Match Preview: Royal School Armagh vs Bangor Grammar School - 09/02/2019
Royal School Armagh vs Bangor Grammar School
After a strong win against Regent House two weeks ago, Bangor Grammar School will face Royal School Armagh in round 4 of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools' Cup, for a place in the quarter final.
Match Preview
Royal School Armagh are the fifth most successful School in Ulster Schools' Rugby. They beat RBAI after three replays to win the first Schools' Cup in 1876, and won six more titles in the following nine years.
In 1928, following the death of a player, they withdrew from the Schools' Cup, and did not feature for roughly half a century.
Following their return Royal School Armagh won the Schools' Cup on two more occasions: 1977 and 2004. Tragically only ten days after their most recent triumph, the captain of that side passed away whilst playing for the Ireland U19 team in South Africa.
Royal School Armagh are coached by former student, and current Ulster flanker Willie Faloon, alongside Chris Parker and James McCall. Also involved in the Royal Armagh coaching team is former Bangor Grammar pupil Kenny Hooks. Kenny is a former Ireland international and won the Schools' Cup with Bangor Grammar in 1978. He was also a longtime Ulster Schools 100m record holder... up until June 2017, when current Bangor Grammar student, and rugby starlet, Aaron Sexton ran faster.
The Royal School has also developed some of the finest rugby talent that this country has ever seen; Tommy Bowe needs no introduction.
After reaching the final of last year's Schools' Cup, Armagh have again impressed this year. In 15 matches, they have only been beaten on three occasions, against Enniskillen Royal Grammar, Wallace High School and Belfast Royal Academy. Such are the high standards that this side have set in recent years, that all three defeats have surprised followers of Schools' Rugby.
Aside from this, it's the wins over Campbell and RBAI that are most impressive, but one could argue that both sides are having poor seasons by their own lofty standards.
Bangor Grammar School are five times winners of the Schools' Cup - (1969, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1988). Their last final appearance was 1995, when R.B.A.I. won 18-9.
The BGS 1st XV is coached by Mr Kennedy and Mr Hunter with help from old boys Stuart McCloskey (Ulster) and Matthew Agnew (Ulster Academy).
Amongst the Bangor ranks is 18 year old Aaron Sexton, who has already played once for the Ulster seniors (earlier this season). He raised eyebrows for the Ulster As in the Celtic Cup, where he scored seven tries in six matches, and recorded the fastest ever speed for any player representing an Ulster team. He has also represented the Ireland U19s this season. Sexton's speed is his golden weapon, he is the fastest school boy in Irish 100m history.
Elsewhere in the Bangor squad are forwards Ben McCrossan, Gareth Wells and Riley Westwood, who all have interprovincial age-grade experience (through the Ulster U18s and U19s).
Centre, Conor Lusty is the top Bangor Grammar scorer this season so far, with 13 tries in 16 starts. Not too far behind is Ben McCrossan with 11 tries in 13 starts. Unfortunately a broken thumb has ruled Conor Lusty out of Bangor's cup campaign.
The Bangor Grammar School captain is Rhys Larmour, who's kicking has secured 80 points this season.
Last time out was Bangor's first experience of this year's Schools' Cup against Regent House. At half time the score was 0-0, but thanks to an excellent second half performance, left with a 27-5 win.
Not helped by having players so frequently unavailable for selection, Bangor Grammar have had quite an inconsistent season, but there have been flashes of brilliance: the home & away victories over Ballyclare, the incredible match at Campbell were Bangor could have won if a late try hadn't been cruelly disallowed, and the 47-29 win over Friends', to name but a few. Arguably, the Schools' Cup win against Regent has been the season highlight so far.
The Front Row Union produce the best form of ranking system for local schools' rugby. Royal School Armagh currently sit 3rd out of 33, whilst Bangor Grammar are ranked, in 20th. The system is geared up to take both results and quality of opposition into consideration. These rankings point towards a very one sided fixture tomorrow, but with challenging weather forecast and a strong Bangor lineup with plenty of talent, we think it could be a little closer than others are suggesting.
https://thefrontrowunion.com/2019/01/ulster-schools-rugby-rankings-2018-19-week-9/
Last Time
Both teams have already met this season, in September at Gransha. With all of the Ulster and Ireland players unavailable for selection that day, the game was very tight and Armagh emerged 12-7 winners. Conor Lusty scored Bangor's try, converted by Rhys Larmour, while Ben Lavery and Nicolas Jennings touched down for Royal Armagh, with Romain Morrow adding one conversion.
The most memorable match in recent years between these two schools came in the opening match of the 2013/14 season. This was the first match at the new Gransha Road facility, and Ross McCloskey's kicking pushed Bangor Grammar to a 17-12 win. Bangor Grammar haven't beaten Royal Armagh since... yet!
Some clips from that day can be found in the video below.
Team News
Keep an eye out on our Facebook & Twitter pages tomorrow morning. The team will be published just before kickoff.
Match Details
Venue: Royal School Armagh 1st XV Pitch, College Hill, Armagh
Kick off time: 11.00 am
Last Encounter: BGS 07-12 RSA
BGS 2018-19 Form: P18 / W7 / D0 /L11 (Points for: 434/ Points against: 440)
* BGS player statistics don't include the tour match in January vs King's Hospital.
Follow the match with live updates on the Gryphiti Twitter Account, plus more reaction and photographs on our Facebook page and here on the Gryphiti website. We'll be videoing the match and will have highlights later in the season. Best of luck to members of the B.G.S. 1st XV team, and all the other teams in action.
