It’s common at the start of each season for me to be running around trying to catch up with the prize winners that missed out awards night.

After a few attempts we finally caught up with last season’s Schools Cup Player of the Year Ryan McGonigle on Saturday morning at Friends School Lisburn where Ryan was watching his the game between Friends and Belfast High.

It was somewhat fitting that the presentation was made at Friends, the alma mater of previous winner Dave McGuigan. Mind you, with Dave unable to get to the game following his injury in Friday nights Ravens match and Ryan unable to play on Saturday due to a few knocks I’m beginning to wonder if the Front Row Union awards was carrying a curse!

However, Ryan assured me that his time on the sidelines is purely a precaution as he want’s to make sure he’s fit and ready for Belfast High’s tour to Dubai which starts next weekend – a bit of a change from my day in the First XV where all we got was a weekend in Ayr and Troon!

Ryan caught my eye, or should I say my lens, in the early rounds of the Schools Cup last season where his driving runs off the backs of the scrums, his great hands, and his unerring ability to find the line dragged the High School through the first three rounds of the Schools Cup with McGonigle scoring, I believe, in all three rounds as well as in the forth round defeat to Sullivan Upper.

With Ryan only entering now entering his final year at school it’ll be next season before we’re following his progress in senior rugby but with several senior sides already talking to the level headed and highly skilful youngster I’m sure we’ll be writing plenty about him in the season’s to come.