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VS

Belfast High School

Bangor Grammar School

2011 NORTHERN BANK SCHOOLS’ CUP THIRD ROUND

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BELFAST HIGH SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS

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So far this season we’ve seen both ends

of the spectrum with regards to perfor-

mances. The boys have worked relent-

lessly and in the last two months, the

work they’ve put in has started to

shine through. A young group of men,

this team have the capability to com-

pete with any school team from

around the province.

The forward pack have shown any

doubters that they have the fire power

up front to provide our skilled backline with quality ball, and the

talented backline have shown on occasions that they are capable

of tearing opposing defences to shreds.

The big question now is, can they put all of this seasons effort,

work and commitment into a 70 min performance? Mr Hancock

and myself know the answer is of course yes, they can!

Belfast High School are a strong opposition, and we are treating

this match with the respect it deserves. They (Belfast) as any team

playing schools cup rugby, will be riding the wave of adrenaline

that only a knockout rugby competition can produce. For most

players involved, it is the biggest rugby match they will ever play.

We believe that if we play to our strengths, we can win this match.

Thank you for your ongoing support and hopefully we will be able

to give the spectators and supporters of both teams a rugby match

that will be lasting in the memories of all who came to show their

passion on the touchlines.

Jason Morgan

JASON MORGAN BGS 1ST XV COACH

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It’s been a long

and hard season

trying to adapt to

a practically new

team. All the boys

are very excited

and proud to be

representing Ban-

gor Grammar, and

all their friends

and family in the

School’s Cup.

Every week we’ve been improving, which

hopefully we’ll be able to show when it comes

to the big day.

These are the sort of days that we all want to

be a part of, and hopefully we can play our

exciting brand of rugby but more important-

ly get the win.

Your support has been much appreciated all

year and it’s great to see a good crowd here

today. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

Jonny Gordon

EDITORIAL Simon Hull

Isn’t it hard to believe

how almost nine

months ago, the BGS

1st XV were gracing

the hallowed turf of

Ravenhill in the Sub-

sidiary Shield Final.

Now though, it’s back

to the Schools’ Cup,

beginning with a trip to

Jordanstown to face

Belfast High.

In the break, a lot has

happened. Jonny Gor-

don has been ap-

pointed Darren Kelly’s

replacement as captain,

and many new faces,

such as Andrew

Mellon and Andrew

Shaw, have made the

jump from Medallion

to 1st XV.

Of course, for anybody

not spotting the likes

of Campbell College,

Methody and Inst in

today’s fixtures, re-

member that they

begin their campaign

in the next round.

After the game, check

out the Gryphiti Fa-

cebook page for inter-

views and video high-

lights from today’s

match.

Like the Gryphiti

Facebook page

for video h’lights

and interviews.

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The 2012 edition of the Ulster Rugby Schools’ Cup will see

31 teams across Northern Ireland, battle it out on the rugby

pitch for the coveted Schools’ Cup trophy.

Last season, Campbell College of Belfast triumphed in the

final at Ravenhill, beating local rivals R.B.A.I. Other vic-

tors last season were Ballymena Academy, Rainey Endowed

and Portora Royal School in the Shield, Bowl and Trophy

finals respectively.

This year should be closer and better than ever as Methody

and Inst. seek revenge for their failures to take the top prize

last year. Other dark horses

may well be Coleraine and

Ballyclare, both of whom

made the Schools’ Cup semi

finals last year.

Of the early starters, Wel-

lington College, Belfast

High and Rainey Endowed School have all begun strongly

recording dominant wins over their rivals.

The current Schools’ Cup format includes seven rounds (with

only two teams competing the first as a qualifying round).

Each round is separated by a week off, with the final being

played traditionally on St Patricks day. This year however,

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with Saint Pat-

rick’s Day lying

on a Saturday,

the final has been

put back in line

with the public

holiday and will

be played on

Monday 19th

March.

The prize that all 31 teams are aiming for is the Schools’ Cup

Shield and Trophy. Whenever there was no room left on the

cup for the winners’ names, it was mounted on a wooden

shield donated by the governors of Methodist College.

For more details of this years competition and up to date

results and fixtures, head to northernbankschoolscup.com

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SCHOOL FACTS

SCHOOL NAME: Belfast High School

YEAR FOUNDED: 1854

MOTTO: Labor Ipse Voluptas

(Labour contains pleasure)

PRINCIPAL: Mrs L. F. Gormley

SCHOOLS’ CUP RECORD

WINS: 0

RUNNERS UP: 0

LAST YEAR: Defeated in 4th Round by Sullivan Upper

2011 1st XV KEY PEOPLE

COACHES: Mr D. Wilson;

Mr D. Scott;

Mr R. Ewart.

CAPTAIN: Ryan McGonigle Ryan McGonigle Belfast High Captain

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SCHOOL FACTS

Bangor Grammar School :SCHOOL NAME

1856 :YEAR FOUNDED

Justitiae Tenax :MOTTO

(Justice is tenacious)

Mr S. D. Connolly :PRINCIPAL

SCHOOLS’ CUP RECORD

5 (1969, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1988) :WINS

4 (1979, 1981, 1987, 1995) :RUNNERS UP

Defeated in 4th Round by B.R.A. :LAST YEAR

2011 1st XV KEY PEOPLE

Mr J. Morgan; :COACH

Mr P. Hancock. :ASSISTANT COACH .

Jonathan Gordon :CAPTAIN

Phil Harper :VICE CAPTAIN Mr J. Morgan 1ST XV Coach

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Openside

SUBSTITUTES BENCH

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This time last year,

Bangor Grammar began

their cup journey at home

to Friends’ in the 3rd

round.

On a cold frosty morning at Ballymacormick playing fields,

BGS came out of the dressing room full of passion and determi-

nation and overcame the first hurdle with plenty of style.

Craig Harper, Phil Harper and Matthew Hamilton all scored

tries that morning with Stuart McCloskey converting twice and

placing a penalty between the sticks. In reply, Friends’ could

only manage two tries (1 converted). The final score was 32—

12 in favour of the blues.

Elsewhere that weekend, no other

Schools’ Cup action occurred as

frost and ice covered pitches na-

tionwide. Whenever the games

were played, there were no major shocks with the likes of Sulli-

van and Regent making the draw with the big guns in the next

round.

Since then, BGS made it to the final

of the Subsidiary Shield competition,

before defeat to Ballymena at Rav-

enhill, whilst Friends’ achieved viral

internet fame with their lipdub

‘Friends—I’ll be there for you’ video.

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Jordanstown may be famed for its Univer-

sity of Ulster campus and wonderful view

over Belfast Lough, however, there is one

other major reason to visit the village.

Belfast High School moved to its current

site in 1963. It was originally based at

Glenravel Street in Belfast. The first XV play on site on one of 13

purpose built pitches or courts (others include tennis, hockey,

cricket and athletics. Belfast High has produced some notable

sporting talent, including footballer Jonny Evans and Ulster Rug-

by’s Mark McCrea.

1st XV

Pitch

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PLAYER PROFILE … JAMES LEARY

Name: James Leary

DOB: 11th July 1994

Position: Tighthead Prop

Year: 13

Weight: 16.5 Stone

Height: 6’ 2”

Mr Hancock Says: “James shifted into tight head prop

this season after playing most of his

rugby in the back row leading up to

this season. It was no surprise that

initially James found the adjustment

hard when he came up against expe-

rienced opponents. James is blessed

with size and strength as well as

great mobility for a big man. To add

to this he has shown great character

and commitment to the team and

with each game he has made steady

progress. I believe the turning point

for James was the match against

RBAI over the Christmas period

where since this match James com-

bined with Ross Kennedy at Lose

head, Andrew Shaw at hooker and

Craig Burton and Ryan Wilson in

the 2nd row to dominate opposition

scrums. I am sure James will contin-

ue to develop into a outstanding rug-

by player.”

MR HANCOCK 1ST XV COACH

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FIVE MINUTES WITH … ANDREW MELLON

VIEW FROM THE

DRESSING ROOM We and the coaches

are all very excited

about the kick-start of

what will hopefully be

a very successful

Schools' Cup run, and

the first hurdle,

Belfast High School

this Saturday.

We had an exciting

run in with this team

earlier on in the season

and so we know that it

will not be an easy

match.

We’re hoping this year

to perform to our

potential in all our

matches, however

many that may be.

We’ve prepared very

well and will hopefully

be on top form for our

first match. With a

win against Rainey

Endowed School last

week 21-7 we feel like

it is all coming togeth-

er at the right time.

This gives us confi-

dence moving into the

biggest match of the

season so far.

I myself, am looking

forward to this match

particularly as I’ve

missed the last three

and am extremely ex-

cited to get back to

playing.

We hope this will be

a n o c c as io n t o

remember.

To see more of this

interview, go to the

official Gryphiti

Facebook page.

1. Who has been your

toughest opposition?

It’s hard to determine

the best team. For

example, at the start

of the year our team

was heftily weakened

by injury and we’ve

only shown glimpses

of our potential in the

past month. If I had

to pick a team, it

would be Ballymena

Academy.

2. Are you relishing the

prospect of the Cup?

Schools’ Cup rugby is

what it’s all about.

We have trained

through harsh condi-

tions and played

tough matches all

year to build up to

this important part of

the season. I am look-

ing forward to being

tested to my limit for

the team.

3. How would you

describe the transition

from medallion to 1sts?

The step up from

medallions to 1sts is

huge. The pace of the

game and the physi-

cality aspect was a lot

greater than what I

expected.

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BANGOR GRAMMAR (32)

V

FRIENDS’ (12)

26th November 2011

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SCHOOLS’ CUP RESULTS SO FAR

1st Round:

Antrim Grammar School 6—15 Well ington Col lege 10 /12 /11

2nd Round:

Belfast High School 42—5 Larne Grammar Sch. 14 /01 /12

Lurgan Col lege 3—15 Cambridge House 14 /01 /12

Friends’ School 10—29 Well ington Col lege 14 /01 /12

Portora Royal School 10—10 * Dalr iada 14 /01 /12

Rainey Endowed School 36—3 Carr ick Grammar 14 /01 /12

Omagh Academy 3—12 Banbridge Academy 14 /01 /12

2nd Round Replay :

Dalr iada 20 -18 Portora Royal School 21 /01 /12

3rd Round:

Belfast High v Bangor Grammar 28/01/12

Cambridge House v Wel l ington Col lege 28 /01/12

Down High v Co lera ine A. I . 28 /01 /12

Foyle & Londonderry v Banbridge Academy 28/01/12

Grosvenor Grammar v Sul l ivan Upper 28 /01 /12

Portadown v R. S . Dungannon 28/01/12

Dalr iada v Regent House School 28 /01 /12

Rainey Endowed School v Belfast Royal Ac. 28 /01 /12

3rd Round rep lay matches to be p layed on the 4th February

4 th Round Seeds :

Ballyclare High School , Bal lymena

Academy, Campbel l Co l lege,

L imavady Grammar, Methodist

Co l lege Belfast , Royal Belfast

Academica l Inst itut ion , Royal

School Armagh, Wallace High Sch’ l .

4th Round matches to be played on the 11 th February.

* Replay match to be p layed.

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

STEPHEN McCLEERY

THOMAS McCONKEY

CONNOR McDERMOTT

CHRIS TAYLOR

LEWIS BENSON

SCOTT SHAW

HENRY ATKINSON

RYAN McGONIGLE (C)

GUY BELL

ADAM WHITE

ROSS WHITE

RYAN ELLIOT

JORDAN GARFORD

JAKE HUTCHISON

ROBBIE REID

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

ROSS KENNEDY

ANDREW SHAW

JAMES LEARY

CRAIG BURTON

RYAN WILSON

(C) JONNY GORDON

JACK CAMPTON

MAX MONTGOMERY

ANDREW MELLON

DANIEL KENNEDY

CAMERON STRUTT

MATTHEW STOCKTON

MATTHEW HAMILTON

MICHAEL WEIR

PHIL HARPER

SUBSTITUTES

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

SUBSTITUTES

MATTHEW CONNOLLY

BEN LOVE

KRISTIAN BELL

ANDREW McMANUS

JONNIE JOFFROY

DYLAN McGURK

MATTHEW BOOTH

AARON BLAIR

16

17

18

19

20

21

22 23

BELFAST HIGH

ELLIOT BOYLAN

CHRIS BOAL

JAMES MAJURY

MATTHEW KYLE

MATTHEW WILSON

PHIL BRODERICK

ROSS McCLOSKEY

PETER EVES

REFEREE: Rodger Cleave