Match Report: Regent House Grammar School 05-27 Bangor Grammar School
Regent House Grammar School vs Bangor Grammar School
There was an incredible turnout on Saturday as local rivals Regent House and Bangor Grammar School faced off in Round 3 of the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup.
Both sides have happy memories in this competition; Regent House won the competition outright in 1994, and shared the title with Methodist College after a draw in the 1996 final. Bangor Grammar are five times Schools’ Cup winners, all between the years of 1969 and 1988. But as is the case in knockout rugby, only one team would be happy by the time of the final whistle.
Leading up to this match, Bangor Grammar were rocked by the news that leading try scorer Conor Lusty had been ruled out of the Schools’ Cup due to a broken thumb. With this in mind, the Bangor coaches Mr Kennedy and Mr Hunter had rejigged their back line with captain Rhys Larmour moving to inside centre, and Angus Christie moving from the wing to fly-half.
The honour of starting this significant match fell to Regent’s fly-half and kicker, Stuart Martin. His kick was calmly caught by Bangor prop Ben McCrossan.
Bangor enjoyed the best of the first ten minutes, pressing towards the try line, but Regent’s defence had things safely covered. As the first half progressed, Regent’s team settled and a stalemate developed.
By the tenth minute, the overcast conditions had turned into a cold rain, and it became harder for both teams to master ball handling, particularly with a strong wind blowing down the length of the pitch.
The most significant moment in the first period came after a quarter of an hour, when Regent’s number 8, Kristian Wallis-McKimm, was sinbinned for a tip tackle. Wallis-McKimm’s teammates rallied in his absence, keeping Bangor Grammar at bay.
For what the first half lacked in action, it made up for in classic Schools’ Cup tension, particularly with the tie on such a knife-edge. The atmosphere was electrified all the more by a boisterous crowd, with both sides loudly represented on the touchline. The match was still scoreless at half time.
Only a minute or so after the second half restart, came the most threatening attack of the match so far, as Aaron Sexton brought Bangor perilously close to the first score. With 3 Bangor shirts running at pace against 2 Regent shirts, a try looked almost certain, but for a dropped pass.
Soon later, Bangor were back pressing towards the try line, from a lineout some fifteen metres out. A nice series of driving mauls brought them to the brink, before Riley Westwood crashed over for the first try of the match. Under the imposing figure of Scrabo tower, Rhys Larmour slotted the conversion between the posts.
Almost immediately from the restart, Harry McCracken looked to be through for Bangor’s second try, but play was stopped because of an earlier infringement.
With the tail between their legs, and a literal wind behind their backs, Bangor Grammar sought to extend their lead. What followed, was a moment of individual brilliance by Angus Christie, pirouetting three times through five red jerseys and breaking twenty metres before touching down. Larmour’s conversion drifted wide in the breeze.
Having been dealt a hammer blow, conceding two quick successive tries, Regent responded brilliantly to falling behind, and played some of their best rugby trying to get back within arm’s reach. Props Samuel Attipoe and Keir Edgar excelled, making great carries towards the goal area. Fittingly Edgar, Regent’s captain, found a gap in the corner to score his team’s first points, and with it, keep the Schools’ Cup dream alive. Stuart Martin’s conversion kick pulled off course. Now just seven points behind, Regent House were throwing everything but the kitchen sink to level the score, albeit to no avail.
Ulster star of the future Aaron Sexton is one of the fastest men in Ireland, and has proven in the past how he can do incredible things with a rugby ball. Picking up the ball on his 22, Sexton kicked the ball into the corner and chased it down, outrunning two Regent players to score his team’s third try of the match, and his eighth of the season.
The conversion was unsuccessful, but Larmour soon returned to the tee, as Bangor Grammar won a penalty in front of the posts. With the kick on target, the score was now 20-5 to the visitors.
Into the closing stages, Bangor Grammar had now secured their place in the round 4 draw, and continued to press forward in search of another score; but they would do so without Aaron Sexton, who had twisted his ankle. Sexton is expected to recover in time for the next match.
Bangor captain Rhys Larmour had put in another impressive performance, directing play from the centre. With the clock now in the red, Larmour sniffed an opportunity for one last attack. Wriggling free of the Regent defence, he then found Angus Christie, who once again finished in impressive style. Larmour’s conversion preceded the final whistle, and the final score was 27-5 to Bangor Grammar School.
Bangor Grammar deserved victory, by virtue of their excellent second half display, but Regent House put up a strong fight all throughout and deserved more. The Regent players were understandably devastated after the final whistle, but should be proud of their two performances in this year’s Schools’ Cup.
As winners, Bangor Grammar School progress to round 4 of the Danske Bank Schools’ Cup, where a trip to Royal School Armagh lies ahead. Regent House now progress to the Schools’ Bowl, and will face Friends’ School in Newtownards. Both matches will be played on Saturday 9th February. We wish both teams the best of luck for these games, and the remainder of their seasons.
Final Score: Regent House Grammar School 05-27 Bangor Grammar School
Teamsheet: 1. Grant, 2. Moore, 3. McCrossan, 4. Dobie, 5. Wells, 6. Westwood, 7. Murray, 8. Pritchard, 9. Hamilton, 10. Christie, 11. Angus, 12. Larmour, 13. McCracken, 14. McCreary, 15. Sexton.
Subs: 16. Mahood, 17. Skelly, 18. Cavan, 19. Pyper, 20. Winters, 21. Norman, 22. Ritchie, 23. Hatty.
RHS Tries: Keir Edgar
BGS Try: Riley Westwood, Angus Christie (x2), Aaron Sexton
BGS Conv: Rhys Larmour (x2)
BGS Pen: Rhys Larmour
