There was fewer than the usual number of games played on Saturday 5th November due to the half term break. A number of fixtures have been postponed until later in November.
CLICK HERE FOR Pictures of Sullivan Upper I XV v RS Armagh I XV
CLICK HERE FOR Pictures of Sullivan upper II XV v RS Armagh II XV
INTOUCH TV HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTH THESE GAMES TO FOLLOW & COACHES INTERVIEWS.
Methodist College continued their recent run of good form when they travelled to Dublin to play Leinster Schools’ lynchpins, Belvedere College, at their North Dublin venue.
The Methody team took some time to settle into the game and found themselves 3-0 down to a Belvedere College penalty after only five minutes of the game. However, once the Methody team settled to the task they played an effective style of rugby. Rory Winters scored a try after twelve minutes which was converted by Rudolph Benade to give his team a 7-3 lead. Belvo reduced the arrears to 7-6 when they converted a penalty opportunity midway through the first half. Close to halftime Rory Winters 
scored his second try which was unconverted but Methody now had a 12-7 lead at the interval. The Belvedere team started the second half strongly but the Methody defence was well organised and soaked up the pressure well.
After an hour of the game had passed Chris Gracey broke from his own half to run thirty metres before off-loading to Dan Bingham. Dan found James Harrison running a strong support line with the rest of his pack in support. Quick ball from an ensuing ruck allowed Mark Gribben to break through the Belvo defence and pass to Rudolph Benade who ran in for a try. The conversion was missed but the Methody team had a 17-6 lead. Just before the no side whistle the Belvedere College winger scored an unconverted try in the corner to leave Methodist College as deserved 17-11 winners of this entertaining game.
Sullivan Upper have been impressive to watch in recent games and the team was looking forward to maintaining their recent run of good form when they entertained Royal School, Armagh. However, the RS Armagh team had different thoughts on the game! They denied Sullivan Upper the opportunity to play their usually effective off-loading game and dominated both territory and possession in the first half of the game. John Houston and John Dunne both scored first half tries for the RS Armagh team. Alistair Wright converted one of the tries to ensure a 12-0 half time lead for the Royal School, Armagh team. In the course of the second half the Sullivan team enjoyed a high percentage of the possession but found the RS Armagh defence to be well organised. Ross Adair did manage to breach the defence to score one try and create a second which he converted to bring his Sullivan team back into the game. In response the Armagh team scored tries through Duncan Stead and Daniel Reaney both of which were converted by Ali Wright. Ali also kicked a penalty to ensure the Royal School Armagh team emerged as 29-12 winners of this game. The loss of RS Armagh captain, Matthew Clarke, to illness was offset by the performance of players such as Stuart Hooks who put in a “Man of the Match” performance in the course of the game.
Wallace High School travelled to play a Portadown College team that has recorded some impressive results in the course of the season.
The Wallace team provided a stern test of the Portadown credentials and took a 5-0 lead when Matthew Ballantyne touched down for an unconverted try in the first half. The Portadown College team scored a converted try in the second half but the Wallace team had the final say on the outcome of the game with a try from Andrew Smyth as well as a penalty from James McCallen to ensure they returned to Lisburn with a 13-7 victory.
Foyle and Londonderry College travelled to play Royal Belfast Academical Institution with a development team due to a number of key players being unavailable because of holiday commitments. The Foyle boys showed commitment and determination but could do little to prevent a full strength Belfast Inst team running in quite a few tries. Kyle Henderson, Patrick Leeson and Steven Chi impressed for the visitors while Matthew Keane, Paddy Anderson and Ben Alexander played well for the Belfast Inst team.
Royal School, Dungannon maintained their recent run of good form when they entertained a very hard working Cambridge House team at the WK Armstrong pitch.
The home team started the game strongly and took a 3-0 lead when Jack Milligan converted a penalty opportunity early in the first half. The RS Dungannon team attacked at every opportunity but met with a well organised Cambridge House defence which denied them scoring chances on a number of occasions. Eventually, Andrew Clingan broke through the visitor’s defence to send Peter Cashel away on a run which he finished off expertly to touch down in the corner for a try. The try was not converted but his team had an 8-0 lead. The Cambridge House team responded in a positive manner and got reward for their endeavours when Timmy Small outflanked the home defence to touch down for a try. The try was converted and the arrears reduced to 8-7. The RS Dungannon team came back with an interchange of passes, involving both forwards and backs, providing the opportunity for a Jake Finlay try. Jack Milligan converted the try to give the home team a 15-7 halftime lead. Both teams attacked at every opportunity in the second half and the home team extended their lead to 18-7 when Jack Milligan was successful with another penalty attempt. The game was sealed for the RS Dungannon team when Adam Clarke crashed over for a try which Jack Milligan converted to ensure their 25-7 victory.
