The one game that escaped the adverse weather was the clash involving Bangor Grammar School at home to Friends’ School, Lisburn. The pitch at Ballymacormick Road was in good order with a large attendance of supporters from both teams at the game. Included among the supporters was ex Ulster and current Leinster scrum half, Isaac Boss. Isaac has developed a keen interest in Ulster Schools’ Rugby through his association with Friends’ School in the past two seasons. He was part of the successful Leinster team that won their Heineken European Cup game against Racing Metro in Paris on Friday evening. Despite travelling back to Dublin in the early hours of Saturday morning, nothing was going to stop Isaac travelling to the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ game in Bangor with the Friends’ School team.
Click Here For pictures of Bangor GS v Friends School, courtesy of Ken Best
He can be assured of great support from the Friends’ School players when he turns out for the Irish Wolfhounds at Ravenhill on Friday 4th February. From the kick off the home team declared their positive intentions and took play directly into the Friends’ School 22m area. From a line out taken by Luke Dornan, the Bangor Grammar School back line moved the ball quickly through their hands. They created an overlap in the wide channels which was exploited eventually by the Bangor scrum half, Craig Harper. He outpaced the Friends’ School defence to touch down under the posts for the first try of the game. Stuart McCloskey stepped up to convert the try and give his team a 7-0 lead after only two minutes play.
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The Friends’ team responded positively to this early setback and put the home team under pressure. The Lisburn team spent the next ten minutes encamped in the Bangor 10m area. Positive play and control of possession forced the home team into giving away a series of penalties but the Friends’ team was unable to turn these opportunities into points. A change of tactics saw the Friends’ team work with the ball in hand with Rory McIvor, Paddy Pringle and Michael Cochrane asking questions of the home defence. These questions were answered in a very positive manner with Daniel Kennedy and Jake Onyekwelu putting in a number of vital tackles to ensure the home line remained intact. It was now the turn of the Bangor team to control the game. Their scrum and line out started to function properly enabling the home team to gain a territorial advantage in the lead up to the half time whistle. Despite losing their No 8, Jonny Gordon, to injury, the Bangor team was in the ascendancy. They had an opportunity to increase their lead when the Friends’ midfield was penalised for straying off side. Unusually, Stuart McCloskey missed the kick to leave the half time score at 7-0 in favour of the Bangor Grammar School team. The Bangor team started the second period of play very strongly. Stuart McCloskey, Michael Aspley and Daniel Kennedy all combined to take play deep into Friends’ School territory. Following an infringement at an ensuing ruck, the Bangor team was awarded a penalty. Stuart McCloskey was successful with his kick to put his team into a 10-0 lead. The Bangor team now started to play with increased confidence. Gareth Irvine and Craig Harper combined to create space on the blind side of a ruck to create space for the Bangor Grammar School right winger, Matthew Hamilton. Matthew displayed good strength and skills to score a try, despite a last ditch tackle from the Friends’ full back, Paul Anderson. Stuart McCloskey missed the conversion but his team had a 15-0 lead.
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Having established this comfortable cushion, the Bangor side took total control of the game. They denied the Friends’ pack any sort of worthwhile possession and their backs ran the ball in a determined and ambitious manner. This positive approach saw Stuart McCloskey exploit a gap in the Friends defence to break through and add a further try. The try was not converted but the Bangor team now had a 20-0 lead. Shortly after this, Bangor suffered a further setback when their inspirational captain, Darren Kelly, had to leave the pitch with a shoulder injury, to be replaced by James Leary. The positive Bangor approach continued and an excellent back line move saw left winger, Phil Harper, outpace the Friends’ defence to cross the line under the posts for a further try. Stuart McCloskey was successful with his conversion to extend the Bangor Grammar School lead to 27-0. The Friends’ team recovered from this 20 minute nightmare when very little went right, to establish some positive aspects to their play. The Friends’ pack, with Brice Bailie, Dean Howes and Joe Murphy to the fore, recycled ball effectively in the Bangor Grammar School 10m area. Good handling from young scrum half, Jonny Ravey and team captain Rory McIvor, opened up the Bangor defence enabling Paul Anderson to score in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful but the Friends’ team had a score for their efforts. Shortly after this the Friends’ team reduced further the deficit to 27-12 when Desi Eastwood took advantage of good lines of running from Michael Cochrane to touch down under the Bangor Grammar School posts. Paul Anderson added the extras for his team. Not to be outdone, Bangor Grammar School roared back into the attack and following a very strong scrum, the Bangor scrum half, Craig Harper, capitalized on some poor technique by the Friends’ pack to gather a loose ball and sprint 50m to score his second try of the game. This second try was just reward for an excellent performance from the scrum half and capped an excellent second half display by the home team. The final whistle saw the Bangor Grammar School team celebrate their well-deserved victory in this physical Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Round 3 encounter while the Friends’ team reflected on a “what might have been” scenario. The Friends’ team will now enter the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Bowl competition while the Bangor Grammar School team will be in the draw for the 4th Round of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup.
