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AFTER seeing off Rainey Endowed following a stunning second half performance in the Danske Bank Medallion Shield last-16, Omagh Academy’s young guns are keen to progress to the semi-finals when they tackle Wallace High School at Campsie on Saturday.
The quarter-final clash will pit together two evenly matched teams, who should serve up an exciting encounter. And if Omagh’s performance against Rainey last time out, during which Angus Callion scored a brace of tries, while Joshua Summerville and Charlie Wilson also touched down and Logan Crosbie kicked two conversions Omagh are definitely in the right frame of mind and form to do the business at the weekend.
The teams have already met once this season, with Wallace winning a home friendly between the sides by only three points, but Omagh Academy coach, Darren McGuigan believes Campsie might ‘be a bit of a leveller’ on Saturday.
“We’re all looking forward to it,” he admitted. “They are one of only two teams to have beaten us and that was by only three points. Them and Inst [RBAI] are the only two to have beaten us but the boys know what they are capable of and they know what they need to work on.
“We lost that game by three points up there, so maybe the game at home will be a bit of a leveller. There’s always that wee issue with maybe a referee from home, so this will be a neutral referee and the boys have it in their heads they have a good opportunity if they play to their strengths and don’t let the occasion get to them, then they have a good opportunity of getting a good result.”
While confident in his own side’s abilities and prospects on Saturday, McGuigan also knows Wallace will be no push overs but he feels, if his team can play their game in the right areas, they are more than capable of seeing off the Lisburn outfit, whose first XV are the current Danske Bank Schools Cup champions.
“They are a well-coached team, they will be well drilled, so it will be a good tussle,” he acknowledged. “Wallace have a good rugby programme and senior AIL [All-Ireland League] coaches within the school, but we’ll just look after our own game and if we can get enough ball, we have boys who can do damage.
“And as the second half [in the last-16 against Rainey] showed, when we get the right people playing in the right part of the pitch we can give anyone a game.”
Meanwhile, Omagh Academy’s Danske Bank Schools Trophy quarter-final clash with Strabane Academy is set to take place at Campsie on Wednesday, February 4th at 1.30pm.
