Dalriada hosted Cambridge House on Saturday morning at St James Road in the second round of the Schools Cup with the home side coming out on top by 15 – 0.

One of these days we’ll get to cover Dalriada without a constant drizzle, but this wasn’t the day. The match started without the rain but it soon arrived and stayed for the duration making conditions difficult for rugby and photography!

Cambridge House enjoyed the better of the early exchanges but any hope of building continuity was spoiled by the abrasive Dalriada defence and a constant stream of transgressions at the ruck which gave Dalriada a few easy outs and a foot hold on game.

In fairness, both teams put in a lot of work in defence, in a physical game, but the home side eventually worked a breakthrough, just past the twenty minute mark, when Owen Boyd chased down a grubber to open the score. The conversion was missed by Dalriada but Gabriel Stubbs-Carton stepped up 15 minutes later so slot over a penalty which saw Dalriada take an 8 – 0 lead into the break, after spending a lot of time in their own half.

The tense second half saw a lot of kicking, perhaps too much, but Dalriada won’t be complaining, the home side crossing for a late score from Charles Verner to confirm their win. Stubbs-Carton knocked over the conversion with the final kick to give Dalriada a 15 – 0 win.

There was some consolation for Cambridge House in the school’s competition draw with the Ballymena side receiving a bye into the Trophy Semi Final, Dalriada will also be pleased after receiving a home tie in the 3rd Round of the Schools Cup against Enniskillen Royal Grammar.

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