Royal Belfast Academical Institution came out on top in a hard fought Medallion Shield semi final against Royal School Armagh at Wallace High School on Saturday morning. 

The game kicked up in cold but sunny conditions with Armagh applying the early pressure, however Inst looked dangerous on the counter. 

Indeed it was Inst who were the first to trouble the scoreboard with Daniel Hu breaking through the Armagh defence out wide to finish under the posts for Josh Eagleson to convert. 

Armagh continued to pile on the pressure and after a sustained period in th Inst 22 Kristopher Mackenzie crashed over under the posts to give Josh Watterson an easy conversion to tie the game at 7 – all. 

The game continued at a high tempo but the defences started to get on top the teams turning round without further score. 

Defences continued to dominate in the second half with neither side making concerted inroads into each others territory. As the strong wind blew across the pitch both sides tried to play for territory but good work at the breakdown, from both teams kept their lines clear. 

As the clock ticked down, towards what looked like a draw, the Belfast side were able to raise their game for one last big push and, after spending a couple of minutes inside the Armagh 22, Callum Simms crashed over out wide to seal the game. 

Final score: Royal Belfast Academical Institution 12 Royal School Armagh 7. 

HUGE GALLERY BELOW