16 / 44
14
RBAI WIN DANSKE BANK
MEDALLION SHIELD
RBAI started brightly and opened the scoring
with a fourth minute penalty from David Lyttle.
Wallace responded with a good period of
pressure, working the ball close to the try line
on a number of occasions but failing to cross
the whitewash. Lyttle had a chance to double
the lead after a quarter of an hour but his long
range penalty came back of the uprights.
However, the Belfast boys did push further
ahead in the 24th minute when Ethan Glover
powered over following a strong hand off on
an opposing forward. Lyttle saw his resulting
kick hit the right post for a second time,
leaving the score at 0-8.
Wallace, to their credit, worked their way back
into the game and were rewarded for their
endeavours when left wing Conor Rankin
spotted a hole in the defence and scorched
through to touch down. The conversion
attempt from Jack Dillon was off target but the
gap was reduced to 5-8.
In the prequel to this Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup Final, RBAI
were crowned Danske Bank Medallion Shield winners after defeating
Wallace HS 5-13 in the final at Kingspan Stadium last Monday.
RBAI second row Jack Gilchrist was shown
a yellow card in the closing stages of the first
period but his side’s defence held firm, in his
absence, until the break.
The start of the second half saw both teams
continue with their efforts to play entertaining
rugby, but knock ons brought numerous
attacks to a dissapointing end.
That was until RBAI unleashed a superb
backline move in the 40th minute. Lyttle
did a neat wrap around move with James
Heyburn and good hands from fullback Simon
McMaster sent Kyle McComiskey racing
clear to score in the corner. Lyttle’s missed
conversion left the scoreline reading 5-13.
Wallace again fought back with a long spell of
pressure in opposition territory, but they were
twice held up over the line by resilient RBAI
defence. In the end there was no way through
and the Belfast school held on for a moral
boosting win ahead of today.
DANSKE BANK MEDALLION SHIELD