It was the Grosvenor Grammar School pack that laid the foundations for their emphatic 22-7 Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Round 3 win against a strangely quiet Banbridge Academy team. The Grosvenor pack dominated proceedings at both the scrum and lineout while their back row trio of Issac Thompson, Ryan McKnight and Conor Sinclair had total control of the breakdown area. Mark Foster, Stuart Smyth and Nick Jones were in control at scrum time while the two Matthews, Harland and Cahoon, were in the ascendancy when it came to the line outs. The Grosvenor team made good use of their domination of possession in the first half. They scored a try through Martyn Irwin who took full advantage of good work from Ben Coard and Paul Kennedy to touch down at the Banbridge Academy posts. Surprisingly, the try was not converted but the home team had a 5-0 lead.
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This try was closely followed by a second from Stuart Smyth, the energetic Grosvenor Grammar School hooker. Scott Irvine added the conversion to give his team a deserved 12-0 half time lead. The second half was almost a repeat of the first period of play with the Grosvenor team scoring two tries. The first came ten minutes into the second half when good skills from the Grosvenor scrum half, Neil Adams, presented Stuart Smyth with the opportunity to score his second try of the game. Stuart touiched down for the try but once aghain, the conversion was missed. Despite this, the Grosvenor Grammar School team now had a 17-0 lead. The second Grosvenor try of the second half was scored by No 8, Conor Sinclair. He drove over for a try following a great scrum from his Grosvenor Grammar School pack. Unusually for him, Scott Irvine missed this conversion attempt as well as a number of penalties in the course of the game but his team now had an unassailable 22-0 lead. The Banbridge team staged something of a comeback in the closing stages of the game when their hard working full back, Michael Runciman, was rewarded for his endeavours with a fine individual try. Chrissy Craig added the conversion but it was a case of too little, too late for the Banbridge Academy team. It was a delighted Grosvenor Grammar School team that celebrated their well-deserved 22-7 win at the final whistle and go proudly through to the 4th Round of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup.
Grosvenor GS Team:
M. foster (c), S. smyth, N. jones, M. Harland, M. cahoon, I. Thompson, R. McKnight, C. Sinclair, n. Adams, P. Davison, B. Coard, P. Kennedy, M. Irwin, T. Taylor, S. Irvine, M. Allen, R. Anderson, B. Gibson, S. Marshall, L. Patton, J. Taylor, C. Elliott
Banbridge Academy Team:
H. russell, Bryce Redmond, John McKane, Mark Sinton, K. Martin (c), B. Martin, D. McKeown, T. Jess, A. Kennedy, C. Craig, J. Weir, M. Kerr, H. Harbinson, M. Ross, M. Runciman, J. Buchanan, C. Boardman, C. McGregor, M. Stevenson, A. Heron, C. Watt, C. Sterling
