Ballyclare Secondary School have won the 2018 Danske Bank Ulster High Schools' Trophy, thanks to a 37-19 win over The High School Ballynahinch at Kingspan Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Having already met in the Pollock Cup final earlier this year (cup shared due to game being stopped for an injury), an entertaining and closely fought contest was once again expected between these teams.
Ballyclare Secondary School were keen to avoid three final defeats in a row, having previously been beaten by Dromore High School in the 2015 and 2016 deciders, however, it was The High School Ballynahinch who made the brighter start with a try by Samuel Wilson after just two minutes, which was converted by Ross Hunter.
Ballyclare didn’t waste much time in responding with a try of their own from Man of the Match James Wilson just three minutes later, and further tries from Jordan Wilson, Josh Catherwood and Adam Warren gave them a 20-7 lead at the break.
Ballynahinch reduced the deficit to 20-14 with a converted try from Yassin Ouldhamlat one minute, but Ballyclare dominated the remainder of the game with tries from Jack Milton (2), and captain Ross Warren to essentially put the contest beyond doubt.
In the closing stages Ballynahinch captain Kyle Gill added a consolation try for his side, but it was Ballyclare Secondary School who celebrated the title win, their first at this grade since 1996.
Having already met in the Pollock Cup final earlier this year (cup shared due to game being stopped for an injury), an entertaining and closely fought contest was once again expected between these teams.
Ballyclare Secondary School were keen to avoid three final defeats in a row, having previously been beaten by Dromore High School in the 2015 and 2016 deciders, however, it was The High School Ballynahinch who made the brighter start with a try by Samuel Wilson after just two minutes, which was converted by Ross Hunter.
Ballyclare didn’t waste much time in responding with a try of their own from Man of the Match James Wilson just three minutes later, and further tries from Jordan Wilson, Josh Catherwood and Adam Warren gave them a 20-7 lead at the break.
Ballynahinch reduced the deficit to 20-14 with a converted try from Yassin Ouldhamlat one minute, but Ballyclare dominated the remainder of the game with tries from Jack Milton (2), and captain Ross Warren to essentially put the contest beyond doubt.
In the closing stages Ballynahinch captain Kyle Gill added a consolation try for his side, but it was Ballyclare Secondary School who celebrated the title win, their first at this grade since 1996.