Grosvenor Grammar School 1stXV vs ERGS
8 February 2020
In the last 16 stage of the Danske Bank Ulster School’s Cup, Enniskillen Royal swept aside their opponents, Grosvenor Grammar School, to advance to the quarterfinals. The match escaped the worst excesses of the onrushing storm Ciara and was played on a sunny, if windy morning in Belfast.
The disparity between the teams was clear from the outset and ERGS had crossed the home side’s try line within the first 3 minutes. A break by out half, Eddie Keys, and a sprint down the side-line by wing, Taine Haire, brought ERGS to a scrum on the Grosvenor 5 metre line. Number 8, Callum Smyton, broke from the back and set up a ruck on the try line. Scrum half, Matthew Bothwell, fed a wide pod led by flanker, David Stinson, who crashed over the line. Keys popped over the conversion for a 7-point lead.
Grosvenor fought back but lacked the size and power of the visitors. They retained a good proportion of the ball, helped by ERGS handling errors, but could make no headway against the well drilled Enniskillen defence. ERGS made their way back down field and Smyton broke again a few minutes later. He looked to be going all the way but, unselfishly, he passed the ball inside to his captain, Robbie Mills, who went in under the posts. Keys obliged with the conversion. ERGS were soon back on the Grosvenor line and Mills scored again when he made a break in mid-field. Keys kicked a more difficult conversion and his team now led by 21 unanswered points.
Matters continued badly for Grosvenor. ERGS lock, Neil Rutledge, charged down a clearing kick to score and in the best move of the game, outside centre, Stephen Balfour, started and finished an end to end try. Full back, Stuart Brown, completed the first half scores when he came into the back line to take a beautifully timed pass from Keys and race over behind the posts. The out half managed two of the three conversions in a strengthening wind to bring the score at half time to Grosvenor 0, ERGS 40.
Grosvenor, with the wind behind them and a bench filled opponent in front, provided a tougher opponent in the second half. They mixed their game up using forward pods, wide back moves and hanging kicks but, despite plenty of energy and enthusiasm, they received little change from the ERGS’s defence. The visitors were dominating the set pieces with Henry Keys, Michael Rooney and Callum Smyton disrupting Grosvenor ball at the line out. At scrum time, the front row of Aaron Crawford, Ryan Phair and Matthew Graham took two against the head and when Grosvenor did retain the ball, they were pushed back the maximum 1.5m allowed under school boy rugby rules. ERGS were also more successful in attack mode and Stinson went over for his second try at the head of another forward pod. The conversion, into the teeth of the wind that was now reaching gale force, went wide.
Grosvenor fought on courageously and had their best period of the match. They gave up a number of relatively straightforward penalty opportunities in front of ERGS’s posts in favour of scrums, trying to get at least one try on the board. Unfortunately, they simply did not have the strike power to break through and it was ERGS that scored the final points when replacement out half, George Foster, popped up a crash ball for centre, Balfour to go over for his second. Foster completed the match with a conversion and a 52 to 0 victory.
It was a very comfortable win for ERGS who now have the privilege of going to Cup favourites, Wallace for their quarter final. It may seem like a very difficult task, but ERGS only lost by one point, (36-35) in the teams’ only encounter earlier this season. Head Coach, Ashley Finlay, expressed his satisfaction with the draw; “We led for most of that earlier match, we just need to close it out this time”.
The match is scheduled for Saturday morning on the 22nd of February in Lisburn.
ERGS Try scorers:- David Stinson (2), Robbie Mills (2), Stephen Balfour (2), Neil Rutledge, Stuart Brown.
Conversions:- Eddie Keys (5), George Foster.
