Campbell College 12 The Royal School Armagh 10

Reigning champions Campbell College have booked their place in the 2019 Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Final, thanks to a nail-biting 12-10 win over The Royal School Armagh at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. In what was a repeat of last year’s decider, it took a moment of individual flair from Conor Rankin to edge Campbell through to this year’s decider. After a feeling out process in the opening 11 minutes, it was Campbell who broke the deadlock when prop Patrick McAlpine powered over to score from close range, following some enterprising work on the left wing. Armagh responded in quick-fire fashion just four minutes later when their forward pack took them up to within a couple of metres of the Campbell line, before Adam Edgar picked and drove over. Armagh enjoyed a dominant spell in the second quarter of the game, but were unable to add any further points before the interval. It was the Armagh men who scored next though, as on 48 minutes, a powerful lineout maul forced its way over from 5 metres out, with Ryan Finlay last to get his hands on the ball to give his side a 5-10 lead. Campbell remained in the contest and fullback Rankin produced a moment of class on 63 minutes, darting through the Armagh defence for a well taken try. After dusting himself off, Rankin coolly slotted the all-important conversion to make it 12-10. In the final three minutes of the game Armagh’s Charlie Worth saw two penalty attempts drift agonisingly wide and short, as Campbell march on to the final on Monday 18th March. Methodist College and Wallace High School will meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday afternoon, and the game will once again be streamed live on the Ulster Rugby Facebook page. Campbell College, Belfast: (15-9): C Rankin, D Williamson, R Tinsley (Capt), H Owens, F Parks, O Ralston, D Gaskin; (1-8): J Gildea, J Boal, P McAlpine, C McCauley, J Stinson, J Johnston, B Rainey, T Olaniyan. Replacements: J Massey, L Collins, M Poor, K Gill, J Brennan, H Bell, K Robertson, H Minford. The Royal School Armagh: (15-9): M Campbell, B Boyd, N Jennings, C Worth, B Lavery, R Morrow, A Johnston; (1-8): A Edgar, S Rainey, J Roberts, J Denley, R Finlay, A Woods (Capt), J Agnew, P Taylor. Replacements: J Brown, D Poyntz, N Carville, J Agnew, J King, J Allen, E McAtarsney, C Whiteside, J King. --- Watch the full game back here: