions.
Nathan Doak opened the scoring for the Ulster team with a well struck penalty in the fifth minute to give his team a 3-0 lead. This became 8-0 eleven minutes later, when Ryan O’Neill crashed over for an unconverted try following a series of multiple phase plays. The Leinster team replied midway through the half when, following a rare appearance into the Ulster half, Mike O’Gara converted a penalty opportunity which reduced the deficit to 8-3. The last few minutes of the first period of play saw the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ team extend their lead to 15-3 when an Aaron Sexton run took play deep into Leinster territory. The resultant ruck produced the quality possession which enabled James Nelson to finish with a try. Nathan Doak added the extras. With the final play of the half the Leinster team reduced the arrears to 15-10 when Ross McInnes scored a try which was converted by Mike O’Gara.
Six minutes into the second half more Ulster pressure saw the Leinster team concede a penalty which Nathan Doak converted to extend the Ulster lead to 18-10. Back came the Leinster team and, six minutes from the end, Sam Dardis scored a try, which Mick O’Gara converted, to see the scoreboard read 18-17 in favour of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ team. A vital turnover towards the end of the game by the Ulster forwards, and the ability to run the clock down, ensured the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ team finished the game as deserved winners of the 2017/18 IRFU Schools’ U18 Championship. It was a delighted John McKee, captain of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ team, who lifted the Inter- Provincial Championship Cup at the post match presentation ceremony.
Also in Dublin on 23rd September was the Ballyclare High School team that was playing the Blackrock College “Castle” team in a game the Blackrock College team won by 24-22. The home team took a 5-0 lead with an unconverted try in the early stages of the game. The Ballyclare HS team responded with a try from Stuart Hull, which was converted by Josh Cowan, to see the Ballyclare team into a 7-5 lead at the interval.
Ross Patterson scored a try early in the second half to see his team extend their lead to 12-5. Blackrock then scored an unconverted try to reduce their deficit to 12-10. A Ross Patterson intercept try extended the Ballyclare lead to 17-10 only for the Blackrock team to score a converted try which drew the scores level at 17-17.Going into the final few minutes an unconverted try from Ewan Wasson gave the Ballyclare team a 22-17 lead. However, with just seconds remaining the Blackrock team scored a converted try which ensured they finished the game as 24-22 winners.
Dalriada School hosted Cambridge House School in a game the Dalriada team won by 18-8. James McCormick and Luke Pollock scored tries for the Dalriada team with James adding two penalties as well as one conversion.
The Cambridge House points all came from James Bovill who scored a try as well as a penalty.
Coleraine Grammar School hosted Regent House School in a game the Coleraine GS team won by 29-17. Andrew White put on a Man of the Match performance for the Coleraine GS team with his ability to make line breaks as well as scoring two tries. Reuben Hutchinson, Ross Moore and Mark Lamont were the other try scorers for the Coleraine GS team. Pierce Crowe was successful with two conversions.
The Regent House points came from Callum Dawson, Stuart Martin and Jack Smith with Jack adding two conversions.
Sullivan Upper School recorded a morale boosting 29-3 victory against a Down High School team that had started the season with an impressive run of victories. The Sullivan Upper tries were scored by Matthew Martin, Patrick Casement, Rory Kirkpatrick and Shay Storey. Conor McKee was successful with two conversions as well as one penalty.
Greg Hutley was successful with a consolation penalty for the Down High School team.
Royal Belfast Academical Institution defeated the Friends’ School, Lisburn team by 27-0 when the teams met on the pristine Osborne Park pitch. All the Belfast Inst points came in the first half with Friends’ School Old Scholar, Niall Armstrong, scoring twice, Simon Jackson scoring twice and Ewan Magee scoring once. David Lyttle was successful with one conversion.
The Friends’ School team put on a much better performance in the second half both in attack and defence. Players such as Ross Stewart, both Jack Hartes, George Pringle and Reece Malone all stood out.
Bangor Grammar School lost by 34-19 against Ballymena Academy when the teams met at the Gransha Road venue on Saturday. The Bangor Grammar School points came through tries from Daniel Young, Riley Westwood and Gareth Wells. Rhys L:armour was successful with two conversions.
The Ballymena Academy points came through tries from Jonny Browne and Mark Thompson, both of which were converted by Bruce Houston, in the first half. They scored four unconverted tries in the second half with Tiarnan Martin touching down twice and Harry Gaston and James McLean running in for one try each.
The WK Armstrong “Chico” Cup was at stake when the Royal School, Dungannon team hosted Grosvenor Grammar School on the WK Armstrong pitch at the Royal School. The home team won the game by 15-0 in front of a large group of supporters. Luke McMullan opened the scoring for the Dungannon team with a well struck penalty to give his team a 3-0 lead. James Wilson was causing problems for the Grosvenor defence with his line breaks. Just before the break, and with the assistance of his forwards, James squeezed over the line for a try. Luke McMullan added the conversion to see his team into a 10-0 lead at the break.
The second half was evenly contested with the only score coming when a high up and under from Grosvenor was superbly dealt with by Luke McMullan. He gathered the ball and skipped past a number of defenders before off-loading to Ben Nicholl. Clever play from Ben presented the opportunity for David Maxwell to run in for an unconverted try which secured the 15-0 win for the Royal School, Dungannon team.
Further west in Enniskillen the Enniskillen Royal Grammar School team recorded a hard earned 14-7 victory over the Royal School, Armagh team. Early pressure from the Enniskillen RGS team forced the RS Armagh team into conceding two penalties, which Reece Smyton converted, to put the home team into a 6-0 lead. The Royal School, Armagh team responded with a try from Zac Thompson, which he converted, too see his team into a 7-6 lead at the break.
Reece Smyton kicked a third penalty in the second half to put the Enniskillen RGS team into a 9-7 lead. With the final play of the game the Enniskillen Royal Grammar School prop, Jack Coulter, made a lung bursting lunge for the line where he touched down for an unconverted try which secured the 14-7 victory for his team.
The Rainey Endowed School team got back to winning ways when they defeated Foyle and Londonderry College by 47-0. The Rainey team took a 19-0 lead into the interval with tries from Karl Warner, Patrick Magowan and Harry Evans. Karl was successful with two conversions.
The Rainey ES team scored four second half tries through Ciaran Doyle, Jacob McGookin and Ross Speers, both of whom were debutants, and a second from Karl Warner. Karl converted all four to secure the 47-0 victory for the Rainey Endowed School team.
Portadown College entertained Belfast High School in a game the Portadown team won by 31-7. The Portadown played the game at a high tempo and had built up a 19-0 lead by half time. Their three tries, in the first half, came from Dylan Nelson, Daniel Moorcroft and Christopher Thornberry. Adam Speers was successful with two of his conversion kicks.
The second half saw Dylan Nelson score his second try of the game when he touched down for an unconverted try to see his team into a 24-0 lead. The Belfast High School team got some reward for their endeavours when Jack Ferguson scored an intercept try which Brandon McMinn converted. The Portadown College team then secured their 31-7 victory when Jordan McAteer ran in for a try, which was converted by Elliott McKew, in the closing stages of the game.
Omagh Academy travelled to play Banbridge Academy where they were made to work hard for their 27-19 win. The Banbridge Academy team had built up a 14-10 lead by half time with tries from their out half, Tom Flanagan, and hooker, Timmy Beattie. Tom converted both tries. Taine Lagan made a great break before finishing off with an unconverted try for the Omagh team. Their second unconverted try in the first half came from their domination of the lineout with Troy Booth crashing over following a clever lineout move.
The Omagh Academy team raised the level of their performance in the second half. Taine Lagan converted a penalty opportunity to reduce the arrears to 14-13. Good work from Adam Porter and Stuart Nelson paved the way for a Taine Lagan break which finished with Taine touching down for a try under the Banbridge Academy posts. Taine added the conversion to see his team into a 20-14 lead. Back came the Banbridge team and their No 8. Adam Hanna barged his way over the Omagh line for an unconverted try which saw the scoreboard read 20-19 in favour of the visitors going into the final ten minutes. An Omagh penalty was kicked to the corner and, from the resultant lineout, Troy Booth gathered the ball. He received assistance from Philip Rainey and Nathan Kilfedder before charging over the line to score a try. Taine Lagan converted the try to secure the 27-19 win for the Omagh Academy team.
Taine Lagan, Troy Booth, Scott Ballantine and Nathan Young all impressed for the Omagh Academy team while Adam Hanna, Peter Slieth and Timmy Beattie impressed for the Banbridge Academy team.
Carrickfergus Grammar School had a morale boosting 22-12 victory against Limavady Grammar School when the teams met at the North Road venue. The foundations for the win lay with the performance of the Carrickfergus Grammar School pack with tight head prop, Joshua Irvine, 2nd Row, David Doherty and No 8, Tiernan McGreevy, all impressing. Daniel Curley, Joshua Evans and Joshua Clements scored the Carrickfergus Grammar School tries with team captain, Daniel Curley, adding two conversions and one penalty.
The Limavady Grammar School points came from two James Howe tries, one of which was converted by Jamie Young.
Campbell College hosted Wallace High School in an exciting game which finished with the Wallace High team emerging as 29-24 winners. Reuben Crothers scored two of the Wallace tries with Sam Cardosi, Jamie Peters and Joel Dundas scoring one try each. Jack Dillon was successful with two conversions
The Campbell College points through tries from Jamie Macartney, who touched down twice, and Jack Rainey. Oscar Yandall added three conversions as well as one penalty.
Methodist College defeated Belfast Royal Academy by 31-3 when the teams met at Roughfort. Harry Warke kicked a penalty for the Belfast Royal Academy team but no information was made available regarding the MCB points scorers.
Antrim Grammar School experienced difficulties in getting a team out on Saturday so their scheduled game at Lurgan College was cancelled.
