There are four Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup quarter-final games scheduled to be played on Saturday 21st February.
RBAI v RS ARMAGH, 11.00am
Belfast Inst had little trouble in overcoming the challenge provided by a spirited Regent House team in the third round of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. Team coaches, Dan Soper and Richard Hedley, will expect the Royal School Armagh team to provide a much more challenging test of their credentials.
Team captain, Lewis McNamara, ably assisted by his vice-captain, Michael Mairs, will not allow their players to take anything for granted as they prepare to welcome Armagh to Osborne Park on Saturday. There is an abundance of talent in the squad; Conor Field has represented the Ulster Schools team, while Michael Lowry is recognised as a very talented outhalf. They will hope that Michael will be fit enough to, at least, take his place in the extended squad for this game. Having said that, his replacement in the last round, Paddy Dologhan, did a great job in keeping the Belfast Inst pack on the front foot, as well as creating attacking opportunities for his backs. TJ Morris, James Hume, Calum McLaughlin, Jack Conlin and Ben McGavock all bring creativity, pace and power to the side. In the pack, McNamara gets great support from fellow back row players Patrick Nicholas and Ethan Harbinson.
RBAI has lost just once this season to a school team from Ulster. They will want to have that statistic still in place at the end of the game on Saturday.
RS Armagh will be delighted to be seen as outsiders to win this encounter and team coaches, Gareth Beggs and David Dougherty, realise their charges might have been somewhat fortunate to come away from Limavady GS with a narrow win last time out. They were only the width of a cross bar from going out of this season’s competition.
Everyone associated with the RS Armagh team will realise the game against RBAI will require them to really lift their performance. There have been glimpses in their Schools’ Cup campaign as to how much the squad has progressed since the start of the season. Players such as Chris Jennings, Matthew McSorley and their Ulster Schools prop, Philip Matthews, have all scored tries in previous rounds. Their impressive team captain, Michael Thompson, has displayed great game management skills as well as weighing in with some fine kicking skills off the tee. Thompson can call upon some experienced fellow backs, such as Jack Campbell, Josh Agnew and Kenneth Graham to assist him with his leadership responsibilities. Agnew will hope to have his brother David available for selection on the opposite wing with David having recently recovered from an injury setback. The McSorley brothers, James and Matthew, participate together in the Schools’ Cup for the second year in a row. They will all be keen to assist in maintaining the proud tradition Royal School Armagh teams have built up in Ulster Schools’ Cup competitions in the recent past.
COLERAINE AI v OMAGH ACADEMY, 11.00am
Coleraine Academical Institution will see themselves as clear favourites to progress to the semi-finals as they prepare to host Omagh Academy. Coleraine ‘escaped’ from Down High School with an injury time score in the third round to win a place in the quarter-final stages. Coaches, Richard Beggs and Stephen Douglas, both played in Ulster Schools’ Cup games that went to the wire and they will be encouraging their squad to take nothing for granted but to get this one sown up early and take the pressure off. They are a confident team that has justified their inclusion as one of the top seeded teams in the 2014/5 competition.
The coaches will look to the experience that players such as Daniel McAllister, Oliver McDowell, James Bleakly and team captain, Peter Bonnar bring to the Coleraine AI pack. These players are in their third season on the team and are hopeful of going one stage further than they did when they reached the semi-finals of last season’s Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. Their experience has assisted in the development of players such as Ulster Schools U18 squad members Peter Weisener, Christi Hamilton and David Greatorex in the Coleraine AI pack. They will provide a formidable challenge for their Omagh Academy counterparts.
The Coleraine AI backline may not be as experienced as their pack in terms of Schools’ Cup appearances, but Weisener is entering into his third year of Schools’ Cup Rugby and his advice to younger players such as Thomas Lavery and Connor Skuce will be vital. Bruce Campbell and Calum Smyth have formed a more than useful half back partnership, which has displayed consistently good game management skills all season. Calum is a first class place kicker who, if he can bring an error free game with him on Saturday, has the potential to cause problems for the Omagh defence. The Omagh Academy discipline will need to be of the highest order if Smyth is to be denied the opportunity of punishing the opposition with his trusty boot.
The Omagh Academy team will realise they have nothing to fear as they prepare to make the trip to Coleraine. The Omagh Academy team has been on the road for both their previous encounters in the competition and they won both those games with something to spare. They will see it as an opportunity to complete an ‘away’ hat trick.
Ross Hunter and Jackie Reid, feel this Omagh team has much more to offer and will encourage their talented group of players to fulfil their potential on Saturday. They have a squad of players that is keen to do well. They have caused many upsets in the games they have played this season and can see no reason why they can’t progress to the last four.
Team captain, Adam Stephenson, has seen his players come through with 13 victories out of the 16 games they have played this season. They defeated a strong RBAI ‘Select’ XV early in the season, a win that laid down a positive marker for the team. In true Omagh Academy fashion, it has been the performances of the pack that have laid the foundations for the success the team has experienced. Ulster Schools RDS members Joshua McKinley and James Longwell are both key members of a pack that can also boast of the talents of players such as Matthew Sproule, Jonny Anderson and Matthew Clyde. These players will be under pressure to produce quality possession so that Fintan Lagan and team vice-captain, Stuart Ballentine, can bring their exciting backs into play. Stephenson has scored 19 tries this season with Andrew Monteith not far behind. Chris Hemphill and Dean Kane are two more Omagh Academy backs that love to get the ball in their hands. There is more to this Omagh Academy team than just forward power. Stuart Ballentine, as well as displaying good game management skills, also displays great ability will the ball off the tee. He will be delighted to add to the ninety points he has scored already in games this season. The Omagh Academy team has conceded only two tries in their Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup campaign this season. If they can maintain that defensive discipline and get sufficient quality possession from their pack, they will ensure a hard day in the office for the Coleraine boys.
CAMPBELL COLLEGE v METHODIST COLLEGE, 10.30am
Perhaps the quarter-final game that will qualify for the ‘Match of the Day’ tag will be this game at Fox’s Field. The Campbell College team came through a tough encounter when they travelled to Sullivan Upper in the previous round of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. Few people, outside of Campbell College, expected them to win that game but win it they did! Team coaches, Brian Robinson and Gareth Fry, had done their homework on the opposition on that occasion and their victory was recognised on all sides as being well deserved. They will have done their homework on the Methodist College team as they prepare to meet on Saturday. They have won eight of their games played against schools from Ulster this season and will be looking for a ninth win on Saturday.
Robinson and Fry have a talented group of players from which to select their team. There are quite a few Year 13 players in the squad who have experienced success in a Ulster Schools’ competition, winning the Medallion Shield two seasons ago. They are keen to replicate that success in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup. Ten of the Campbell college squad were involved last season and there are seven Danske Bank Ulster Schools U17 and U18 players available for selection on Saturday.
Daniel Kealey, Adam Walmsley and Jack Barry Glendinning, the try scorer against Sullivan Upper, are members of an abrasive Campbell College pack that will ask questions of their Methodist College counterparts. They certainly did, most successfully, against a very powerful Sullivan front eight. If the Campbell College pack can produce the quality possession required by their backline then players such as Cameron Stewart, an astute tactician, Jack Howard, Jonny Haldane and Rory Butler have the ability to cause problems for any opposition team. These young men love to play with the ball in hand and are capable of launching attacks from anywhere on the pitch. Butler and Kealey share the captaincy responsibilities on the Campbell College team, with the former gaining the plaudits from all sections as being the outstanding player on the pitch against Sullivan. They will be going all out to ensure their team comes away from this eagerly anticipated encounter with a victory on Saturday.
The Methodist College team had to work hard for their third round success at Ballymena Academy. They started that game strongly, fell off the pace slightly and then finished the game with a dominant performance. Team coaches, Nicky Wells and Stephen Lindsay, will realise their team will not be able to ease up at any stage against Campbell College if they are to maintain their quest for what would be a remarkable ‘four in a row’ of Ulster Schools’ Cup wins. Wells and Lindsay will feel their charges are hitting winning Schools’ Cup form at just the right time of the season. They will travel to play Campbell College in a very confident mood and with an array of talent in the squad.
Ben O’Reilly, team captain, Saul Herdman and Alex McAllister, in the Methodist College front row, have rarely been troubled by any of their opponents this season. If they, along with their fellow forwards such as Matthew McKinney, Daniel Coulter and the very dynamic Zach Jordan, have laid the foundations for the success of the Methodist College team this season, it is in the Methody backline where there is outstanding talent to be seen. Danny Gray is an emerging scrumhalf who has attracted the attention of the Ulster Rugby Talent ID Department, while his half back partner, Gareth Millar, is an astute number 10 who has benefitted from the experience of playing for the Ulster U19 team. Another Ulster U19 player, Ali McIvor, in midfield, is a very strong defensive player, as well as being a very creative attacking player. His creativity, alongside that of his centre partner Matthew Jamison, has presented attack minded wide players, such as Conor Kelly, Josh Jordan and Robert Lyttle, with the opportunity to display their highly developed attacking skills on countless occasions this season. Lyttle is also a first class goal kicker who will punish any opposition indiscretions committed with his strike range. Kelly was involved with the Ireland U18 School team last season and Lyttle is currently involved this season. Their performances will be closely monitored by Ireland Schools’ advisors in attendance at these Schools’ Cup games.
BALLYCLARE HS v WALLACE HS, 11.00am
Ballyclare High School is hoping to emulate the success of recent years that reached, at least, the semi-final stage of the Schools’ Cup. However, their job is not made any easier by the fact they meet Wallace High School, a team seen as favourites by many observers to win this season’s title. Ballyclare HS was reasonably comfortable in their third round victory against a committed Bangor Grammar School side. Team coaches, Michael McKeever and Gareth Shaw, will realise their squad will need to raise the bar significantly if they are to have any chance of causing an upset and defeating a currently unbeaten Wallace outfit on Saturday. They have worked hard to ensure their squad has peaked at just the right time. They had a successful run of games in the first term and see no reason why this good form should not continue in the course of their Schools’ Cup campaign.
Team captain, Matthew McDowell, was an ever present with the Ulster Schools U18 squad, while Jack Magee gained great experience through his involvement with the same squad. Owen Kirk, Alistair Burke, Jack Black, Jack Lewis and Zachary McMorran have all been involved with the Ulster Schools U17 squad. These players have benefitted greatly from working at this level and they will hope the skills developed with the age grade squads will stand them in good stead as they prepare for this tough encounter.
Wallace High School, having made the journey to Portora Royal School in the previous round and come away with a convincing victory, is now seen as almost the out and out favourites to win the cup. They are unbeaten in the course of the current season and will happily deal with the tag of favourites as they prepare for their trip to Ballyclare. Team coaches, Derek Suffern and Neil Hinds, will instil into their players that they must take nothing for granted. Success will only come through hard work, attention to detail and a belief from everyone they have the ability to succeed. They have an exceptionally talented group from which to select their final 23, including 15 players who were involved with last season’s squad, that reached the semi-finals. The current squad would be confident of going at least one stage further this season.
Ben Pentland, Ben Finlay, Jonny Stewart and Neil Kilpatrick have represented Ulster Schools at U18 level while Andrew Cardosi has played for the Ulster U19 team. Cardosi has made a tremendous recovery from a shoulder injury and his progress has been monitored by members of the Ireland U19 Management team. Kilpatrick and Stewart are both very talented scrumhalves so it could be something of a dilemma for the coaches as to which one will start with the number 9 jersey on his back. Sam Moore, as captain, has great faith in the ability of his teammates and they have defeated teams from Ulster, Leinster and Munster in the course of the current season. A training camp in Johnstown has helped in their preparation for a serious assault on the cup, as attention to detail is paramount in the philosophy of the Wallace coaching staff. Nothing will be left to chance as they prepare for Saturday.