Tuesday 2nd March. Report from Ulster Branch, pictures from Colin Heyburn.
Belfast Royal Academy emerged as deserved winners from the first of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Semi-Final games after their hard fought victory against a dogged Wallace High School team.
The Belfast Royal Academy team was playing the more expansive rugby in the early stages of the game but it was the Wallace team that recorded the first points of the game when they scored a try after ten minutes play. Wallace turned over a Belfast Royal academy attack in their own 22m area and immediately launched a counter attack which took them deep into BRA territory for the first time in the game. Following a series of set piece plays, Wallace out half, Matthew Godfrey took full advantage of some slack BRA tackling to score a try. Andrew Gilmore converted the try to give his team a 7-0 lead.
Wallace failed to deal properly with the restart kick which allowed the BRA team to get possession and carry it into the Wallace High School 22m area. The Wallace team was penalised for being off side and David Cartmill took full advantage to convert the resultant penalty and reduce the arrears to 7-3.
David though he had converted another penalty some ten minutes later only to see his well struck attempt rebound off the upright. The Wallace team was relieved to have escaped further punishment and took play back to the BRA half of the pitch.
The Wallace team was enjoying a good amount of possession and eventually they turned this possession into points when their 2nd Row forward, Stewart Evans, scored a try following a good interchange of passes involving both Wallace High School forwards and backs. Andrew Gilmore was just wide with his conversion attempt but his team had a
12-3 lead coming close to the half time whistle.
The half time whistle gave the BRA coach, Chris Mc Carey, a chance to have a few well chosen words with his team who had enjoyed a good deal of quality possession but still found themselves 12-3 in arrears to a very spirited Wallace High School team.
These words of wisdom from Chis Mc Carey seemed to work as the 2nd half saw Belfast Royal Academy enjoy the majority of possession as well as territorial advantage.
From the restart the North Belfast team was awarded a penalty which was duly dispatched by David Cartmill to take the score to 12-6, but still in favour of the Wallace High School team.
The BRA team was much more confident in their approach to play in the course of the 2nd half. Their inspirational captain and scrum half, Connor Spence, put on a “Man of the Match” performance to drive his team forward at every opportunity. The pace with which his team was playing the game was taking a toll on the Wallace players, a number of whom were displaying signs of cramp early in the 2nd half. The early second half replacement of Rolland Jameson for Niall O’Neill seemed to bring extra pace to the work rate of the BRA pack.
Despite the best endeavours of Rory Stewart, Kyle Mc Call and Daniel Henry, the Wallace team was having difficulties in stemming the flow of BRA attacks.
David Cartmill kicked his third penalty of the afternoon to take the score to 12-9 after eighteen minutes of the 2nd half. Twelve minutes to go and could the Wallace team hold out?
They did until close to the end of the game when David Cartmill topped a fine personal performance with an excellent try when he left a number of despairing Wallace High School defenders in his wake to touch down close to the Wallace High School posts. David converted his own try to give his team a 16-12 lead, a lead which they took for the first time in the game with only two minutes remaining.
Wallace High school attemted to get close to the BRA line in the closing stages of the game but it was the Belfast Royal Academy team that took the glory at the full time whistle with their 16-12 victory to seal their place in the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Final.
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