Monaghan Collegiate have won the 2018 Danske Bank Ulster Girls X7s Senior Cup Final, thanks to a 12-8 win over Enniskillen Royal Grammar School at Kingspan Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
This year’s Girls Schools’ Cup Final had a slightly different look to it with the format changing from 10-a-side tag to 7-a-side contact. The schools’ 7s is played on a half-pitch cross-field basis with 4x7 minute quarters to suit players of all athletic ability.
This format was introduced to secondary schools two years ago and the interest and growth has been very encouraging with 19 teams competing this year over the Junior (Yr9-11) and Senior (Yr12-14) competitions.
The aim of replacing the tag with the contact 7s final at Kingspan Stadium is to encourage a greater transfer of players from schools to club rugby. The tag format of the game still remains as an option for schools with participation events organised regionally in March and the highly competitive Danske Bank Girls Tag Schools’ Cup will now be played on a one-day round-robin event at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena on Friday 20th April.
Monaghan Collegiate and Enniskillen Royal Grammar School qualified for this year’s inaugural Senior Girls Schools 7s Final and they provided spectators with a great advert for girls rugby. The Junior Schools 7s Finals will take place on a round-robin basis on Thursday 22nd March at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena.
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Enniskillen got the first quarter off to a flying start with Jessica Elliott touching down in the first 30 seconds, before Monaghan hit back with three tries in the next two minutes.
Enniskillen responded with two tries, attacking down the wing from Jade Ballintine on the left, followed by captain Sophie Coalter on the right, leaving the score at the end of the first quarter tied at three tries each.
Some superb strength from Captain Ella Garland saw Monaghan on the front foot, after gaining considerable ground she fed the ball wide to her wing who touched down within the first minute of the second quarter.
In an evenly contest quarter, there was no further score until Coalter touched down once again with one minute to go, however Monaghan did find time for on more score, bursting through the Enniskillen defence to take a 5-4 lead at the half-way mark.
After three minutes of the third quarter, Monaghan’s Ella Garland was rewarded for her hard work in midfield with a try, before team-mate Kelly McCormill dodged three red jerseys to cross the whitewash once again two minutes later.
Enniskillen responded with a break down the left wing from Jade Ballintine who touched down in the left corner.
In the final minute of the third quarter Lucinda Kinghan barged through a tackle and strode over, extending the Monaghan Collegiate lead to 8 points to 5 with one quarter to play.
Kingham started the final quarter where she had left off, taking full advantage of her stature and stretching over the try line.
Enniskillen responded immediately with two tries from Zara Flack, including a huge break from defence.
McCormill showed off her defensive skills, winning the ball back for Monaghan and setting off on an attacking charge to run clear of the Monaghan rearguard and touch down in front of her own supporters.
With time running out, a last-ditch attempt from Enniskillen saw Jade Ballantine run free of two tacklers to touch down in the corner.
However, with their tails still up, a strong run from Player of the Match Kelly McCormill resulted in another Monaghan Collegiate try, cementing their position as the Senior Cup champions.
This year’s Girls Schools’ Cup Final had a slightly different look to it with the format changing from 10-a-side tag to 7-a-side contact. The schools’ 7s is played on a half-pitch cross-field basis with 4x7 minute quarters to suit players of all athletic ability.
This format was introduced to secondary schools two years ago and the interest and growth has been very encouraging with 19 teams competing this year over the Junior (Yr9-11) and Senior (Yr12-14) competitions.
The aim of replacing the tag with the contact 7s final at Kingspan Stadium is to encourage a greater transfer of players from schools to club rugby. The tag format of the game still remains as an option for schools with participation events organised regionally in March and the highly competitive Danske Bank Girls Tag Schools’ Cup will now be played on a one-day round-robin event at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena on Friday 20th April.
Monaghan Collegiate and Enniskillen Royal Grammar School qualified for this year’s inaugural Senior Girls Schools 7s Final and they provided spectators with a great advert for girls rugby. The Junior Schools 7s Finals will take place on a round-robin basis on Thursday 22nd March at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena.
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Enniskillen got the first quarter off to a flying start with Jessica Elliott touching down in the first 30 seconds, before Monaghan hit back with three tries in the next two minutes.
Enniskillen responded with two tries, attacking down the wing from Jade Ballintine on the left, followed by captain Sophie Coalter on the right, leaving the score at the end of the first quarter tied at three tries each.
Some superb strength from Captain Ella Garland saw Monaghan on the front foot, after gaining considerable ground she fed the ball wide to her wing who touched down within the first minute of the second quarter.
In an evenly contest quarter, there was no further score until Coalter touched down once again with one minute to go, however Monaghan did find time for on more score, bursting through the Enniskillen defence to take a 5-4 lead at the half-way mark.
After three minutes of the third quarter, Monaghan’s Ella Garland was rewarded for her hard work in midfield with a try, before team-mate Kelly McCormill dodged three red jerseys to cross the whitewash once again two minutes later.
Enniskillen responded with a break down the left wing from Jade Ballintine who touched down in the left corner.
In the final minute of the third quarter Lucinda Kinghan barged through a tackle and strode over, extending the Monaghan Collegiate lead to 8 points to 5 with one quarter to play.
Kingham started the final quarter where she had left off, taking full advantage of her stature and stretching over the try line.
Enniskillen responded immediately with two tries from Zara Flack, including a huge break from defence.
McCormill showed off her defensive skills, winning the ball back for Monaghan and setting off on an attacking charge to run clear of the Monaghan rearguard and touch down in front of her own supporters.
With time running out, a last-ditch attempt from Enniskillen saw Jade Ballantine run free of two tacklers to touch down in the corner.
However, with their tails still up, a strong run from Player of the Match Kelly McCormill resulted in another Monaghan Collegiate try, cementing their position as the Senior Cup champions.