| For the past 6 weeks Erne Special School has been receiving coaching sessions from Ulster Branch CRDO, Darren McGuigan, and like last year, at the end of the 6 weeks, Erne invited their neighbours, Portora Royal to a challenge match. The Erne school boys' team was made up of 12 - 16 yr olds and despite being younger than the Portora side, they showed no fear against their older opponents.
The game took the form of a 6-a-side tag rugby match with scrums, lineouts and conversions all allowed. As the Erne School had almost 10 subs, they were able to use their big squad to effect and scored 4 converted tries to go into a 28-5 lead. This woke up the Portora lads, who began to move the ball wide, scoring a few tries in the corners to bring the scores closer. However, their goal kicking did let them down.
After a quick halftime drink break, the match restarted and both teams attempted to move the ball, but tiredness led to knock-ons which inevitably resulted in scrums. The final few minutes showed both teams at their best with lots of tries being scored. Portora favoured moving the ball, whereas the Erne boys preferred route one.
At the full time whistle, and at the end of a fair match, the Erne School won 63 - 54 due to their superior goal kicking. Darren McGuigan paid tribute to both sides for their participation and thanked Harry McConkey for organising the event.
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