Ulster Schools' Cup FInal

IRFU ULSTER BRANCH SCHOOLS' COMMITTEE WELCOME

On behalf of the Schools' Committee, it is a great pleasure to welcome everyone to Kingspan Stadium this afternoon for the 2018/2019 Danske Bank Schools' Cup Final, contested by Campbell College and Methodist College. We look forward to the prospect of two well respected teams marking the occasion with an enjoyable, and high quality, game.

Academy, last year’s winners, 17-12 in the final. It remains to be seen if any of those results will provide pointers for today's outcome but it highlights clearly the current rugby-playing strength of the schools whilst paying tribute to the influence of their coaches at all levels. Both schools have displayed excellent form in recent weeks with Campbell College suffering only one reverse in 2019, losing narrowly to Royal School Armagh, whilst recording many notable victories against opponents of the calibre of Clongowes Wood College and Rockwell College. The record of the Methodist College team is even more impressive and they bring an unbeaten record in full games this season into today’s fixture, despite the challenge of a fixture list which includes the leading schools in Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The only blemish on an otherwise flawless win record came undeservedly against Blackrock College in the Semi-Final of the Eric Lindsay Memorial Cup, a tournament which MCB hosted to mark the College’s sesquicentenary and which was an excellent showcase for schools’ rugby in these islands. In reaching their second successive final, the Campbell College team has faced ‘seeded’ opposition in each round. Having overcome a potentially tricky visit to Sullivan Upper in Round 4, the East Belfast school then comprehensively defeated Enniskillen Royal Grammar School at Fox’s Field before edging out their opponents in last year’s final, Royal School Armagh, in the Semi-Final. For Methodist College, their path to the final commenced with a convincing away victory

Over the 143 year history of the competition, these two Belfast schools have appeared in many finals with Campbell College, the current holders of the Danske Bank Schools’ Cup, recording twenty-four outright wins and Methodist College, the school with the most Cup wins in this famous competition, being victorious in thirty-five finals. In that time, the schools have met each other in nine previous finals with honours even as, in addition to a drawn game in 1953, both schools have recorded four victories against their rivals. For many of the players on show, this is not their first appearance in the schools rugby showpiece with several members of the Campbell College team seeking a second successive victory following last year’s success over Royal School Armagh, and players from the Methodist College squad seeking to erase the memory of defeat in 2017 by Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Each side is sprinkled with Ulster representative players from U19, U18 and U17 age groups, many of whom will have played together in our interprovincial teams. Whatever camaraderie they had on those occasions will undoubtedly be set aside today as they seek to bring success for their respective schools. In addition to the exploits of their 1st XV teams this season, Campbell College and Methodist College contested the recent Danske Bank 2nd XV Final, which resulted in the trophy being shared following a 10 - 10 draw, and a Danske Bank Medallion Shield Semi-Final in which the South Belfast school triumphed before defeating Ballymena

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