Seven teams were invited, Down High School, Friends School Lisburn, Wellington College Belfast, Wallace High School, Sullivan Upper, Ballynahinch High School and Shima College.  Unfortunately, Wallace, Ballynahinch and Shima were early casualties due to a very hectic last week of term, however due to the boom of interest following Sullivan’s girls schools cup success, Sullivan were able to field three teams for the competition.

The emphasis of the day was on fun and enjoyment with all the girls conducting themselves accordingly.  The early matches saw three contenders come to light with Down High School, Sullivan 1 and Wellington College all showing excellent support play, causing the defences lots of problems and entertaining the supporters watching the games. 

With Down High School winning against Sullivan 1 in Round 4 it all came down to the final round where unbeaten Wellington met the unbeaten Down High School.  It was a fitting last match to end a very successful tournament. 

Down High took the lead early in the first half with an excellent solo effort from their wing.  The Down High team had some electrifying runners in their squad and they quickly went 2-0 up towards the end of the first half.  Wellington then seemed to regain their composure and came back to 2-1 just before the break.  Both coaches must have made their points clear at half-time as the attacking efforts from both sides where invigorated at the start of the second half. 

A great team effort saw the Wellington squad come back to 2-2 within seconds of the second half starting.  As the end of the game approached the nerves started to show with both sides giving away penalties for off-side, each trying to slow the advance of the attacking team.  Wellington then struck quickly of a penalty and made the score 3-2 and it looked like the game might be over.  Down High thought differently and the combination of their two speedsters saw them cross the line with a minute to go.  Both attack and defence of the teams were now ferocious knowing that within a minute the game would over and each team seeking that final point to win the tournament.  In the end during the final seconds it was Down High who crossed the line to make the score 4-3 and win the first Schools Tag Tournament.

The organisers and referees wish to thank all the girls and schools for being involved and also being extremely good sports.  The games were only 15 minutes long and a total of 101 tries scored over the course of the tournament, showed that the skill level of attack was excellent.  We hope to run the tournament again next year and look forward to seeing the defending champions, this years contenders and any new schools.

The Rugby Department would like to congratulate Down High, thank all those involved and wish you all a great summer break!