The U18 Interprovincial Festival of Rugby kicked off on Saturday at the University of Limerick Sports Grounds.
Ulster, Munster and Leinster each entered teams in the U18 Schools and the U18 Club categories with Connacht entering a combined side in the Club category and The Irish Exiles entering a team in the Schools under the name IQ Rugby.
Day 1 Results.
| Connacht U18 Combined | 33 | – | 29 | Leinster U18 Club |
| Ulster U18 Schools | 12 | – | 6 | Munster U18 Schools |
| Ulster U18 Club | 10 | – | 32 | Munster U18 Club |
| IQ Rugby U18 | 24 | – | 35 | Leinster U18 Schools |
Unofficial Standings After Day 1
Schools Interprovincial Table
| Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| Leinster Schools | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Ulster Schools | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Munster Schools | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | (6) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| IQ Rugby | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 35 | (11) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
U18 Club Interprovincial Table
| Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| Munster Club | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Connacht Combined | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Leinster Club | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 33 | (4) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ulster Club | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 32 | (22) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
We caught up with Ulster Schools and Ulster Clubs for their games.
Ulster U18 Schools 12
Munster U18 Schools 6
It was a mixed game for Ulster Schools.
Ulster were largely under the cosh in the first half and, with their line outs frequently misfiring, they seldom got out of their own half allowing Munster to dominate possession and territory.
However the Ulster defence was solid and they restricted Munster to two penalties to give the home side a 6 – 0 lead at the break.
The Ulster line outs improved in the second half and with more possession they began to work their way back into the game, their back line looking the more dangerous with ball in hand.
Their breakthrough came in the final quarter when, after a period of pressure in the Munster 22, BRA’s Tom Stewart found his way to the line for the games opening try. Wallace High’s Nathan Doak converted to give Ulster a one point lead.
Ulster had their tails up and a second try followed shortly after with Conor Rankin going over in the corner, much to the delight of his teammates, to give Ulster a 6 – 12 win.
Ulster U18 Club 10
Munster U18 Club 32
It was a difficult afternoon for the Ulster U18 Club side who faced a motivated Munster team.
As with the Schools match, Munster dominated territory and possession in the first half with an early penalty, quickly followed by a try setting the tone.
With Ulster lineouts also a problem in this match it was pretty much one way traffic as munster crossed for two further tries to take a 20 point lead into the break.
Ulster found some form in the second half with Malone’s Matthew Hamilton to the fore. Two breaks by center Hamilton led to Ulster’s tries with Belfast Met’s Stuart Wightman scoring out wide for the first before Grosvenor’s James McMaster battled over for the second to give a final score of Munster U18 Club 32 – 10 Ulster U18 Club.
It was a much more competitive second half from Ulster as they matched Munster try for try but they’ll rue their slow start and misfiring lineout in the first half.
Match Galleries
Ulster U18 Squads
| ULSTER U18 SCHOOLS | ULSTER U18 CLUBS |
|---|---|
| Jonathan Agnew (RS Armagh) | Michael McKeon Boyle (Virginia) |
| Ben Carson (Wallace HS) | Sam Rainey (City of Armagh) |
| Reuban Crothers (Wallace HS) | Evan Charters (Virginia) |
| Nathan Doak (Wallace HS) | Keenan Barrett (Letterkenny) |
| Joel Dundas (Wallace HS) | James McMaster (Grosvenor) |
| Oscar Egan (Coleraine GS) | Philip Nicholl (City of Armagh) |
| Jack Gamble (Ballyclare HS) | Stephen Kelly (Letterkenny) |
| Luke Graham (Methodist College) | Cein McColgan (City of Derry) |
| Adam Hanna (Banbridge Academy) | John Glasgow (City of Armagh) |
| Jack Harte (Friends’ School) | Ashely Tweed (Ballymoney) |
| Brandon Hassan (BRA) | Jack Milton (Ballyclare) |
| Will Hopes (Regent House) | James Crummie (City of Armagh) |
| Greg Hutley (Down HS) | Sam Murray (City of Armagh) |
| Patrick McApline (Campbell College) | Kyle Gill (Ballynahinch) |
| Robin McIlveen (RBAI) | Rory Maginty (Letterkenny) |
| Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper) | Rhys Cobain (Belfast Met) |
| Ben Moxham (Larne HS) | Luke McMullan (Dungannon) |
| Luke Pollock (Dalriada School) | Thomas McDevitt (Instonians) |
| Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI) | Matthew Hamilton (Malone) |
| Conor Rankin (Campbell College) | James Campbell (City of Armagh) |
| Jude Roberts (RS Armagh) | Thomas Wilson (Carrickfergus) |
| Matthew Sands (St. Colman’s College) | Alan Thompson (Coleraine) |
| George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper) | Stuart Patterson (FS Lisburn) |
| Tom Stewart (BRA) | Stuart Wightman (Belfast Met) |
| Gareth Wells (Bangor GS) | Oran O’Neill (Malone) |
| Riley Westwood (Bangor GS) | Curtis Henry (Cambridge House) |
| Head Coach – Kieran Campbell | Head Coach – Jonny Gillespie |
The tournament continues on Wednesday with the following fixtures.
Match Day 2 – Wednesday, August 22
11am – Ulster Schools v IQ Rugby
1pm – Leinster Clubs v Ulster Clubs
3pm – Munster Clubs v Connacht Clubs & Schools
5pm – Munster Schools v Leinster Schools
