On Sunday afternoon, as the first game of a double header, with the Ulster v Zebres game, Kingspan Stadium was the venue for the Round of 16 Schools Cup tie, between Banbridge Academy and Sullivan Upper School. Overhead conditions were appalling. A strong cold swirling wind and heavy rain sucked the heat out of players making any handling a jeopardy.

Banbridge settled first with early attacks but when a ball was lost forward Sullivan countered with a length of the field score ending when Hamish Johnson touched down midway out the left to put Sullivan 5-0 on 5 minutes.

Banbridge countered with a weel struck penalty goal to bring the score back to 3-5 after 9 minutes.

Both sides struggled in the worsening conditions, as the rain and wind were winners.

A concerted Sullivan attack combining forwards and backs . . .