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SLIM margins normally decide knockout matches and at Roughfort last Saturday that was the case as Royal School Dungannon’s first XV succumbed to their Belfast Royal Academy counterparts in the quarter-final of the Danske Bank Schools Shield.
A slow start from the visitors ultimately proved decisive as David Riddles men found themselves 12-0 down when BRA opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes and quickly capitalised on an intercepted lineout inside the RSD half to extend their lead.
The visitors responded well, however, steadily gaining territory and earning several penalties, with James Gibson successfully adding points from the tee. In the final play of the half, Armandas Kaminskas crossed the line following sustained pressure from the forwards, narrowing the deficit to 15–13 at the break.
The second half was hard-fought, with RSD dominating possession and territory. Despite coming close on several occasions, including a held-up try and strong defensive efforts from BRA, they were unable to convert their opportunities. BRA then secured a crucial score following a midfield break to widen the gap.
RSD continued to press, and their persistence was rewarded when Adam Nixon finished in the corner with eight minutes remaining. However, the late score was not enough to overturn the deficit, and the match concluded 33–21 in BRA’s favour.
The squad delivered an excellent performance, demonstrating commitment, resilience, and teamwork throughout. They can be proud of their efforts across the entire season in what was their final cup fixture of the year.
“It was a proper attritional game of rugby,” RSD head coach, Riddles acknowledged. “We were the far more aggressive ball carrying team, we were just the least clinical. It was one of those days.
“We were banging on the door all the time but were held up a few times, knocked on over the line and it just came down to clinicalness at the end and fair play to BRA, they defended well.
“It’s been a learning curve for us, we talked about being clinical and accurate with focused aggression, making the right decisions at the right time, but fair play to BRA, their defence made the difference on the day, it made it difficult for us to be clincial.
“But we’re flipping proud of the boys, we couldn’t be prouder of them because they gave guts and glory and that’s the moral of the story – they got the result but we got the glory.
“A wee early mistake gave them that lead and that 12 points was the difference in the game. But that’s rugby, that’s sport, that’s life, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions in the moment.”
