We caught up with our featured school Banbridge Academy in the Schools Bowl final against Friends’ School Lisburn on Wednesday afternoon at Barban Hill.

The match kicked off, in front of a large vocal crowd, in cold but sunny conditions with Banbridge playing with the strong gusting wind.

The Academy took full advantage of the wind to kick long setting up a line out in Friends 22 and after a couple of plays Banbridge’s Jonny McCrum bundled over, with the rest of his pack, for the opening try to take the score to 5 – 0 after 2 minutes.

Friends settled into the game and worked hard to get out of their own territory, slowly working their way upfield only to be pinned back by some pinpoint kicking from Banbridge . . .