March club bulletin including the latest Nutty Krust and High Schools' Shield results and some great news for Rainey Old Boys, as they invest in player development.
// Nutty Krust Tournament: Randalstown U18 25, Malone U18 24
The Randalstown U18 team recorded a single point victory despite having been 21-0 down at the break.
The game was packed with action from the first minute until the last minute with both sets of players really applying themselves for the entire 70 minutes. Among the group watching the game was Jonny Gillespie, the Ulster Rugby Talent ID Manager. Bobby Stewart, the Ulster Branch President, also took time out of his busy schedule to attend the game. The continued interest of Ulster Rugby in the Nutty Krust Tournament is greatly appreciated by everyone connected with the competition.
Malone was 7-0 up with just 45 seconds on the clock. A lineout just outside the Randalstown 22m line was won and Jack Knox was the beneficiary of a well-worked midfield move when he touched down for the first try of the game. Malone continued to dominate the proceedings and might have increased their lead shortly after this, only to see a penalty attempt drift wide and a try scoring pass going forward. Randalstown did recover and weathered the storm. They gained some territory but handling errors and difficulty in dealing with the windy conditions meant they did not really threaten the Malone goal line at this stage of the game. 27 minutes into the game, a Randalstown attack broke down when Knox intercepted a loose pass and touched down again under the posts. Niall McKeating converted the try to give Malone a 14-0 lead. With the last play of the first half, the Malone lead was increased to 21-0. Several penalty kick opportunities were spurned and the ball was kept in play. Rory McCloskey took a quickly tapped penalty and outstripped the Randalstown defence to touch down for a try. Niall McKeating added the extras to give his team what seemed like a comfortable 21-0 lead at the interval.
The second half was a complete turnaround from the first half, with Randalstown staging a remarkable comeback. Michael O’Connell and Paul Johnston got their hands on the ball and really increased the tempo of the Randalstown attacks. Ten minutes after the restart, a loose Malone clearance kick was fielded by Michael O’Connor who started a counter-attack which finished with Paul Johnston scorching his way in for an unconverted try and reducing the Randalstown deficit to 21-5. Three minutes later, another Randalstown attack was prevented from scoring when resolute Malone defence got to the touchdown in their in-goal area first. Midway through the half another quickly taken penalty by Randalstown was finished off by Michael O’Connor with a try in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful but the deficit had been further reduced to 21-10.
Almost immediately Malone responded positively and took play into the Randalstown 22m area. The Randalstown team conceded a penalty, which Niall McKeating converted, to increase the Malone lead to 24-10. The Randalstown backs were playing a lot of constructive rugby in the second half with the ball in hand. Their outside backs were running some great lines and one such attack was finished off by Michael O’Connor with his second try of the night in the corner. The conversion was missed but the Randalstown team was back in the game with the deficit reduced to 24-15 with eight minutes of the game remaining. Three minutes later Randalstown ran a penalty out of defence. A series of plays ended when Malone carried the ball over their line and conceded a 5m scrum. Stuart Dempster picked the ball from the scrum and a well-timed pass to Matthew McCaw finished with the scrumhalf touching down for a try. Philip McGreevy stepped up to confidently convert the try and reduce the arrears to 24-22 with just minutes remaining. The Randalstown attacks kept coming and when a Malone player picked up a clearance kick from in front of the ball the referee had no option but to award a penalty to Randalstown. Adam Johnston converted the penalty, the referee blew the final whistle and Randalstown celebrated their hard-earned but, ultimately, well-deserved 25-24 bonus point victory.
As usual with the Nutty Krust Tournament the players all received a post-match meal which was sponsored by Jim Hewitt Meats, prepared by the staff in ‘Scrummies’ kitchen and organised by the ever present Sid Rowe. All players, as well as their coaches, received a Nutty Krust loaf on departure.
The Ulster Branch President, Bobby Stewart, presented the hard-working Randalstown scrumhalf, Matthew McCaw, with the Nutty Krust ‘Man of the Match Award’. Bobby congratulated both teams for the positive way in which they entertained the supporters in the course of this seven try thriller.
The first of the 3rd Round group stage games in the 2016 Nutty Krust Tournament will feature Banbridge U18 v Omagh U18 at 7.45pm on Wednesday 9th March. All support is welcome.
// Lurgan claim Under 14 High Schools’ Shield
Lurgan Junior High won the U14 High Schools’ Shield beating Ballynahinch High School 29 points to nil at Banbridge RFC this week.
Schools contesting the shield were:
// Rainey OB purchase GPS
Rainey Old Boys are delighted to announce that they have purchased the latest high-tech GPS equipment to aid their player development and to monitor progression. The equipment supplied from ‘Playertec’ was purchased with the help of a grant from Mid-Ulster District Council.
The Playertec GPS system is a professional-grade GPS system designed for teams and individuals. The collected data is uploaded to a cloud-based software system, where it can be managed and analysed.
The system can be used to assess the volume and intensity of a given match or training session through the following metrics:
Initial results have been very interesting, assisting the coaching team in identifying player weaknesses and areas for improvement. The club would like to thank Mid-Ulster District Council for their support.
// Nutty Krust Tournament: Randalstown U18 25, Malone U18 24
The Randalstown U18 team recorded a single point victory despite having been 21-0 down at the break.
The game was packed with action from the first minute until the last minute with both sets of players really applying themselves for the entire 70 minutes. Among the group watching the game was Jonny Gillespie, the Ulster Rugby Talent ID Manager. Bobby Stewart, the Ulster Branch President, also took time out of his busy schedule to attend the game. The continued interest of Ulster Rugby in the Nutty Krust Tournament is greatly appreciated by everyone connected with the competition.
Malone was 7-0 up with just 45 seconds on the clock. A lineout just outside the Randalstown 22m line was won and Jack Knox was the beneficiary of a well-worked midfield move when he touched down for the first try of the game. Malone continued to dominate the proceedings and might have increased their lead shortly after this, only to see a penalty attempt drift wide and a try scoring pass going forward. Randalstown did recover and weathered the storm. They gained some territory but handling errors and difficulty in dealing with the windy conditions meant they did not really threaten the Malone goal line at this stage of the game. 27 minutes into the game, a Randalstown attack broke down when Knox intercepted a loose pass and touched down again under the posts. Niall McKeating converted the try to give Malone a 14-0 lead. With the last play of the first half, the Malone lead was increased to 21-0. Several penalty kick opportunities were spurned and the ball was kept in play. Rory McCloskey took a quickly tapped penalty and outstripped the Randalstown defence to touch down for a try. Niall McKeating added the extras to give his team what seemed like a comfortable 21-0 lead at the interval.
The second half was a complete turnaround from the first half, with Randalstown staging a remarkable comeback. Michael O’Connell and Paul Johnston got their hands on the ball and really increased the tempo of the Randalstown attacks. Ten minutes after the restart, a loose Malone clearance kick was fielded by Michael O’Connor who started a counter-attack which finished with Paul Johnston scorching his way in for an unconverted try and reducing the Randalstown deficit to 21-5. Three minutes later, another Randalstown attack was prevented from scoring when resolute Malone defence got to the touchdown in their in-goal area first. Midway through the half another quickly taken penalty by Randalstown was finished off by Michael O’Connor with a try in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful but the deficit had been further reduced to 21-10.
Almost immediately Malone responded positively and took play into the Randalstown 22m area. The Randalstown team conceded a penalty, which Niall McKeating converted, to increase the Malone lead to 24-10. The Randalstown backs were playing a lot of constructive rugby in the second half with the ball in hand. Their outside backs were running some great lines and one such attack was finished off by Michael O’Connor with his second try of the night in the corner. The conversion was missed but the Randalstown team was back in the game with the deficit reduced to 24-15 with eight minutes of the game remaining. Three minutes later Randalstown ran a penalty out of defence. A series of plays ended when Malone carried the ball over their line and conceded a 5m scrum. Stuart Dempster picked the ball from the scrum and a well-timed pass to Matthew McCaw finished with the scrumhalf touching down for a try. Philip McGreevy stepped up to confidently convert the try and reduce the arrears to 24-22 with just minutes remaining. The Randalstown attacks kept coming and when a Malone player picked up a clearance kick from in front of the ball the referee had no option but to award a penalty to Randalstown. Adam Johnston converted the penalty, the referee blew the final whistle and Randalstown celebrated their hard-earned but, ultimately, well-deserved 25-24 bonus point victory.
As usual with the Nutty Krust Tournament the players all received a post-match meal which was sponsored by Jim Hewitt Meats, prepared by the staff in ‘Scrummies’ kitchen and organised by the ever present Sid Rowe. All players, as well as their coaches, received a Nutty Krust loaf on departure.
The Ulster Branch President, Bobby Stewart, presented the hard-working Randalstown scrumhalf, Matthew McCaw, with the Nutty Krust ‘Man of the Match Award’. Bobby congratulated both teams for the positive way in which they entertained the supporters in the course of this seven try thriller.
The first of the 3rd Round group stage games in the 2016 Nutty Krust Tournament will feature Banbridge U18 v Omagh U18 at 7.45pm on Wednesday 9th March. All support is welcome.
// Lurgan claim Under 14 High Schools’ Shield
Lurgan Junior High won the U14 High Schools’ Shield beating Ballynahinch High School 29 points to nil at Banbridge RFC this week.
Schools contesting the shield were:
- Lurgan Junior High
- Killicomaine
- St. Patricks, Keady
- Ballyclare Secondary School
- Dromore High
- Ballynahinch High
- St. Columbus, Donegal
- Fivemiletown College
// Rainey OB purchase GPS
Rainey Old Boys are delighted to announce that they have purchased the latest high-tech GPS equipment to aid their player development and to monitor progression. The equipment supplied from ‘Playertec’ was purchased with the help of a grant from Mid-Ulster District Council.
The Playertec GPS system is a professional-grade GPS system designed for teams and individuals. The collected data is uploaded to a cloud-based software system, where it can be managed and analysed.
The system can be used to assess the volume and intensity of a given match or training session through the following metrics:
- Total distance
- Sprint distance defined as running speeds above 5 metres per second
- Number of power plays or physically demanding significant actions
- Total energy expended
- Number of impacts
- Top speed
- Distance per minute
- A power score to measure the power output used per kilogram of bodyweight
- Impact loading to determine the number of impacts per minutes
- Work ratio for the percentage of total time during which the player performed work
Initial results have been very interesting, assisting the coaching team in identifying player weaknesses and areas for improvement. The club would like to thank Mid-Ulster District Council for their support.