U14s win the RBAI Tournament

Royal Belfast Academical Institution held their annual Under 14 rugby tournament on Saturday consisting of 16 teams. The CGS players were on a real high after winning a tournament at Foyle College the previous week. A number of changes were made to the side including the return of a number of players who had an impressive season with the Medallion this season. Additionally, there is a great desire and passion amongst the Coleraine players and coaches to make history in this event. CGS were placed on a solid group which consisted of Ballyclare High School, Royal School Armagh and Wesley College (Dublin).

The Coleraine boys started off very well against Ballyclare, opening up a comfortable 21 – 0 win. 3 tries were scored , showing great strength and power to pass through numerous defenders. All conversions attempts were perfectly converted. The boys carried on the momentum into the next game against Wesley College with a surprisingly huge scoreline of 26 – 0 win to CGS. On the final game of the group stage, the Coleraine players knew a win against Armagh would make them group winners and through the cup semi-final. Nonetheless, it was CGS who struck the first blow and it didn’t take long to do so. They immediately build the phases and glided their way through to the try line with a devastating back play. CGS again showed their class and scored a second converted try, taking a good line and dancing through the opposition to go under the posts. However, Armagh put on a tremendous shift on the last few minutes of the game but CGS defence held firm to record a 14 – 0 win.

CGS faced a strong rugby school from Dublin, Clongowes, on the cup semi-final, who won all of the games on their group. The boys started very slowly by failing to look after the ball in contact and giving away a number of silly penalties. Clongowes continued to exert some pressure into CGS’ own 22. However, Clongowes failed to capitalise on their sustained pressure in CGS 22 and with CGS’ great defence and patience, the boys were awarded a penalty in which they elected to go for touch and Coleraine eventually cleared their line. After a number of phases, CGS showed some series of good movements with inter play between forwards and backs and with foul play from Clongowes, CGS were awarded a penalty just outside Clongowes’ 22. The Coleraine boys opted for a penalty kick which was perfectly converted to make it 3 – 0. CGS again started the restart strongly, making through Clongowes’ 22 but with poor decision making, the ball was turned over by Clongowes. Despite building an attack, CGS defence forced errors onto Clongowes, finishing the game with only a 3 point win. In the final, CGS faced the host of the tournament, Belfast Inst. CGS have already beaten Belfast Inst twice during
the regular season so the boys were feeling very confident. This motive was showed on the pitch as it was CGS who scored the game’s first try after 3 minutes and with a quick tap on the Belfast Inst 5m line, saw CGS breaking a number of tackles and scoring under the posts. The conversion followed, making it 7 – 0 to Coleraine. The restart continued in much the same fashion with Coleraine dominating possession and territory into Belfast Inst’s 22. These chances created a way for the backs to make a move, scoring in the corner. Conversion kick went wide, 12 – 0 to CGS. Furthermore, with only 2 minutes left Belfast Inst refused to give up and made their way through CGS’s 22. However, the boys did not panic and their patience paid off when the boys ripped the ball from Belfast Inst. The boys cleared their lines into touch and never appeared to lose control. This was the final act as Coleraine recorded a hard fought win, crowning the Coleraine as the champions of the tournament. CGS held a good defensive shape throughout the whole tournament
game which was reflected in the scoreline of all games. There were some notable performances from CGS: storming carries; looked sharp in the backs; showing great work-rate round the field; putting their bodies on the line.

All players including the replacements put on a tremendous effort, worked hard and defended resolutely in all games. With 2 tournaments won already, the players and coaches are looking forward to the upcoming tournaments in Carrick (NEBSSA) and Ballymena (O’Kane).

Group Stages:

CGS 21 – 0 Ballyclare

CGS 26 – 0 Wesley (Dublin)

CGS 14 – 0 Armagh

CUP Semi Final:

CGS 3 – 0 Clongowes

CUP Final:

CGS 12 – 0 RBAI