28 September 2019
Enniskillen Royal completed their round of Danske Bank Ulster School’s Cup pool games with a perfect score of 15 points, 3 wins and 3 bonus points. Along the way they scored 163 points while conceding only 10 and go into the draw for the last 16 knockout stage in January at the top of Group F.
Larne were considered to be the minnows of the Group F so there were a few players missing from ERGS’s starting 15, including their captain, Robbie Mills. A number of 2ndXV players, fresh from their own 59-19 Cup win over Friends of Lisburn earlier in the week, were called into the starting line-up.
Larne, playing at home on a stormy morning on an exposed pitch, did not give the game away easily. A smaller side, they still managed to hold their own in rucks and line outs, if not in the scrums, and were tenacious in defence. Although they rarely got into the ERGS’s 22 metre zone it took the polished Enniskillen team 25 minutes of pounding the Larne line before they managed to breakthrough. They had been making good progress by moving the ball wide to the back three, Taine Haire, Sam Milligan and Harry Ingram and had, once again, worked their way up to the Larne line. This time the home defence, worn down by continual attacks using fast ball off the rucks, couldn’t hold out and prop, Matthew Beatty, crashed over. Out half, George Foster, converted for the extra 2 points. 5 minutes later the ever-improving Michael Rooney repeated the feat, as did Foster with the conversion, and ERGS went into the break leading by 14 points to nil.
The increasing wind strength was making passing difficult and line outs almost impossible, but ERGS had brought on some of their heavyweights and so the tries continued to come. Matthew Bothwell kept up his admirable record by scoring a try in three successive pool matches and the went on to score a second. Callum Smyton scored next, gaining small reward for his plethora of carries and his inestimable influence on the game. Finally, we saw a welcome return from injury for Aaron Crawford when he bulldozed his way over the Larne try line. Eddy Keys converted three of his four conversion attempts, no mean feat in the gale force wind and the match finished with a 40 points to nil win for Enniskillen.
ERGS now wait on the draw for the Last 16 stage matches. The 6 Group winners and 4 best second placed teams join the 6 Tier 1 teams in an unseeded lottery. Methody, Armagh and Ballymena are emerging as this year’s favourites to claim the Cup on Paddy’s Day but even amongst these schools there will be in no rush to draw Enniskillen in this knockout round. Having comfortably beaten one Tier 1 team already and having lost by a mere one point to another, ERGS know they are very much in the mix. Every one of those 16 head coaches will be aiming to bring their teams to a peak of fitness in the New Year so there are many cold winter days of training ahead. It will be very tight amongst the top 5 or 6 teams, of which ERGS is undoubtedly one, and it may come down to stamina, as well as skill, on the day.
ERGS have three solid away matches lined up before the turn of the year, Kings Hospital, Dublin, on this coming Wednesday followed by Omagh and RBAI over the Christmas break.
ERGS Try scorers:- Matthew Graham, Michael Rooney, Matthew Bothwell (2), Callum Smyton and Aaron Crawford.
Conversions:- George Foster (2), Eddie Keys (3)
