The Dunbia Group sponsored Royal School Dungannon rugby and hockey teams have recently returned home following a successful tour to New Zealand and Australia.

The young rugby development side played five matches with three victories being recorded while the hockey team won five of their six fixtures.

The rugby team played its first match in Auckland against Dilworth School, a school with strong RS Dungannon connections. As ever, the Dilworth School proved to be very accommodating hosts. Although the Dungannon team put in a fine first half performance and trailing by just 7-14 at the interval, eventually Dilworth ran out convincing 38-7 winners.

The score line reflected the strength of the Dilworth running game but it was hard on the visitors following a spirited RS Dungannon performance. Twice in the closing stages of the game, intense RS Dungannon pressure coughed up the ball for Dilworth to score two converted tries to put a large differential on the score.

The game was played after only a one-day recovery from the long journey and with illness affecting some of the players in the RS Dungannon squad on arrival, two guest players from Dilworth represented the team. One of these players, Arona Savati, scored the Dungannon try, much to the enjoyment of the large crowd. Jack Milligan converted and, along with the RS Dungannon captain, Jacob McCammon, had an excellent game for the Dungannon team.

Two days later RS Dungannon moved on to play St Kentigen’s College and the spirited performance against Dilworth was a distant memory as a combination of tiredness and sickness resulted in a poor performance and a heavy defeat by 49-0.

A trip to Rotorua for some downtime and the chance to watch the Lions win their series in Australia improved the mood of the squad and a good training session at the local rugby club prepared the team for the next match. The short journey to Hamilton, and an excellent performance against St Paul’s Collegiate, resulted in the first win of the tour.

An excellent set piece game laid the foundations for the victory with hooker, Jamie McNeill, scoring two tries and Jack Milligan adding two penalties. The 16-12 win indicating the narrow margin of victory and the improved competitiveness of the RS Dungannon XV.

The squad returned to Dilworth and, through the efforts of former Dilworth Scholar at RS Dungannon, Angus Ta’Avao, now a regular in the Auckland Blues front row, the squad visited Eden Park to watch the ‘Blues’ captain’s run prior to their match against the ‘Chiefs’. Co-incidentally, newly appointed Ireland coach, Joe Schmidt, was also in attendance and spent time with the RS Dungannon party on the touchline.

After the Blues team captain’s run, their players signed autographs and posed for photographs with the RS Dungannon tour party, much to the delight of the RS Dungannon hockey squad in particular. The presence of All Black legend, John Kirwan at Eden Park, created quite an impression with the entire RS Dungannon group.

An emotional departure from Dilworth featuring a ‘haka’ from the rugby squad, a flight to Sydney and two matches in Australia was next on the agenda for the Co Tyrone tourists.

The first game was against Manly Academy on a bright sunny Saturday morning and RS Dungannon played some outstanding rugby to win 27-19. Hooker McNeill added three tries to be the leading try scorer on tour, and McCammon scored off the back of a dominant scrum with Milligan converting one of the tries and adding a penalty. The spirited Manly XV scored two late tries in their bid to deny the RS Dungannon team a victory.

The final game of the tour was played north of Sydney at Central Coast Grammar School near Terrigal. Early morning surfing, swimming, fishing and excellent hosting paved the way for another excellent RS Dungannon performance and a well-deserved 29-24 victory. Archie Hanna, McCammon and Matthew Montgomery scored one try each with Milligan touching down twice and adding two conversions.

Central Coast Grammar School, coached by Mr Paul Geddes who is coming to Ireland in December as Manager of the touring Australian Schools’ squad, never gave up and the RS Dungannon team was put under serious pressure in the closing stages of the game.

Three victories from five matches was an excellent return for this young Dungannon squad. The leadership displayed by the team captain, McCammon, was exemplary and his performances in every game were of the highest quality. Jack Milligan ably supported Jacob and these two were responsible for demanding high standards from the entire squad, both on and off the pitch.

The Royal School Dungannon hockey team had an excellent tour winning five out of their six games. The squad loses only two of the tour squad for the forthcoming year and the future looks bright for both the RS Dungannon Senior Rugby and Hockey teams following the success of this tour.

Royal School, Dungannon Rugby squad:
Jacob McCammon (capt), Calum Bain, Jonathan Black, David Buckley, John Buckley, Matthew Calvert, Mark Cuddy, Thomas Downing, Charles Farrell, Thomas Fegan, Archie Hanna, Michael Jones, Nathan McCammon, Joshua McKee, Scott McLean, Jamie McNeill, Jim Meng, Jack Milligan, Matthew Montgomery, Marcus Nelson, Patrick Swaile, Jonathan Wright.

Manager: Mr Richard Clingan

Coaches: Mr Keith Patton, Mr Gareth Lucas, Mr Jonathan Willis.

The entire RS Dungannon tour squad arrived home safely in mid-July having created really positive impressions, both on and off the pitch, for their hosts in New Zealand and Australia.

The players involved would like to thank the Principal, Governors and staff at the school for their unstinting support for the tour. The parents of the tour party were fully behind the venture and deserve great praise for their efforts. A big thank you for their sponsorship of this tour of a lifetime goes to Mr Jim Dobson and the Dunbia Company from all the management and players.

Finally, a special word of thanks goes to Mr Keith Patton who retires following a lifetime of service to Physical Education and Rugby Football in the Royal School Dungannon. Everyone involved in the tour, and from much further afield, wishes Keith a long, healthy and happy retirement.

RS Dungannon return from memorable tour of New Zealand and Australia

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