There were four midweek games played in the lead up to fixtures played on Saturday 27th October.
Rainey Endowed School hosted Limavady Grammar School following a postponement of their fixture on Saturday 20th.
Limavady started the game well and, after good work from the pack, were awarded a penalty after three minutes when Rainey infringed at a ruck. Out half, Luke Faulkner, was successful with the kick to put Limavady into a 3-0 lead. Five minutes later Limavady centre, Michael Barr, playing his first game of the season after injury, broke through and fed full back Jack McCool who then put winger Jack Elliot over for a try in the corner. Luke Faulkner shaved the upright with his conversion attempt but the visitors now had an 8-0 lead. Limavady dominated the first twenty minutes of this game before Rainey took control. Poor defence by Limavady saw the Rainey winger break through and touch down under the posts. The conversion was successful and the arrears had been reduced to 8-7. Almost immediately Limavady responded with a penalty from the half way line from Luke Faulkner and just on the stroke of half time, Luke was again successful with a long range penalty to give his team a 14-7 interval lead.
The second half saw Limavady dominate the set pieces and Rainey to the fore in the loose. The Limavady backline threatening each time they got the ball but strong Rainey defence kept them out. Twenty minutes into the second half the Rainey pack turned the ball over. From a chip ahead, the Rainey right winger outpaced the Limavady Grammar School defence to touch down in the corner. The conversion was missed but the Limavady lead had been reduced to 14-12. Rainey then kicked a penalty to lead 15-14 with little time remaining. Much of the remainder of the game was played in the Rainey 22m area with many unforced errors from both sides causing the game to be fragmented. Limavady’s backline always looked dangerous and, following a skip pass from Michael Barr, full back, Jack McCool, put left winger, Tom McClelland away. Incredibly, Tom lost control of the ball as he was touching down in the corner. However, two minutes later Rainey’s backs were caught offside and full back, Jack McCool, slotted the penalty to leave the final score 17 -15 in favour of Limavady Grammar School. Stand out players for Limavady were Number 8, Sam Mackey, flanker Connor McKee, out half Luke Faulkner, centre Michael Barr and right wing Jack Elliot.
Belfast Royal Academy travelled to play Royal School, Dungannon and returned home with an emphatic but hard earned 40-7 win.
Daniel Dass scored three tries for the BRA team with Jordan Carlisle touching down twice and Daniel McFadden running in for one. Max Oates added five conversions. The Royal School, Dungannon score came from a converted Jack Milligan try.
Wellington College recorded another positive result when they travelled to play Antrim Grammar School.
The Wellington team has made a good start to the season having only recorded two defeats at the hands of Royal School, Dungannon and Methody 2ndxv. The squad has just returned from Lake Garda where they won two matches in glorious sunshine. They played Antrim Grammar School and won that game by 48-5. The Wellington tries were scored by Sam Bridge, Michael Hamilton, David Montgomery, Josh Garnham and Keir Patterson. Andrew Hanna added five conversions as well as a number of penalties. The Antrim team scored an unconverted try through their hard working centre, Jamie Orr.
Friends’ School started their game against Down High School in a very positive manner with Cameron McClements running in for an early try which was converted by Ross Robinson.
However, after their good start, the Lisburn team allowed the Down High School team back into the game. Good Down High School performances from players such as Kelvin Hamilton, Patrick Wright, Ricky Gill and Thomas Donnan paved the way for a Down High School 22-7 halftime lead.
The same players kept the Down High School team on the front foot for large parts of the second half. Dean Howes scored a second Friends’ School try which Ross Robinson successfully converted but it was a case of too little, too late for the Friends’ team as Down High School emerged as 46-14 winners.
With the onset of the half term break for most schools, fewer than usual games were played on Saturday 27th October.
Limavady Grammar School travelled to play Regent House and the visitors were determined to make up for some of the shortfalls in their midweek performance against Rainey.
The Limavady GS team got the perfect start scoring two tries in the first few minutes. Out Half, Michael Barr broke through the Regent defence to touch down over the line and, shortly after this, full back, Jack McCool, powered his way over. Both tries were unconverted but the Limavady team had an early 10-0 lead. The next te minutes saw a Regent take control and, for their efforts, they scored two tries, one of which was converted, to give them a 12-10 lead near the interval. However, before the break, the Limavady pack came to life and provided their backline with enough ball to add another try through winger John McWhirter. The try was converted by Jack McCool to give Limavady a 17-12 lead at half time.
The second half saw a better performance from the away side, and an early try was scored by captain, Jamie Millar to give Limavady a commanding 22-12 lead. Despite conceding another soft try, Limavady continued to play with flair and were playing a very expansive game. A set move saw winger, Tom McClelland, run under the posts for his first try of the game. McClelland soon got his second after showing great individual skill to evade his opposite number and score in the corner to give Limavady a 36-19 lead. Two late tries were scored by winger John McWhirter and centre Jack Elliot to round off a pleasing performance for Limavady who ran out as 48-19 winners. Stand out players for the visitors included Number 8, Sam Mackey, out half Michael Barr and centre Jack Elliot.
Omagh Academy hosted Lurgan College in an eight try thriller but, unfortunately for the visitors, seven of the tries were scored by the home team!
Both teams were missing players due to injuries but the Omagh team had enough strength in depth to dominate most of the play in the first half. The first Omagh Academy try came when David Cummings took advantage of good work from his pack to touch down for a try. James Catterson converted the try to give his team a 7-0 lead. James then took advantage of slack Lurgan College defence to run in for a try. He added the conversion to put his team into a 14-0 lead. James was pivotal in setting up the third Omagh try when he was tackled just short of the line but managed to off-load to his scrum half, Adam Beattie. Adam finished the move with a try. James converted the try to leave the scoreboard reading 21-0 in favour of the Omagh Academy team. The last try of the first half came from an over throw at a Lurgan College lineout. The ball was caught by Alan Brown who ran fully fifty metres to touch down for a try. James Catterson converted the try to see the Omagh team into a 28-0 half time lead.
James Catterson scored his second try of the game early in the second half, another try which he converted, to give his team a 35-0 lead. Slack Omagh defence allowed Dean Wilson in for a Lurgan College try. The try was converted to reduce the arrears to 35-7. The Omagh Academy team went on to score two tries in the final ten minutes of the game. Scott Barr got the first with Dean Henderson scoring the second. James Catterson completed his “Man of the Match” performance with two conversions to see his team record an impressive 49-7 win.
It was a busy morning at Wallace High School on Saturday 27th.
Not only had the staff to contend with the aftermath of a serious break in and vandalism in their changing rooms, but the school teams were hosting sides from Loreto College in Edinburgh, St Mary’s College in Dublin as well as Year 8 teams from the Royal School, Armagh. The Wallace High School 1stxv lost by 22-18 against their Scottish visitors. This was a good performance from the Wallace team who were missing a number of first team regulars due to injury. Josh Collingwood scored two tries with a third coming from Jacob Stockdale. Ryan Moore kicked a penalty as well as two conversions for the Wallace High School team. The Wallace team had opportunities to win the game in the last ten minutes but handling errors and poor decision making ensured they did not.
The Wallace High Medallion xv hosted the St Mary’s College team from Dublin and recorded an impressive 25-13 victory against one of the top schools in Dublin.
The Wallace Year 8 teams played four ten-a-side games against Royal School, Armagh Year 8 teams. The Wallace “A” team won by 45-40, the “B” team drew 40-40, the “C” team lost by 45-20 and the “D” team won by 80-20. All in all, players from both schools enjoyed the experience and a high level of performance was displayed by all the players.
Meanwhile, the Royal School, Armagh 1st xv travelled to play Royal Belfast Academical Institution at Osbourne Park.
The Royal School, Armagh team had a narrow 8-7 lead at the interval with John McDonagh scoring a try and Alistair Wright converting a penalty opportunity. In response, the Belfast Inst team scored a converted try through Nathan Brown.
The second half saw the home team dominate proceedings with poor RS Armagh defence allowing the strong running Royal Belfast Academical Institution backs to run in three tries. One of the tries was converted. In response, the RS Armagh team scored one try through Nigel Simpson which was converted by Alistair Wright to leave the Belfast Inst team as deserved 24-15 winners. Darryl Morton and Michael Hoey worked hard for the RS Armagh team but the players will know they have a lot of work to do if they are to fulfil their potential.
Coleraine Academical Institution hosted Ballymena Academy hoping to reverse the result of a game played a few weeks ago.
Indeed, following their first half display, it looked as if the Coleraine AI team was going to do just that. A try from Joel Stanbridge, who intercepted a loose Ballymena Academy pass, was converted by Conor Shiels to give the Coleraione AI team a 7-0 lead. This became 14-0 when Mark Gordon touched down for a try, which was converted by Conor Shiels, to ensure the Coleraine team got rewarded for their enterprising approach in the first half. Towards the end of the first half the Ballymena team reduced the arrears to 14-10 with unconverted tries from Oliver Simpson and Brian Mulholland.
The second half saw a Coleraine AI player sent to the sin bin for a technical foul at a lineout. The visitors took full advantage of this and ran in three tries, two of which were converted, to give them a 29-10 lead. When back to full strength, the home team rallied and scored an unconverted try through their Number 8, Nick Logan. This was the final score of the game leaving the Ballymena Academy team as 29-25 winners.
Methodist College hosted Bangor Grammar School and ran out with a convincing 51-6 win at the end of the game.
The Methody pack, with Ross Kane, Alex Thompson, Mark Campbell and James Gallagher impressing with their performances, laid the foundations for this win. The Bangor Grammar School team could do little to stop the powerful Methody team with the Belfast team moving the ball effectively at every opportunity. Paddy Colhoun and Adam Liddell impressed in the Methody backline with Paddy helping himself to two tries in the course of the game. Other Methody scorers were Steven Weir, Connor Kelly, Mark Campbell, Connor McKee and James Gallagher who also scored twice. In response, the Bangor Grammar School team converted one penalty opportunity in each half.
