BANBRIDGE ACADEMY v ANTRIM GS, 10.30am
Banbridge Academy will host an Antrim Grammar School team that will have gained a great deal of confidence from their hard earned victory against Strabane Academy in the preliminary round game in December.
The Banbridge Academy team has had a mixed season in terms of results thus far, having recorded some excellent wins against teams such as RS Armagh, Portora RS and RS Dungannon, but also suffering a number of disappointing defeats. They have picked up one cup already this season when they won a tournament involving three schools from the Mid Ulster area. This success will have given the Banbridge Academy squad a great deal of confidence.
Team coaches, Brian Leslie and Roy Stevenson know they have a good mixture of youth and experience to hand as they prepare for this game. Unfortunately, their Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ second row forward, Richard McNeill, will not be available as he is currently in rehab following a knee injury. However, in players such as Daniel McElderry, Jay Pinion, Ben Carson, Shane Honeyford and Rhys Mackey, the Banbridge team has experience in their back division. Add in the emerging talents of Ulster U16 Development scrumhalf, Jordan Mount, featuring on the wing, and the finishing power of fellow winger, Michael McGaffin, and the Banbridge back line has a lot of quality in the ranks.
These players will look to the experience in their pack, provided by players such as McNeill, Ben Nixon, Stephen Rompante and captain, Matthew Bell, to provide the quality possession they need to enable them to ask questions of the Antrim defence.
The Antrim boys know they have nothing to lose and will be determined to cause an upset. Their coaching staff of Michael Ferguson, John Burns and Richard Cullen, know that they have some talented players available for this game. None more so than their Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ U17 squad member, JJ McKee, who has been a rock in pack all season. He gets great support from players such as the Mawhinney brothers, James and Robert, at prop, alongside the hard working back row trio of Jacob McCollum, Daniel McGrandles and team captain, Matthew Dunne. In the back division, Sam Gordon provides good game management and decision making skills while Adam Johnston has developed an eagle eye for the opposition try line throughout the season. These players will need to be monitored closely by the Banbridge Academy defence throughout the game.
FRIENDS’ SCHOOL v PORTADOWN COLLEGE, 10.30am
Friends’ School, Lisburn will be prepared to accept the role of ‘underdogs’ as they prepare for their first round clash at home to Portadown College. It has been an indifferent season for the Lisburn team, having to endure injury problems, non-availabilities and a very young squad of inexperienced players. Their early season form saw them lose four games by less than a score. Then a series of injuries to key players set in and the results dipped even more! A number of successes in November showed what the team could achieve but then more injury woes set in.
The coaching team of Stephen Robinson, Norman Gamble and Graham Cloke is still not sure as to whether or not they will have a full squad from which to select for Saturday’s game. Curtis Dundas, Ryan Hall and Kirk McGrady are talented players who are among a lot of Friends’ School players who will be facing the pressure of their first Schools’ Cup campaign. They will look to the leadership qualities of players such as Stevie Kay, the Friends’ School captain, Thomas Boyde, who has deputised for Kay on a number of occasions, Bart Campbell, Adam Scoffield and James McGucken to guide them through this encounter.
The Portadown College team has recorded a number of impressive results in the course of the current season. The stand out result will have been their success against Rainey Endowed School earlier in the season when they won the Vinnie Doyle Memorial Cup.
Their Head Coach, Andrew Symington, realises he has an experienced squad to work with, especially in the back division. Six of the backline are going into their third season of Schools’ Cup rugby. Captain, Niall Davidson, initially earned his reputation as a talented number 10 but has now moved out one channel and has established an excellent centre partnership with Jason Lau. The Portadown College team will look for quality possession to allow these two players the opportunity to influence the game in a positive manner. The Portadown College pack can look to the experience of players such as Jonathan Leckey, Robert Bleakney and Jacob McKeeman to assist in the provision of the quality possession the backline will crave. Not only is Mckeeman a hard working number 8, he is also among the leading try scorers on the Portadown College team this season. His younger brother, Peter, is turning out to a be recognised talent in the Portadown backline the siblings could have a major impact on the eventual outcome of this game.
It is a game the Portadown College players will see their team as the clear favourite to win and, with it, a place in the round 2 draw of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup.
LIMAVADY GS v WELLINGTON COLLEGE, 11.00am
It has been a season of transition for the Limavady Grammar School squad which has just two of last season’s successful squad returning for this campaign. The Limavady Grammar School coaching team of Chris Nash, Sam Vallelly and Brian Hughes realise that this period of transition applies, in the main, to them as well. They have worked hard with a very young squad to establish an effective series of game plans. They have found themselves in a winning position in a number of games this season only to lose out in the dying minutes of these encounters. The one major consistent factor in all these games has been the desire of the players to learn from their mistakes.
Team captain, Scott McLean, has led from the front and, even in defeat, has impressed with his maturity, leadership and high levels of performances. Everyone involved has been working hard to learn how to retain possession in critical areas of the pitch, close out games when leading in the final stages and develop a sense of confidence that will be sufficient to carry them through to the next stage of the Schools’ Cup. Critical to this will not only be the leadership of McLean, but also the performances of players such as Darren Corrigan, Oliver Mullan and Sheagh McLaughlin. Scott Patton and Gareth Kee are the leading try scorers in the course of the season so far. Limavady will be delighted to have home advantage.
The Wellington College team should not be underestimated in this game. For the first time in many seasons they have a large number of players available for selection. The Wellington College coaching staff of Peter Chambers, a former Schools’ Cup winner, Simon Fitzgerald and Gareth Montgomery, took their squad to a mid-term training camp in Portugal. They finished the camp with successful games against Gresham College and a Portuguese U18 Regional team.
Team captain, James Hayes, forms a formidable front row trio alongside Karl Sloan and Ross Dunning. Hayes has a knack of getting over the whitewash, but David Montgomery, who has averaged almost one try per game during the season, is the highest scorer. Montgomery would be the first to recognise the role his fellow forwards have played in helping him with his try scoring exploits.
Ethan Sweeney and Luke Harris form an effective half back partnership and these players attempt to bring their outside backs into the game at every opportunity. Leading points scorer on the Wellington College team is their place kicker, Jamie Hewitt, whose pedigree is second to none - he is the grandson of former Ulster, Ireland and British and Irish Lions player, John Hewitt. He has had a phenomenal goal kicking success already this season and the Limavady Grammar school team would be well advised not to present him with too many kicking opportunities.
REGENT HOUSE v RS DUNGANNON, 11.00am
Two previous winners of the Ulster Schools’ Cup will meet when Regent House host the Royal School Dungannon in Newtownards on Saturday. The Regent coaches, Peter Lowry, Mervyn Tweed and Nick Gamble will look upon themselves as favourites to win this game. With Ulster Schools’ capped second row Jonny Harris captaining the team, there is a great deal of experience in the Regent House pack. Kyle Van Geison brings Ulster Development squad experience to the front row, but it is players such as Tommy Scullion, Conn Crawford and Robert Brown that will provide the real Schools’ Cup experience for their captain.
As coach of the Regent House forwards, Mervyn Tweed believes he has a pack that, on their day, can match up to any school pack in Ulster. Alex Hendrickse, Ethan Bradley, Josh McFarland and Brandon Frazer bring a youthful exuberance to the Regent squad and they will look forward to their first Schools’ Cup outing. Harris has really led his team by example and is the leading try scorer. Taylor Nutt has had a great season with his boot and the Dungannon team will know not to give away needless penalties in their half otherwise they will be punished severely. Aaron May, in the Regent midfield, has displayed great creativity in many games. This has been of benefit to the Regent House wingers Matthew Stanex and David Jamieson, both of whom love to get the ball in their hands.
The Royal School Dungannon team took themselves off to Portugal in December for a training camp in preparation for their visit to Regent House. For a school with such a limited number of players, the RS Dungannon teams, over the years, have always looked forward to their Schools’ Cup encounters and the ‘Class of 2015’ will be no different. The school won the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Trophy last season and that achievement has given the current team the desire to go at least one step further this season.
Gareth McClintock, Gareth Lucas and Jason Hunniford, will hope to have a squad of fully fit players from which to make their final selections. They have a very young, but talented, group of players, many of whom will make their Schools’ Cup debuts.
Team captain, John Buckley, will look to his pack to get the quality possession his backs desire. Forwards such as Jim Meng, Jonathan Black, David Cooper, Josh McKee, Josh Black and Peter Doran will have vital roles to play in both the set piece and the breakdown areas. There is an array of talent in the RS Dungannon backline with players such as Nathan McCammon, Matthew Smyth, Aaron Perry, Aaron McCammon and Philip Wilson all hoping to get the opportunity to display their attacking skills in the course of this game.
CAMBRIDGE HOUSE v GROSVENOR GS, 10.30am
The recently appointed Cambridge House coach, John Nicholl, has put structures into place to rugby in the school. He has brought former Ulster player, Jamie Smyth, and fellow Ballymena RFC player, Chris Smyth, on board to assist with coaching players throughout the school. Their squad of senior players, the largest for a number of years, has benefitted from the coaching set up so far. The team has won more games than they lost in the course of the build up to their encounter with Grosvenor on Saturday.
Sam Nicholl is the Cambridge House captain and he can look at the try scoring ability of players such as Lewis Wray, the points scoring ability of James Bovill and the work ethic of his vice-captain, Aaron Henry. The fact that Houston Bonnar has been selected in an Ulster Schools’ Development squad further highlights that Nicholl is surrounded by a number of talented players.
Grosvenor is a young squad in transition but the players have adapted remarkably well to the demands of 1st XV rugby. The entire squad is now starting to realise they have the potential to achieve a good run in the competition. Team coaches, Gary Hunter and Andrew Gibson realise they have a talented group of young players to work with but a group that has little experience of the pressures of a Schools’ Cup game. Leading players in the Grosvenor pack include James Cartilage, Ben Davidson, Jordan McDowell and Taylor Pollock. The Grosvenor backline contains the emerging talents of players such as Thomas Quinn, an U16 RDS player, Gareth Lammey, Jonah McDowell and Mark Johnston. As well as being a top notch place kicker, the latter has developed the happy knack of scoring tries at crucial times in recent games.
CARRICKFERGUS GS v LURGAN COLLEGE, 10.30am
Carrickfergus Grammar School is another of the Ulster teams to travel to Portugal for a training camp in preparation for their campaign. Their coaches, Neal Kennedy and Stephen Martin, have moulded a talented group of players into a team that a number of opposition teams have found difficult to defeat this season.
Captained by Jake Porter, who forms a prolific try scoring centre partnership with international schoolboy athlete, Christian Robinson, the Carrickfergus Grammar school team has performed to a high standard throughout the season. Injuries to key players, in the latter stages of the first term, impacted seriously on results but recent performances seem to suggest they are hitting top form at just the right time. Adan Urquhart, Tom Gilpin, an Ulster Schools’ U17 Development Squad member, Scott Henderson and the Berry twins, Reece and Kris, bring experience to the forwards. The Carrick half back pairing of Michael Black and David Carse has established a great understanding and will be asked to keep their pack on the front foot throughout the game. The back three of Mark Ellison, Conor Schirk and Fionn McCormack love to get the ball in hand to test the opposition defence.
Having defeated the Carrickfergus GS team already this season the Lurgan College team will travel to this game as favourites. Lurgan College, coached by Geoff Caldwell, have twelve Year 12 players in their squad. Caldwell has brought Trevor Carruthers on board as his assistant and he has brought experience, dedication and knowledge to his role and has developed a high degree of self-belief in the Lurgan College back division.
Captain, Matthew Lairds leads from the number 8 position and he can call upon the experience of fellow forwards such as Ulster Schools’ U17 Development squad member, Harry Simpson, Mark Montgomery, Nathan Moffett, Thomas Neill, Ben McAllister and Matthew Turner. Lairds will look to his dynamic pack to control the scrums, lineouts and the breakdown collisions to supply his backs with the quality possession they require. Scott Wilson and Jonny Hunter are experienced attacking half backs and Hunter can rely on his brother, Jamie, playing in the centre, to assist him when required. The Hunter brothers have great rugby DNA being the grandsons of former Ulster, Ireland and British and Irish Lions player, Raymond. Jamie Patterson has settled well into his new role as fullback and brings an attacking prowess to the position.
<