Everyone connected with Ulster Schools’ Rugby will be hoping that the six remaining Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Round 3 games, postponed on Saturday 22nd, will go ahead on Saturday 29th January. There is one of the postponed Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Trophy Quarter-Final games scheduled to take place on Friday 28th January with the remaining two games scheduled for Saturday 29th.
The Round 3 draw has thrown up a number of interesting pairings in the Schools’ Cup competition. Larne Grammar School made the long trip to play Portora RS in the previous round and emerged with a well-deserved victory. This will have given the Larne Grammar School team a huge psychological lift for their Round 3 game at home against Belfast High School. Against Portora RS the Larne team had big games from experienced players such as Billy Brown, Calum Paton, Philip Andrews, Houston Saunderson and Ross Williamson. They should not rest on their laurels and would do well not to underestimate the challenge the Belfast High School team will provide on Saturday. The Belfast High School team staged a tremendous second half comeback in their second round game at Carrickfergus Grammar School. Robbie Fryars controlled the possession his forwards supplied and put his team into areas of strength. Ryan McGonigle, Jake Toan, Ryan Elliott and their High School team mates took advantage of this and scored the tries when it mattered. This game has all the makings of an intriguing encounter and it is one that both teams feel they can win. Home advantage may just sway a Larne Grammar School win. This game is scheduled to kick off at 10-30am.
Grosvenor Grammar School built their second round success against Cambridge House on the back of a dominant performance from their pack. Stephen Smyth, Matthew Harland, Matthew Cahoon and two try hero, Mark Foster, were strong at scrum and lineout time while the Grosvenor back row of Isaac Thompson, Ryan McKnight and Conor Sinclair were outstanding at the breakdown. They will hope to replicate that good form when they host Banbridge Academy in the 3rd Round game on Saturday. The Banbridge team played the Grosvenor team in the final of the IH Graham Trophy competition, hosted recently by Grosvenor Grammar School. There was no score in that final but there will be scores on Saturday! The Banbridge Academy team has match winners in their ranks and the Grosvenor Grammar School team will need to pay close attention to the Banbridge Academy back division which includes players of the quality of Chrissy Craig, Michael Runciman and the inspirational Hugo Harbinson. The Grosvenor team will be confident of victory but the Banbridge Academy team should not be underestimated. This game is due to kick off at 10-30am.
Limavady Grammar School has had a torrid time in recent weeks in terms of both results and injuries. They will be hoping their injury list clears up before they host Regent House in the 3rd Round of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup on Saturday. If the Limavady team is to progress they will have to have important players such as Nathan Barr, Conor Crampsie, Shay McIntosh and Ryan McCool available for selection. The team has been defeated in their last number of games but they would love to pull off a shock result against Regent House. The Regent team has had a mixed season in terms of results thus far. They made the Ballymena Academy team work hard for a narrow victory in their last outing. Despite losing the game, the Regent team took a lot of confidence from their performance. Players such as Steven Colwell, Stephen Deering, Willie Mayne, Matthew Ramsey and Nathan Burns will hope to replicate the good form they displayed against the Ballymena Academy team if they are to fulfil their expectations and win against Limavady Grammar School. The Regent team recorded an excellent win against the same opposition earlier in the season. They have the opportunity to do so once again on Saturday. This game is scheduled to kick off at 11-30am.
Portadown College, despite going 5-0 down within two minutes of their second round game against Wellington College, recovered strongly and went on to win the game with something to spare. Their back division, with players of the quality of Adam McMaster, Neal Irwin, David and Michael Busby and hat trick hero, Thomas Halliday included, will face a much more stern test of their credentials when they host Dalriada School on Saturday. The Portadown College pack will have to ensure they stand up to the Dalriada eight if they are to get the quality ball their backs desire. Josh McCullough and Matthew McCracken will have to compete at the breakdown with Dalriada players such as David Campbell, Andrew Skelton and Roger Bonnar. If the Dalriada team can supply quality ball for their backs to use, Ben Henderson, Jonny McLaughlin, Jonny Laughlin and Ewan Strang have the ability to cause problems for most teams in the Province. The Dalriada team has lost very few matches in the course of the current season although they will have to recover from recent heavy defeats by Ballymena Academy and Friends’ School. However, if the Ballymoney boys can approach this game in the right frame of mind, they have the ability to win it. This game is due to kick off at 11-00am.
Royal School, Dungannon will face a sterner test of their Schools’ Cup credentials in their 3rd Round game at home to Coleraine AI than they did against spirited Antrim Grammar School team in Round 2. Peter Nelson scored thirty of the RS Dungannon thirty five points against Antrim Grammar School but the Co Tyrone team is far from being a “one man show”. Peter makes best use of the quality ball provided by his pack where Derek Martin and Andrew Clingan are key performers. Gary Wong will hope to have recovered from an arm injury before the game and he is one of a number of important backs for the Royal School, Dungannon team. Peter Nelson aside, Frankie Yeun and Jacob McCammon are players that the Coleraine AI team will need to watch closely. The Royal School, Dungannon has a proud tradition in the Schools’ Cup as have their visitors from Coleraine. The Coleraine team has to go back quite a time to see when they last recorded a victory. Their players will feel there is no better time to do so once again when they visit Dungannon on Saturday. Paddy Farrell, Michael Poskitt, Alan Clarke and Stuart McCaffrey form vital parts of a talented Coleraine AI back division. If they are to have any impact on Saturday, the Coleraine AI pack will have to compete well in all aspects of the forward encounters. This game is scheduled to kick off at 11-00am.
The Down High School 1stxv squad has claimed a number of notable scalps in their games this season including recent victories against Bangor Grammar School and Wallace High School. They will see themselves as favourites when Foyle and Londonderry College arrive for their 3rd Round Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup game on Saturday. The Down team is likely to be without Stuart Orr but his absence has not affected their recent performances. John Donnan , Matthew McKeown and Tommy McConnell have impressed with their performances in the Down High School pack, The quality ball they have produced has been used to good effect by the Down High School backs where Aaron Cairns and Justin Rea are the influential players. The Foyle team got back to winning ways against Limavady Grammar School last weekend. Their victory in the North West “Derby” game will have given them a great boost as they prepare to travel to Downpatrick on Saturday. The Foyle team has a number of quality players available to them. Neil Burns, Ian Vance and Tom Burns bring representative experience while Graeme McCarter is a player the home team would be well advised to monitor closely while Conor Cummings can add to his growing reputation as a clinical finisher. Chris Campbell will punish any Down High School indiscretions with his accurate kicking. Down High School will expect to win this game but they should not underestimate the quality of the opposition. This game is scheduled for an 11-30am kick off.
There is one quarter final game in the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Trophy competition scheduled for Friday 28th January.
Antrim Grammar School will hope for an improved performance when they play another of the Royal Schools, this time Portora. The Antrim team had their moments in the 2nd Round Schools’ Cup game against RS Dungannon and with a home tie against Portora they will hope for a positive result. Calum McGrenaghan impressed with his performance against the Dungannon team. If he can repeat that performance and get his pack to produce some quality ball for the Antrim backline, then players such as Aiden Howe, Jake McClay and Jack Dempster will be hopeful of taking on a Portora defence that has leaked quite a few tries in recent games. The Portora team relies heavily on the talents of players such as Adam Farrell, Neil Allen and Rodney Blair in their pack to supply the quality ball for their backs to use effectively. Rory Gibson, Jonny Magwood, James Ferguson and Robert Connors will cause problems for the Antrim defence if they can get a good supply of possession.. They are a young team with quite a few Year 12 players in their ranks. The Portora players will all need to be at their best if they are to get anything in terms of a result from this game. This game is to kick off at 2-00pm.
There remaining two Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Trophy ¼ Final games are scheduled to take place on Saturday 29th January.
The Lurgan College team has the opportunity for a certain amount of revenge when they host Wellington College, the team that prevented the Lurgan team from taking a place in the 2nd Round of the Schools’ Cup. In the 1st Round game the Lurgan team had built up a deserved half time lead only to see the chance of glory denied to them by the performance of the Wellington team in the 2nd half. Lurgan College will hope that players such as Greg Lyness, Josh McKay, Steven Buckley and Nicky Moore will realise that playing at home gives them a realistic opportunity of winning this game. However, despite losing their Round 2 game against Portadown College the Wellington will take great confidence from their performance in that game. The Belfast team was committed in their approach to the game and played some very effective rugby. Gareth McCaughey, Adam Webb, David Marshall, Freddie Birt are talented players who display great commitment to the cause of rugby in Wellington College. They were disappointed with the result against Portadown College and will be going all out to ensure that their second visit, in as many weeks, to Co-Armagh ends with a more favourable result. The game in Lurgan is scheduled to kick off at 10-30am.
Omagh Academy and Cambridge House clash at the Campsie playing fields on Saturday 29th with both teams seeing themselves as realistic winners of the Ulster Schools’ Trophy competition. The Omagh team was disappointed with the outcome of their Round 2 clash with Rainey Endowed. Gary Sherrard, Adam Longwell, Lee Warnock, Matthew Deazley and Harry Gibson will see the visit of the Cambridge House team, a team they do not normally play, as an opportunity to record a victory. The Cambridge House team played in the final of the Ulster Schools’ Trophy last season, only to lose out on a technicality. They were disappointed with their performance against Grosvenor Grammar School in the 2nd Round of the Schools’ Cup. Matthew Harkness, Josh Whann, Timmy Small and their Cambridge House team mates will realise they will have to compete on at least equal terms with the Omagh pack if they are to have any chance of progressing to the next stage of the Schools’ Trophy competition. This game is due to kick off at 11-00am.
There is one non cup game scheduled to be played on Saturday 29th January. Royal Belfast Academical Institution hope to entertain Wallace High School at Osbourne Park. This should be an intriguing encounter involving two teams who will enter the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup competition on Saturday 5th February in Round 4. Both teams have had disruptions to their preparation for their Schools’ Cup campaigns due to the adverse weather conditions. The Belfast Inst team has an experienced group of players from which to select. Michael Mairs, Michael Kilpatrick, Zach Welshman, Kevin McLean and Ben Alexander have represented Ulster Schools and will need to bring all their experience to this game. The Wallace team has also representative players to call upon. Chris Taylor was capped recently by Irish Schools while David Scott was in the Ulster Schools’ squad earlier in the season. Jordan Heatley, Cal McIlwaine, Stewart Evans and James McCallen are other influential players for the Lisburn team. The Belfast Inst team will need to monitor them closely. This game is scheduled to kick off at 10-30am.
Supporters will be made welcome at all these games but should check with the host schools regarding the arrangements prior to departure for the game.
