U18 Interprovincial Festival of Rugby

The U18 Interprovincial Festival of Rugby kicked off on Saturday at the University of Limerick Sports Grounds.

Ulster, Munster and Leinster each entered teams in the U18 Schools and the U18 Club categories with Connacht entering a combined side in the Club category and The Irish Exiles entering a team in the Schools under the name IQ Rugby. 

Day 1 Results.

Connacht U18 Combined3329 Leinster U18 Club
Ulster U18 Schools126Munster U18 Schools
Ulster U18 Club1032Munster U18 Club
IQ Rugby U182435Leinster U18 Schools

Unofficial Standings After Day 1

Schools Interprovincial Table

TeamPWLDPFPAPDTBLBPTS
Leinster Schools1100352411105
Ulster Schools11001266004
Munster Schools1010612(6)011
IQ Rugby10102435(11)101

U18 Club Interprovincial Table

TeamPWLDPFPAPDTBLBPTS
Munster Club1100321022105
Connacht Combined110033294105
Leinster Club10102933(4)112
Ulster Club10101032(22)000

We caught up with Ulster Schools and Ulster Clubs for their games. 

Ulster U18 Schools 12

Munster U18 Schools 6

It was a mixed game for Ulster Schools. 

Ulster were largely under the cosh in the first half and, with their line outs frequently misfiring, they seldom got out of their own half allowing Munster to dominate possession and territory. 

However the Ulster defence was solid and they restricted Munster to two penalties to give the home side a 6 – 0 lead at the break. 

The Ulster line outs improved in the second half and with more possession they began to work their way back into the game, their back line looking the more dangerous with ball in hand. 

Their breakthrough came in the final quarter when, after a period of pressure in the Munster 22, BRA’s found his way to the line for the games opening try. Wallace High’s converted to give Ulster a one point lead. 

Ulster had their tails up and a second try followed shortly after with going over in the corner, much to the delight of his teammates, to give Ulster a 6 – 12 win. 

Ulster U18 Club 10

Munster U18 Club 32

It was a difficult afternoon for the Ulster U18 Club side who faced a motivated Munster team. 

As with the Schools match, Munster dominated territory and possession in the first half with an early penalty, quickly followed by a try setting the tone. 

With Ulster lineouts also a problem in this match it was pretty much one way traffic as munster crossed for two further tries to take a 20 point lead into the break. 

Ulster found some form in the second half with Malone’s to the fore. Two breaks by center Hamilton led to Ulster’s tries with Belfast Met’s scoring out wide for the first before Grosvenor’s battled over for the second to give a final score of Munster U18 Club 32 – 10 Ulster U18 Club.

It was a much more competitive second half from Ulster as they matched Munster try for try but they’ll rue their slow start and misfiring lineout in the first half. 

Match Galleries

Ulster U18 Squads

ULSTER U18 SCHOOLSULSTER U18 CLUBS
Jonathan Agnew (RS Armagh)Michael McKeon Boyle (Virginia) 
Ben Carson (Wallace HS)Sam Rainey (City of Armagh)
Reuban Crothers (Wallace HS)Evan Charters (Virginia) 
Nathan Doak (Wallace HS)Keenan Barrett (Letterkenny) 
Joel Dundas (Wallace HS)James McMaster (Grosvenor) 
Oscar Egan (Coleraine GS)Philip Nicholl (City of Armagh) 
Jack Gamble (Ballyclare HS)Stephen Kelly (Letterkenny) 
Luke Graham (Methodist College)Cein McColgan (City of Derry) 
Adam Hanna (Banbridge Academy)John Glasgow (City of Armagh) 
Jack Harte (Friends’ School)Ashely Tweed (Ballymoney) 
Brandon Hassan (BRA)Jack Milton (Ballyclare) 
Will Hopes (Regent House)James Crummie (City of Armagh) 
Greg Hutley (Down HS)Sam Murray (City of Armagh) 
Patrick McApline (Campbell College)Kyle Gill (Ballynahinch) 
Robin McIlveen (RBAI)Rory Maginty (Letterkenny) 
Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper)Rhys Cobain (Belfast Met) 
Ben Moxham (Larne HS)Luke McMullan (Dungannon) 
Luke Pollock (Dalriada School)Thomas McDevitt (Instonians) 
Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI)Matthew Hamilton (Malone) 
Conor Rankin (Campbell College)James Campbell (City of Armagh) 
Jude Roberts (RS Armagh)Thomas Wilson (Carrickfergus) 
Matthew Sands (St. Colman’s College)Alan Thompson (Coleraine)
George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper)Stuart Patterson (FS Lisburn)
Tom Stewart (BRA)Stuart Wightman (Belfast Met) 
Gareth Wells (Bangor GS)Oran O’Neill (Malone) 
Riley Westwood (Bangor GS)Curtis Henry (Cambridge House) 
  
Head Coach – Kieran CampbellHead Coach – Jonny Gillespie

The tournament continues on Wednesday with the following fixtures. 

Match Day 2 – Wednesday, August 22

11am – Ulster Schools v IQ Rugby

1pm – Leinster Clubs v Ulster Clubs

3pm – Munster Clubs v Connacht Clubs & Schools

5pm – Munster Schools v Leinster Schools

Corrections, comments or questions?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.