POOL A
This qualifier was to be contested by Dromore High School, Lurgan Junior High School, Bangor Academy and Aquinas. This was a strong group as it featured Dromore who won the Under 14s final last year and Lurgan Junior High School were last year's finalists.
The first game in Pool A saw last year's winners Dromore High School taking on Belfast school Aquinas. Dromore started quickly and scored a try 2 minutes into the game, after a flowing backline move saw their centre touching down under the posts, this left an easy conversion. Dromore's dominance really started to tell as they ran in another 7 tries to leave the final score at 50-0; a convincing win for the Dromore side.
The second game saw a confident Lurgan Junior High School team take on their counterparts from Bangor Academy. Just like the first game, an early try in this game set the tone for the rest of this match. The Lurgan junior High second row stole a ball from the lineout before running through a couple of tackles to touch the ball down. Lurgan ran in another six tries, four of which were converted to leave the score at 45-0.
The next game saw the two dominant teams in the group go against each other. Lurgan started brightly and this was rewarded when a smart kick from their out half was touched down in the corner. In the second half Dromore looked determined and scored a good try to level the scores at 5-5. The rest of the game was dominated by Dromore but Lurgan held on with some great defensive work to leave the final score 5-5.
The fourth game saw Bangor go up against Aquinas. Some great attacking and tackling from both sides led to a tight game. It was Bangor who came out on top taking the game 17-7.
The penultimate game of the group saw Dromore take on Bangor. The Dromore side dominated the game from start to finish. They eventually ran in seven tries, four of which were converted the leave the final score at 43-0 to Dromore. This ensured that Dromore qualified for next week's finals.
The last game saw the Lurgan side taking on Aquinas, knowing that a win would take them through to next week's finals. Lurgan played well from start to finish and despite some stubborn defending the won the game 36-0.
Well done to Lurgan and Dromore for qualifying
POOL B
Pool B's first match saw Ballynahinch take on Newry school Abbey Grammar under severe weather conditions, both teams came out strong and hard in the first half, with neither team managing to score. The second half saw Abbey defending well, but were unable to hold Ballynahinch back for long, a few good passes finally saw Ballynahinch cross the line followed by the conversion. Abbey fought back but were unable to change the score before the final whistle. Result: Ballynahinch 7-0 Abbey Grammar.
The second match involved Banbridge High School and Glastry. The first half saw Banbridge take their first try which they also converted. Glastry continued to battle back throughout the second half but were unable to hold back Banbridge, resulting in a further three tries. Final score Banbridge 22-0 Glastry.
Banbridge took on Ballynahinch in the third game. The first half showed some great challenges and defending from both teams leaving the score at 0-0 at half time. After a quick change around Banbridge came out fighting but were unable to hold back Ballynahinch back for long, resulting in their first try. Continuous battling from both sides saw a very close match with Banbridge having some good chances. Just before the final whistle Ballynahinch managed to pull away and cross the line for the second time, leaving the final score Ballynahinch 10-0 Banbridge.
Match four was between Abbey grammar and Glastry. Abbey came out strong from the beginning knowing that if they wanted any chance in reaching the finals next Thursday they had to win their next two games. Not long into the first half Abbey broke away to produce their first try and under severe weather conditions the managed to convert as well, leaving the score at 7-0 at half time. The second half saw Glastry fighting back but unable to break away. Abbey scored another try just before the end of the game leaving the final score Abbey 12-0 Glastry.
The penultimate game in Group B saw Ballynahinch and Glastry play their final game. Ballynahinch went into the game already knowing that they had already qualified for next Thursdays finals, but this did not mean they were going to make things easy for Glastry with a quick try early on. With some good defence from Glastry they were still unable to hold back the Ballynahinch side when they scored another try which was converted to leave the score Ballynahinch 12-0 Glastry.
The last match was between Banbridge and Abbey. The winner of this match would identify the second that would join Ballynahinch in the finals on Thursday 11th February 2010. Unfortunately due to unseen circumstances this match couldn't be played, this meant that Banbridge qualified because they had scored more tries that Abbey in the pool.
Thanks to referee David Coey for his high standard of refereeing, and to Civil Service for the use of their facilities.
Congratulations to Ballynahinch and Banbridge for qualifying, and many thanks to the referee.
