The Ulster Carpets Youth Cup Finals took place on Saturday afternoon, with three excellent finals played in the Kingspan Stadium sunshine.
Ulster Carpets U14 Youth Cup Final:
Ballymena 31 Virginia 22
The first game of the day was the U14 Development Cup between Ballymena and Virginia.
Virginia would be the more experienced of the two teams, having won the U14 Cup in 2015/16, but it was Ballymena who opened up the scoring. Three tries with two conversions, while limiting Virginia to one unconverted try, saw the Ballymena lads lead 19-5 at the interval.
After the break Virginia narrowed the score to 19-10 before Ballymena responded with two tries, one of which were converted to open a 31-10 lead.
Virginia finished the game strongly, clawing back the score to 31-17 then getting the final score of the game to make it 31-22.
The win for Ballymena means that they have added their name to the U14 Cup for the first time, in addition to their wins at U16 (1990 & 1993) and U18 level (1988, 1995 & 2013).
Ulster Carpets U16 Youth Cup Final:
Clogher Valley 21 Virginia 17
The second game on the programme was the U16 RB Fleming Cup contested by Clogher Valley and Virginia.
Clogher Valley were also aiming for a maiden success, while Virginia had won the U16 Cup on three previous occasions (2012, 2015 & 2017).
Five minutes into the game Clogher Valley opened the scoring before Virginia responded five minutes later to make it 5-5. Clogher Valley regained the lead with a penalty just before half time.
When the game restarted Clogher Valley added another penalty to lead 11-5, however a resurgence from Virginia saw them take the lead for the first time with a converted try. Clogher Valley regained the lead and then extended it with two further tries. Virginia closed the gap to just four points (21-17) with only minutes on the clock, but Clogher Valley held on for a well deserved win.
Ulster Carpets U18 Youth Cup Final:
Rainey 29 City of Armagh 21
The main game of the day was the U18 CE Bowman Cup, keenly contested by City of Armagh (recent winners of the U18 Nutty Krust Tournament) and Rainey.
Rainey started the stronger but Armagh were not making it easy for them. Rainey eventually secured a 12-nil lead by half time and five minutes into the second half extended that to 19-0. It was another 10 minutes before Armagh got on the scoreboard with a converted try to make it 7-19, while Rainey replied with a penalty. Armagh closed the gap 14-22, but it wasn't long before that gap widened again to 14-29. The game was not dead yet with Armagh bringing it back to 21-29, but they were finally beaten by the clock as Rainey thwarted Armagh’s quest for back-to-back U18 titles.
Ulster Carpets U14 Youth Cup Final:
Ballymena 31 Virginia 22
The first game of the day was the U14 Development Cup between Ballymena and Virginia.
Virginia would be the more experienced of the two teams, having won the U14 Cup in 2015/16, but it was Ballymena who opened up the scoring. Three tries with two conversions, while limiting Virginia to one unconverted try, saw the Ballymena lads lead 19-5 at the interval.
After the break Virginia narrowed the score to 19-10 before Ballymena responded with two tries, one of which were converted to open a 31-10 lead.
Virginia finished the game strongly, clawing back the score to 31-17 then getting the final score of the game to make it 31-22.
The win for Ballymena means that they have added their name to the U14 Cup for the first time, in addition to their wins at U16 (1990 & 1993) and U18 level (1988, 1995 & 2013).
Ulster Carpets U16 Youth Cup Final:
Clogher Valley 21 Virginia 17
The second game on the programme was the U16 RB Fleming Cup contested by Clogher Valley and Virginia.
Clogher Valley were also aiming for a maiden success, while Virginia had won the U16 Cup on three previous occasions (2012, 2015 & 2017).
Five minutes into the game Clogher Valley opened the scoring before Virginia responded five minutes later to make it 5-5. Clogher Valley regained the lead with a penalty just before half time.
When the game restarted Clogher Valley added another penalty to lead 11-5, however a resurgence from Virginia saw them take the lead for the first time with a converted try. Clogher Valley regained the lead and then extended it with two further tries. Virginia closed the gap to just four points (21-17) with only minutes on the clock, but Clogher Valley held on for a well deserved win.
Ulster Carpets U18 Youth Cup Final:
Rainey 29 City of Armagh 21
The main game of the day was the U18 CE Bowman Cup, keenly contested by City of Armagh (recent winners of the U18 Nutty Krust Tournament) and Rainey.
Rainey started the stronger but Armagh were not making it easy for them. Rainey eventually secured a 12-nil lead by half time and five minutes into the second half extended that to 19-0. It was another 10 minutes before Armagh got on the scoreboard with a converted try to make it 7-19, while Rainey replied with a penalty. Armagh closed the gap 14-22, but it wasn't long before that gap widened again to 14-29. The game was not dead yet with Armagh bringing it back to 21-29, but they were finally beaten by the clock as Rainey thwarted Armagh’s quest for back-to-back U18 titles.