Third time lucky for Dungannon against Omagh Academy

IT was a case of third time lucky for Royal School Dungannon’s rugby first XV who finally got one over their Omagh counterparts this season.

Having lost the previous two encounters narrowly, Ali Ferguson’s men still believed they could do the business when it mattered ahead of Saturday’s Danske Bank Schools Bowl quarter-final clash at the Armstrong Field, and so it proved.

They struck after only 90 seconds when Josh Ferguson dotted down and James Gibson converted before Omagh responded before the 10 minute mark thanks to a Ryan Mitchell touchdown and Sam Harper knocked over a penalty but Dungannon went into the break with a four point advantage after Gibson dotted down for an unconverted effort.

In the second half, Max Patterson scored a try five minutes after the restart and Gibson converted to extend Dungannon’s lead to 11 points. Omagh again bounced back with a 55th minute try through Lewis McIvor but the home side struck back immediately with an unconverted Blake Redmond.

The see-saw nature of the second half continued with Omagh scoring next when Jack Adams touched down for a score that had a the Dungannon line calling for a knock-on, but rather than drop their heads, the home side regrouped and secured the win when James Shaw grabbed their fifth try of the day.

After the final whistle, Dungannon PE teacher and head coach, Ferguson, was delighted with his side and the result.

“It was third time lucky [against Omagh] – we won the right one!,” he beamed. “It was mostly a very good performance and I’m very pleased to get the win.

“From the start, with the group of players you’ve always known when it clicks for them, they’re brilliant but it hasn’t always clicked. But against Dromore High School and again today [Saturday] it has clicked a lot more to the point that you can see what they can do and what they are capable of so we’re really pleased.

There was a genuine confidence with the boys they knew, even though they had lost twice to Omagh, I think in their minds if they turned up, they were going to win it.

“It’s been very close and today [Saturday] it felt more than nine points in a lot of ways. But when it’s a quarter-final and it’s nip and tuck, you never know.”

Dungannon will entertain Ballyclare in the semi-final on February 22nd, the same day Limavady Grammar host Friends on the other side of the draw for a place in the final.

“Ballyclare will be strong but having a home draw in the semi-final will be huge,” Ferguson added.

Omagh Academy PE teacher and rugby coach Ross Hunter, meanwhile, doesn’t have any more competitive action to look forward to with his first XV this term but they do have a trip to Canada to savour.

“They just executed their gameplan a bit better than what we did and I think the better team did or deserved to win on the day,” he acknowleged.

“We stuck at it. Dungannon took the lead very early and every time we scored they seemed to strike back straight away. It was a good game but they just managed it a bit better, their breakdown was better, they got ball to their backline and punished us, breaking the gainline more than we did.

“That’s the competitive season done, but we’re heading to Canada in June, which will be a brilliant trip. Some of the senior boys, captain Philip Crawford, are obviously disappointed [to end their schools career in defeat] but they’re getting away on tour which will be a nice way to finish.”