Enniskillen Royal GS 1st XV 0 Methodist College 1st XV 31

Methodist College, Belfast are this season’s clear favourites for the Danske Bank Ulster Schools Cup, so expectations were not high when they came to Enniskillen for this fourth-round clash.

Enniskillen, who lost all but one of last year’s highly successful starting 15, have been improving game on game, but this was seen as an almost impossible task for the Fermanagh side, and so it proved to be.

It was, however, a good deal tougher for Methody than everyone expected, with a young ERGS side giving the favourites plenty to think about. Indeed, ERGS coach Ashley Finlay was pleased with how his young side competed.

“Despite the result, I feel we actually performed pretty well on the day,” he said.

“The scoreline probably flattered Methody a bit as we made them work hard from minute one, and probably should have got on the scoreboard at least once or twice.

“We managed to cause them problems with the lineout and maul, which is pleasing as we were a younger and physically smaller side.

“I thought we also showed great courage in attack, making breaks from deep when other teams may have kicked.”

And he feels the experience of this game will stand to the side going into next season, with many still underage.

“It will stand to a lot of the boys who haven’t played a Cup match at that level before. We have about three quarters of the squad returning next year and matches like that show us where we need to get to so that we can compete with the best in Ulster,” added Finlay.

The first quarter of the game was played predominantly inside the Enniskillen half, partially due to the strong wind facing ERGS and limiting their clearance kicks.

The rugby itself was surprisingly even, with both sides making good use of the rolling maul.

Scored

As the half progressed, the greater size and power of the Methody pack put the visitors on the front foot and they scored with a neat first phase move executed by their number 8 and blind side flanker.

ERGS responded well and, keeping the ball in hand, put Methody under considerable pressure inside their 22m zone.

If the referee had not adjudged the final flat pass to ERGS right wing as being forward, the scores would have been levelled.

Methody’s attritional forward carries brought them back into the game and up, once again, to the Enniskillen try line.

Under pressure, ERGS gave away several penalties and from a kick to the corner Methody used a rolling maul off the back of a line out to score their second. The strong wind foiled the visitors’ attempts to convert either of the tries.

There was an unfortunate end to the second half for Enniskillen when a misunderstanding between two ERGS players allowed the ball to go loose, where it was picked up by the visitors’ mobile hooker.

He ran in under the posts and this time the conversion was relatively easy. Methody won the first half by 17 points to nil.

There was concern amongst the home support, who were matched in numbers by the travellers who had come down the M1, that Methody would run away with the game in the second half.

Despite the visitors scoring two more converted tries, the second half was very well contested with Enniskillen being held up on the Methody try line on two occasions.

As well as showing great tenacity in defence, Enniskillen displayed remarkable enterprise by attacking from their own line at every opportunity.

Even with the wind in their favour, they scorned the obvious clearance kicks and ran the ball to their backs, who made a good deal more ground than could have been gained by the boot.

One such break saw left wing, Ben McLaren, weave through the visitors’ defence only for tired legs to fail him a couple of metres short of the Methody try line.

That match finished 31-0 in favour of the visitors who go on to play Ballyclare High School in the quarter-finals while Enniskillen go into the Subsidiary Shield, where they have a home draw against Dungannon Royal to play on Saturday, February 12.

And Finlay is hoping that they can put a run together in that competition.

“The Subsidiary Shield is definitely something we can target but we know it will be equally difficult.

“There were some big teams knocked out in the Fourth Round and we start against a Dungannon team that was seeded above us this year.

“We have played them twice, winning one and losing one so we know it’ll be a close game.

“The home draw is a big advantage as the crowd on Saturday were incredible, and the boys really thrive in those situations,” he commented.