The Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup 2016/17 competition will start officially when the teams from Strabane Academy and Carrickfergus Grammar School and Cambridge House Grammar School and Larne Grammar School meet in the first round games on Saturday 3rd December.
The Strabane Academy staff members have worked hard over the years to keep the game alive and they have been delighted to see their players back involved in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup competition in recent seasons. Niall McDonnell, as head coach, receives great support from his Principal, David Hampton, who, in his time, played in a number of Ulster Schools’ Cup games himself. Niall receives great assistance from fellow coaches James Doherty, Adam Bratton and Steve Sargent in his work with players throughout the school. The Strabane Academy team is captained by their hard working flanker, Oran O’Neill. Oran is a player who leads by example and he is determined his team will give a good account of themselves when they host Carrickfergus Grammar School in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. It has been a somewhat challenging season for the Strabane Academy team but their hard work, on and off the pitch, has seen them improve their performances in the course of the season so far. Adam McElwee and Arun Mehan have troubled opposition defences with their try scoring exploits and Ralph Mealiff has scored a lot of points with his place kicking duties throughout the season. A number of players such as Ralph Mealiff, Jordan Mealiff, Peter Kirk and David Shaw have been brought to the attention of the Ulster Rugby RDS programme and these players have benefitted from that. Jonathan Gamble and Jack Sayers are emerging talents within the Strabane Academy set up. All of these players will all be hoping to give off their best when they meet the Carrickfergus Grammar School team.
The Carrickfergus Grammar School team is a very young team with some fifteen players involved with their 1stxv squad still in Year 12. The Carrickfergus Grammar School team, coached by Neal Kennedy, Stephen Martin and Paul Baxter, has endured difficulties but they have always been competitive in their games. In a number of games they have been leading going into the final few minutes but found difficulty in securing the victory. Team captain, Mark Snoddy, picked up an early season injury but he is hopeful of leading the team out when they face Strabane Academy. During his absence from the playing field Mark has received great support from his vice-captains, Benjamin McKay and Joel White. These players have really stepped up to the plate in terms of their leadership qualities during the games played without Mark. Joel, Iain Woodside and Josh Clements have been the leading try scorers for the team and these players will need to be monitored closely. Daniel Curley has been top points scorer for the Carrickfergus Grammar School team in the course of the current season. He has been achieving great accuracy with his goal kicking ability. Adam Gardiner and Rhys Willis are young emerging players who have developed well during the current season. The coaches at the school see the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign as a great opportunity for their youthful pack to gain experience that will hold the players in good stead for the seasons ahead. They are looking forward to their first round game against Strabane Academy.
This Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup game is scheduled to be played on Saturday December 3rd at the Liskey Road Complex of Strabane Academy with an 11-30am kick off.
