Medallion Shield: Ballymena Academy 5 Campbell College 23 Final

The Queen’s Arena, Upper Malone, was the venue for this year’s Medallion Shield Final between Ballymena Academy and Campbell College.

Conditions were challenging. A strong cold wind blew straight down the pitch, which coupled with driving rain and wind chill, sucked heat out of the players. Numb hands and stiff limbs made ball handling exacting, throughout the afternoon.

Playing with the wind Ballymena sought to assert themselves but were held back by a resolute Campbell defence for almost 20 minutes.

Campbell were content to hold on to possession and move slowly up the pitch frustrating Ballymena and running the clock down. They didn’t risk kicking into the wind, instead opting for scrums, rather than touch finding kicks from penalties.