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VS
Dalriada School
Bangor Grammar School
2012 NORTHERN BANK SCHOOLS’ CUP FOURTH ROUND
- - - - - - - - 11 / 02 / 2012
DALRIADA SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS
- 2 -
This will be my second trip as coach to
Dalriada. It’s a pretty hostile environ-
ment to go to as either player or coach.
In our first match, Belfast High pushed
us all the way to the final whistle, and
were very good competitors. Because of
this, they were able to stop much of our
attack developing, but our defence was
outstanding and big tackles in the last
seconds of the match were the difference between winning and losing.
This herculean effort will be needed again this weekend as Dalriada,
though their results wouldn’t suggest , are a formidable opposition for
any team at home. The boys have worked hard over the last two weeks,
and a big game against Wallace last weekend was a great chance to put
what we have worked on into practice.
We’re all very much looking forward to the challenge ahead and we be-
lieve that we can get the result we’re after if we work hard as a team.
I would also like to take this opportunity to mention Ross McCloskey
and Mark “Tommy Bowe” Armstrong. Ross and Mark have both been
big contributors to the team this season (Mark’s 3rd in a row), and both
have had unfortunate injuries which rule them out of contention for
this game. I would like to wish them all the best and a speedy recovery.
Also a huge thank you to anyone who has supported the team home and
away this season. The legion of parents who follow us to all corners of
Ulster, and the fellow pupils of BGS. Without you, this wouldn’t be as
special as it is for me as a coach or for the players. We want to hear you
all today!! Jason Morgan
JASON MORGAN BGS 1ST XV COACH
- 3 -
My first Schools’
Cup match was co-
incidentally two
years ago against
Dalriada here in
Ballymoney. On
that occasion, Ban-
gor Grammar were
unfortunately
beaten. A lot of
hard work
throughout this
season from the whole squad will hopefully
pay off and we can achieve a reversal of the
previous result.
We showed immense commitment and deter-
mination to gain a hard fought win against
Belfast High in the last round and our confi-
dence keeps growing as a team from week to
week. Our support from both parents, friends
and fellow pupils was much appreciated last
time and I expect an even larger and noisier
crowd at Dalriada. Finally, I would like to
wish Ross McCloskey a speedy recovery after
suffering a serious facial injury last week.
Jonny Gordon
EDITORIAL Simon Hull
A first Schools’ Cup win
in the first game of the
season sees Bangor
Grammar face Dalriada
School today in Bally-
money.
Dalriada themselves
have begun their cam-
paign with a draw
against Portora in round
2. They won the replay
at home by two points,
and then won their third
round tie at home with
Regent.
This will be a tough
game, but both teams
will be confident.
I would also like to take
this opportunity to thank
and congratulate the
Bangor fans for their
fantastic turn out at Bel-
fast High (I believe we
outnumbered their fans).
Make a racket today
guys, although keep si-
lent when either team
has a kick on goal and
hopefully the best team
will make it through to
the quarter finals.
Editor: Simon Hull
Reporter: Conor Patton
Columnists: Jason Morgan, Jonny
Gordon, Matthew Stockton
Pictures: Brian Mellon, Ken Best
Analyst: Paul Hancock
- 4 -
This time last year, Bangor
Grammar’s Schools’ Cup cam-
paign ended with a home defeat
to Belfast Royal Academy.
After beating Friends’ in the
third round, hopes were high for
a repeat victory against Belfast Royal Academy. However the list
of unavailable players was rather long in comparison with previ-
ous weeks. Jonny Gordon (tibia), Stuart McCloskey (ankle) and
Matthew Kennedy (suspension) were all out.
Conditions weren’t too bad at Ballymac, and BRA took the early
lead with two Jack Kane penalties. Daniel Kennedy was in charge
of kicking duties in the absence of McCloskey and scored three
points of his own shortly before half time.
After the break, things seemed to be going swimmingly when
Gareth Irvine gave Bangor the lead with a well worked try.
But, it was downhill after that as Belfast ramped up through the
gears in attack. They used the increasing wind and rain to their
advantage and scored two tries and
a penalty before the final whistle.
Winning the game 24-8, Belfast
then made it to the quarter finals,
but lost to Coleraine Inst. This year
saw no repeat of BRA’s form – they
were knocked out in the third round
by Rainey Endowed.
- 5 -
Ballymoney is a picturesque town in County Antrim. Deep in the
green fields of the far north, the town of over 9,000 claims to be
one of the oldest in Ireland.
Dalriada School itself educates some 800 pupils of both genders.
It prides itself on its Music, Drama, Debating, Politics and newly
formed Astronomical Societies (which is uniquely run by pupils).
Famous past pupils of Dalriada in-
clude former Newletter editor, Darwin
Templeton and broadcaster, Martyn
Lewis.
1st XV
Pitch
- 6 -
SCHOOL FACTS
SCHOOL NAME: Dalriada School
YEAR FOUNDED: 1878
MOTTO: Labor Sine Cura, Labor
Sine Fructu
(Work without pleasure is work without fruit)
PRINCIPAL: Mr T. Skelton
SCHOOLS’ CUP RECORD
WINS: 0
RUNNERS UP: 1 (1993)
LAST ROUND: 10-0 Victory at home to Regent House.
CAMPAIGN SO FAR
ROUND 2: Portora Royal 10—10 Dalriada School
ROUND 2 REPLAY: Dalriada School 20—18 Portora Royal
ROUND 3: Dalriada School 10—0 Regent House
ROUND 4: Dalriada School v Bangor Grammar
- 7 -
SCHOOL FACTS
SCHOOL NAME: Dalriada School
YEAR FOUNDED: 1878
MOTTO: Labor Sine Cura, Labor
Sine Fructu
(Work without pleasure is work without fruit)
PRINCIPAL: Mr T. Skelton
SCHOOLS’ CUP RECORD
WINS: 0
RUNNERS UP: 1 (1993)
LAST ROUND: 10-0 Victory at home to Regent House.
CAMPAIGN SO FAR
ROUND 2: Portora Royal 10—10 Dalriada School
ROUND 2 REPLAY: Dalriada School 20—18 Portora Royal
ROUND 3: Dalriada School 10—0 Regent House
ROUND 4: Dalriada School v Bangor Grammar
SCHOOL FACTS
Bangor Grammar School :SCHOOL NAME
1856 :YEAR FOUNDED
Justitiae Tenax :MOTTO
(Justice is tenacious)
Mr S. D. Connolly :PRINCIPAL
SCHOOLS’ CUP RECORD
5 (1969, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1988) :WINS
4 (1979, 1981, 1987, 1995) :RUNNERS UP
6-0 victory away to Belfast High School :LAST ROUND
2012 1st XV KEY PEOPLE
Mr J. Morgan; :COACH
Mr P. Hancock. :ASSISTANT COACH .
Jonathan Gordon :CAPTAIN
Phil Harper :VICE CAPTAIN Mr P. Hancock Assistant Coach
- 10 -
BELFAST
HIGH
SCHOOL
BANGOR
GRAMMAR
SCHOOL
TEAM 1. R. KENNEDY 2. A. SHAW 3. J. LEARY 4. C. BURTON (MOTM) 5. R. WILSON 6. J. GORDON * 7. J. CAMPTON 8. M. MONTGOMERY 9. A. MELLON 10. D. KENNEDY 11. C. STRUTT 12. M. STOCKTON 13. M. HAMILTON 14. M. WEIR 15. P. HARPER
SUBSTITUTES 16. E. BOYLAN 17. C. BOAL 18. J. MAJURY 19. M. KYLE 20. M. WILSON 21. P. BRODERICK 22. R. McCLOSKEY 23. P. EVES * NO SUBS USED _________________
POINTS PENS: MELLON (x2) TRYS: NONE CONV: NONE DPGL: NONE _________________
INDISCIPLINE YELLOW: NONE RED: NONE Video highlights at: tinyurl.com/bgsrugby
POINTS PENS: NONE TRYS: NONE CONV: NONE DPGL: NONE
Bangor Grammar trav-
elled to Newtownabbey
for their first Schools’
Cup match of the season
against Belfast High
School.
The match was played
out in cold and muddy
conditions and neither
side had much of an ear-
ly advantage.
The deadlock wasn’t bro-
ken until 20 minutes in,
when Andrew Mellon
safely scored with his
second penalty of the
game (the first was sliced
short of the posts).
The score remained 3-0
in favour of the Gram-
marians until the second
half, with the break
seeming to disrupt the
flow of the game.
The tables turned early
in the second half, with
High having strong pos-
session but failing to
capitalise.
Another penalty came
BGS’s way some 42
minutes, and Mellon
again put it through
safely.
After this until the end,
BGS sat back defending
some relentless Belfast
pressure. However,
strong performances
from Craig Burton, Dan-
iel Kennedy and Phil
Harper dashed Belfast
High hopes by securing
the win. Final score 6-0
- 11 -
So who is the best Schools 1st XV in Ulster? This is a question which
may be answered each year by the Schools’ Cup final, but what if we
wanted to know the greatest team over the course of the season?
Each team plays games most weeks, some friendlies and others not,
against many teams throughout the province. Each result is then rated
an analysed by the Front Row Union (www.thefrontrowunion.com).
They then produce a league table of the best teams. It is updated each
week, and the latest iteration looks like this:
Pos School Win % Opp. Score SC? Change
1. Methodist College 100.0 0.596 0.977 IN
2. Royal School Armagh 93.8 0.512 0.856 IN
3. Campbell College 75.0 0.594 0.817 IN
4. Limavady Grammar 92.3 0.466 0.784 IN
5. Ballyclare High 86.7 0.477 0.777 IN
6. Ballymena Academy 76.5 0.530 0.764 IN
7. Wallace High 66.7 0.604 0.757 IN
8. R.B.A.I. 61.5 0.571 0.702 IN
9. Portadown College 73.3 0.422 0.597 OUT
10. Foyle & Londonderry 66.7 0.457 0.587 OUT
11. Down High 54.5 0.545 0.576 OUT
12. Regent House 53.3 0.523 0.553 OUT
13. Belfast Royal Academy 42.9 0.620 0.536 OUT
14. Sullivan Upper 42.9 0.579 0.514 OUT
15. Grosvenor Grammar 50.0 0.494 0.508 IN
16. Royal Dungannon 50.0 0.485 0.499 IN
17. Bangor Grammar 30.0 0.594 0.435 IN
18. Coleraine Inst. 29.4 0.568 0.420 IN
19. Rainey Endowed 35.7 0.560 0.390 IN
20. Dalriada 38.5 0.453 0.359 IN
- 12 -
PLAYER PROFILE … CRAIG BURTON
Name: Craig Burton
DOB: 30th Sept. 1993
Position: 2nd Row
Year: 14
Weight: 13 Stone
Height: 6’ 2”
Mr Hancock Says:
“Craig Burton is an example to
all young rugby players at BGS.
Throughout his junior years
Craig was not a regular starter
on A teams. In his last year at
BGS Craig has worked hard and
is now one of the first names put
down when selecting the team.
Craig is an intelligent player who
transfers what we do at training
into the match and it is this that
makes Craig such an honest and
valuable player. His work in the
lineout is invaluable and he has
made massive improvements in
his defence and ball carrying
ability.”
MR HANCOCK 1ST XV COACH
- 13 -
FIVE MINUTES WITH … PHIL HARPER
VIEW FROM
THE DRESSING
ROOM
After our win in the
pr ev io us r ound
against Belfast High
School (6-0), we are
confident moving
into our next match
vs. Dalriada. Howev-
er, we know that it
will be a tight match,
especially having a
fairly long journey
up to the pitches.
We have prepared
well so we should all
be in good physical
form leading into the
match. We are all
very excited about
this match with
there being a quarter
-final place at stake.
Last year our 1st XV
stumbled at the hur-
dle of the 4th round
but we, as a team,
are hoping to achieve
what hasn't been
done in years at Ban-
gor Grammar - Get-
ting to the Schools'
Cup Quarter-Final.
To see more of this
interview, go to the
official Gryphiti
Facebook page.
1. What do you hope
to learn from this
match?
“Saturday will be a test
of the team’s character
to see if we can handle
the pressure, but it’s a
very good opportunity
to prove ourselves in
front of a big crowd.”
2. How does the team
feel going into the
match?
“We’re very confident
that if we play to our
potential, we can win.
However, it will be a
tough match and we
know that the win
won’t be handed to us
on a plate.”
3. Why do you love
playing rugby?
“I love the team aspect
of rugby. You spend a
lot of time with team-
mates, some good and
some bad and it brings
us all very close
together.”
4. Finally, does it give
you satisfaction to
hear that BRA (who
knocked you out last
year) are already out
this time?
“It does, and it was a
bit of a shock. It shows
that anything can
happen in a cup
match.”
- 13 - Questions from
Conor Patton
- 15 -
SCHOOLS’ CUP RESULTS & FIXTURES
3rd Round Result s :
Belfast High 0 -6 Bangor Grammar 28/01/12
Down High 0 -3 Co lera ine A. I . 28 /01 /12
Foyle & Londonderry 0 -3 Banbridge Academy 28/01/12
Grosvenor Grammar 12-8 Sul l ivan Upper 28 /01 /12
Portadown 19-20 R. S . Dungannon 28/01/12
Dalr iada 10-0 Regent House School 28 /01 /12
Rainey Endowed School 11-8 Belfast Royal Ac. 28 /01 /12
Cambridge House P-P Well ington Col lege 01 /02/12
4 th Round Fixtures :
Ballyclare High v Royal School Armagh 11/02/12
Banbridge Academy v Cambridge/Wel l ing… 11 /02 /12
Campbel l Co l l ege v Grosvenor Grammar 11/02/12
Dalr iada v Bangor Grammar 11/02/12
Colera ine A.I. v Bal lymena Academy 11/02/12
Rainey Endowed School v Methodist Col lege 11 /02/12
R.B.A.I. v Royal S , Dungannon 11/02/12
Wallace High School v L imavady Grammar 11/02/12
Losing teams wi ll be t ransferred to the Subsidiary Shie ld competi tion.
Quarter Final matches to be p layed on the 25 th February.
2nd XV SCHOOLS’ CUP FIXTURES
2nd Round Fixtures
Belfast Royal Academy v Dromore High TBC
Regent House School v Grosvenor Grammar TBC
Portadown / R.S. Armagh v Methodist Col lege TBC
R.B.A.I. v Bangor Grammar TBC
Portora Royal School v Dalr iada School TBC
Campbel l / Rainey End… v Bal lymena Academy TBC
Limavady Grammar v Sul l ivan Upper TBC
Friends’ School v Bal lyclare High TBC
- 16 -
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ROSS KENNEDY
ANDREW SHAW
JAMES LEARY
CRAIG BURTON
RYAN WILSON
JONNY GORDON
JACK CAMPTON
MAX MONTGOMERY
PETER EVES
DANIEL KENNEDY
CAMERON STRUTT
MATTHEW STOCKTON
MATTHEW HAMILTON
MICHAEL WEIR
PHIL HARPER
SUBSTITUTES
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SUBSTITUTES
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ELLIOT BOYLAN
MATTHEW KYLE
CHRIS BOAL
JAMES MAJURY
ANDREW MELLON
CHRIS WALTON
PHIL BRODERICK
MATTHEW WILSON
DALRIADA
FOR DALRIADA
SCHOOL TEAM-
SHEET SEE
THEIR OFFICIAL
MATCH-DAY
PROGRAMME