On Wednesday 16th November, Royal School Dungannon played an Ulster U17 Clubs Development squad under lights at Queen’s University’s state of the art, new sports facilities at Upper Malone. The players were given the privilege of playing on the University’s Arena Pitch, with friends and family able to watch from the all seater stand, shielded from the driving rain. The Boys were also shown around the new building which has an excellent Strength and Conditioning suite, as well as a physio room and a large social area and bar.
The match proved to be a highly entertaining encounter, with both sides giving a good account of themselves in front of sizeable crowd. The Ulster U17 Clubs Development squad took the opportunity to use the game as a valuable screening exercise, utilizing over 40 players who have been involved in the RDS provincial talent pathway, whilst RS Dungannon brought 25 of their senior squad. The game was divided into 4 x 20 minute periods to allow maximum rotation of the Squads.
The Ulster U17 players provided a stern test of the RS Dungannon credentials early on and at the halfway mark only a try separated the sides. However, as the game progressed the Ulster side could do little to stop tries from the impressive Andrew Clingan, who touched down for a hat trick, Mark Wright, Matthew Montgomery, David Davidson, William Graham and Peter Cashel. Jack Milligan weighed in with a number of conversions as did David Davidson. As is often the way in these fixtures, the organisation of the school side showed as the game progressed and counteracted the individual excellence of their opponents.
Queen’s University Rugby Football Team and Queen’s Sport would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved for an excellent night of Rugby. We would also like to wish both squads all the best for the rest of their season!
Ulster Rugby’s Darryl Callaghan and Niall Malone were in attendance. Ulster Rugby Talent Identification Officer, Darryl Callaghan, commented, This is a great opportunity for players from both the grammar schools and clubs streams to be assessed through the context of the game. Tonights game is part of a structured programme and goes along with in the identification and development of potential players for future Ulster Squads. It also provided the opportunity to educate the parents on the pathway and systems that are in place and the opportunities they provide.
