Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Round Up Saturday 3rd January 2015.
A number of midweek friendly fixtures were scheduled to take place but most lost out to the frosty conditions prevailing at the end of December. These games included Methodist College v Royal School, Armagh, Belfast Royal Academy v Campbell College, Friends’ School, Lisburn v Larne Grammar School, Ballyclare High School v Down High School and Portora Royal School v Belfast High School.
Banbridge Academy did manage to get their game against Rainey Endowed School played on Friday 2nd January. The Banbridge Academy team had built up a 12-0 lead by the interval before going on to win the game by 26-7. The essential difference between both teams was the game management displayed by the Banbridge Academy half back pairing of Jay Pinion and Ben Carson. These players ensured the quality possession provided by the Banbridge pack was used wisely. Twenty minutes into the game the Banbridge team took a 5-0 lead when full back, Daniel McElderry, ran in for an unconverted try. On the stroke of half time, Jordan Mount, playing on the wing, scored a second Banbridge Academy try. Daniel McElderry converted the try to give his team a 12-0 lead at the break.
The Rainey Endowed team mounted something of a revival after the break. They got rewarded for their endeavours when No8, Anton Lupari, scored a try. Mark Rooney added the conversion to reduce the arrears to 12-7. However, after this the game was played mainly in the Rainey Endowed “Red Zone” The Banbridge Academy captain, Matthew Bell, scored a try, which Daniel McElderry converted, to put his team into a 19-7 lead. Further Banbridge pressure saw Jay Pinion take advantage of good work from his pack and touch down for a try. Daniel McElderry added the conversion to secure the 26-7 win for his Banbridge Academy team.
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Royal Belfast Academical Institution played Belfast High School on Saturday 3rd January, (CLICK HERE for action shots from Gary Benson) one of a series of games played on Saturday 3rd.
The Belfast Inst team controlled the game from the start and recorded an impressive 53-3 victory. They had built up a 22-0 lead by halftime with tries from Ben McGavock, Paddy Dolaghan, Andrew McGregor and Jack Conlin. TJ Morris added one conversion to secure the 22-0 lead.
The second half saw more of the same from the Belfast Inst team. They scored five tries in the course of the second half. Paddy Dolaghan touched down for his second try of the game, as did Andrew McGregor. James Hume added to his growing reputation with one try and the impressive Paddy Nicholas scored twice. Ben McGavock added two conversions with TJ Morris kicking one. The Belfast High School team displayed great resilience but had only a Joel McBride penalty kick, early in the second half, to show for their endeavours which left the final score reading 53-3 in favour of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution team.
The Wallace High School team travelled to play Ballymena Academy and might count themselves slightly fortunate to come away with a 21-9 victory. Andrew Magrath put the Ballymena Academy team into a 6-0 lead with two well struck penalty kicks. Ben Finlay then took advantage of great skill from Philip Hylands before touching down for the first try of the game. Ryan Wilson converted the try to give Wallace HS a 7-6 lead. Andrew Cardosi then went in for a try after Neil Kilpatrick had unlocked the Ballymena Academy defence. Ryan Wilson was successful with the conversion to increase the Wallace High School team lead to 14-6. Just before the break, Andrew Magrath was successful with his third penalty of the game to reduce the deficit to 14-9 at halftime.
The Ballymena Academy team started the second half strongly and came close to scoring on a number of occasions with Josh McElroy, Marcus Rea, Jonathan Bill and Andrew Magrath all asking questions of the Wallace HS defence. However, it was the Wallace High School team that secured their win when Ben Finlay touched down for his second try of the game following a midfield turn over. Ryan Wilson converted the try to leave the Wallace High School team as 21-9 winners.
Sullivan Upper entertained Coleraine Academical Institution in a game the Sullivan Upper team won by 19-0. The Sullivan team was missing a number of key regulars due to long term injuries but still managed to control both possession and territory for long periods of time. They built up a 5-0 lead in the first half when Peter Cooper stormed over for an unconverted try following good work from his pack.
The second half started as the first half ended with the Sullivan Upper team in the ascendancy. They scored two tries with Lewis Smyth and James Houston running in for the scores. Callum Jeffrey added the extras to secure the well-deserved 19-0 victory for his Sullivan Upper team.
Belfast Royal Academy continued their recent good run of results with a 31-17 win against Grosvenor Grammar School. The Grosvenor team started the game strongly and took a 7-0 lead when Mark Johnston took advantage of a well driven Grosvenor Grammar school maul to touch down for a try which he converted. The Belfast Royal Academy team then reduced the deficit to 7-3 when Michael Wilson converted a penalty kick. The BRA team then took a 10-7 lead when Jay McCrum took advantage of slack Grosvenor GS defence to run in for a try. Michael Wilson successfully converted the try. Mark Johnston drew the game level at 10-10 when he converted a penalty kick for the Grosvenor GS team just before the break.
The Belfast Royal Academy team took advantage of some slack Grosvenor GS defence at the start of the second half. They scored early tries through Matthew Dalton and Scott McMurtry, both of which Michael Wilson converted, to take a 24-10 lead. The Grosvenor GS team then started to win a series of phase balls. This ended with Andrew Johnston touching down for his first try of the season. Mark Johnston added the conversion to see the arrears reduced to 24-17. The Belfast Royal Academy team secured their 31-17 win when, following a series of tapped penalties, Scott McCauley scored a try which Michael Wilson converted.
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Lurgan College travelled to play Friends’ School in Lisburn and returned home with a well-deserved 40-8 victory under their belts. In a close first half, both teams were guilty of giving away silly penalties. The first try of the game came midway through the first half when Harry Simpson, the Lurgan College prop, touched down after good work from Jamie Hunter and Ben McAllister. Scott Wilson added the extras to give the Lurgan College team a 7-0 lead. This became 12-0 when the Lurgan College 2nd Row, Ryan Emerson, ran in for an unconverted try. The Friends’ School team responded with a try and a penalty from James McGucken to leave the Lurgan College team with a 12-8 lead at the break.
The Lurgan College team controlled affairs for long periods of the second half. They scored four tries with James Mitchell, Jamie Hunter scoring one try apiece and Stephen Logan touching down for two. Scott Wilson was successful with three of the conversion kicks to secure the 40-8 win for his Lurgan College team.
In the County Tyrone “Derby” Omagh Academy travelled to play the Royal School, Dungannon team on the WK Armstrong pitch. This game was played over three periods of time with the Omagh Academy team emerging as somewhat fortunate 19-12 winners. Andy Monteith opened the scoring for the Omagh team when he pounced on a loose RS Dungannon pass and ran in unopposed from forty metres. Kyle Beattie added the conversion to give the Omagh Academy team a 7-0 lead. Both teams had the opportunity to score points in the course of the first third of the game but both defences held firm.
The Omagh team welcomed Stuart Ballentine back from injury at the start of the second period of play. Stuart was involved immediately in setting up the next score of the game. Josh McKinley, and his Omagh pack, used the driving maul tactic to good effect. They pushed the RS Dungannon pack towards their line before transferring the ball to Stuart. His perfectly timed pass to the onrushing Adam Rush ended with Adam touching down for a try. Stuart added the conversion to give his team a 14-0 lead. Omagh continued to press but let themselves down with a series of needless penalties, knock-on and forward passes. The RS Dungannon team created opportunities for points but found the Omagh Academy defence to be well-organised. The Omagh team did manage to extend their lead to 19-0 when Stuart Hemphill took advantage of good work from Dean Kane, Josh McKinley, Matthew Sproule and Jonny Anderson before touching down for an unconverted try. In the final play of the second period, the RS Dungannon team got some reward for their efforts when Jonny Black scrambled his way over the Omagh line for a try. John Buckley added the conversion to reduce the arrears to 19-7 at the end of the second period of the game.
The third and final period of play opened in a scrappy manner with both teams playing between the ten metre lines. Then the RS Dungannon team took advantage of a series of changes to the Omagh team which seemed to unsettle the Omagh Academy defence. They attacked the blindside of an Omagh ruck and took play deep into Omagh Academy territory. Following a number of phase plays, the ball was spun wide for RS Dungannon winger, Aaron McCammon, to finish off with a fine try. The try was not converted but the RS Dungannon team had reduced the deficit to 19-12. In the final minutes of the game Omagh might have finished off a move involving James Longwell, Josh McKinley, Adam Stephenson, Dean Kane and Oscar Nelson. However, a lack of communication in the Omagh ranks ensured the move was not finished off. The ball was bundled into touch to end the game the Omagh Academy team won by 19-12.
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Down High School got 2015 off to a winning start when they hosted Bangor Grammar School. The Down team had built up a 13-8 lead by halftime before going on to win the game by 18-8. In what could only be described as a scrappy game the Down High School team took a 3-0 lead when Jo Bingham converted a penalty kick after just eight minutes. The Bangor team then converted a penalty opportunity a few minutes later to draw the score level at 3-3. Midway through the first half, the Down High School took a 10-3 lead when their dominant pack took a strike “against the head”. Zac Ward picked the ball from the base of the scrum and beat a number of defenders before off-loading to Thomas Forson. Thomas outpaced the last Bangor GS defender before touching down for a try. Jo Bingham added the extras. Bangor Grammar School replied with an unconverted try to reduce the score to 10-8. Then, the Down High School team added three points just before the break when Jo Bingham converted a penalty to see his team into a 13-8 lead.
The second half saw both team make mistakes but the Down High School team was controlling the set piece plays which ensured their line was never really threatened. The Bangor Grammar School defence remained intact until the last play of the game. The ball shot out of a Bangor scrum inside their 22m area. The Down High School flanker, Elliott Evans, did well to tidy up the ball and carry strongly before off-loading to Thomas Forson. Thomas accepted the off-load and was delighted to finish off with an unconverted try to ensure the 18-8 win for his Down High School team.
Methodist College played their annual New Year Fixture against the Blackrock College 1stxv team. The Blackrock team had quite a number of Leinster U19 players on board and won the game by 35-12. The Leinster visitors had built up a 12-3 lead by halftime. The Methody team, with Robert Lyttle, Ali Mc Ivor, Saul Herdman and Gareth Millar all playing well, seemed to tire in the final quarter when Blackrock ran in three converted tries. The twelve Methodist College points all came from the trusty boot of Robert Lyttle.
Carrickfergus Grammar School hosted Antrim Grammar School in a game the Carrickfergus team won by 29-5. David Carse put on a “Man of the Match” performance for the Carrickfergus team. He scored three tries as well as adding two conversions. The remaining Carrickfergus Grammar School points came from tries by Reece Berry and Daniel Anaele.
The Antrim Grammar School points came from a fine try from their hard working second row forward, JJ McKee.
Wellington College hosted Regent House in a game the Regent team won by 24-12 while Dalriada defeated Limavady Grammar school by 31-21. Unfortunately, no reports were received on either of these games.
