Abbey G.S. recently took on Rathmore in a friendly U16 match played at Lisburn RFC. This was the second time the teams had met, having previously drawn 0-0 in the Pollock Cup Subsidiary Blitz at Portadown. It should be noted that Rathmore were missing some key players, while the Abbey were at full strength and had trained well leading up to this match.

The Abbey completely dominated the game from start to finish, with Ryan Oozerally and Cathal McNally controlling the forward exchanges, and outhalf, Darren Marshall along with Jarlath McAteer also playing strong roles in the game. At inside centre, McAteer showed superb skill with his goal kicking, scoring 6 conversions from 7 attempts. John-Benedict Farrell, at 13, also showed tremendous pace when given the ball, and was rewarded with two well- taken tries.

For Rathmore cousins, Owen and Conal Gallagher played particularly well against the older Abbey boys, and late into the game, Conal was able to hold up a much bigger Mike McGovern over the try line. Conor McGranahan made some strong charges and was eventually rewarded with Rathmore’s only try.

Try scorers: Ryan Oozerally, Mike McGovern (2), John-Benedict Farrell (2), Stephen Fearon, Cathal McNally.

Conversions: Jarlaith McAteer (6)

Following their impressive form of late, Abbey G.S. will step up a level after Easter as they take on Banbridge H.S. who made the semi-finals of the U16 High Schools’ Cup.

Action from the match above