Enniskillen RGS Medallion 14 Wallace HS Medallion 5

 Enniskillen Royal GS Medallion won out in a very close encounter against Wallace HS at Castle Lane on Saturday to book their place in the Medallion Shield semi-final.
The pitch was already saturated and heavy rain overnight had made the playing surface very soft underfoot. Thankfully it didn’t rain during the game, but the conditions were still difficult.
Enniskillen kicked off and started well in terms of possession and territory but solid tackling from the Wallace boys ensured that didn’t translate into points. It was then Wallace’s turn to attack and Enniskillen had to show that their defence was equally resilient.
A penalty pick by Eddie Keys gave the home side the lead at half time. After the restart, Wallace again exerted pressure with big forwards and centres carrying the ball directly. They scored to lead 5-3.
Showing great composure, Enniskillen won possession shortly after the restart and forced play into the Wallace 22 with a very good box kick from scrum-half Mattie Bothwell. 
Wallace cleared and at the resulting lineout Henry Keys won possession and the ball was mauled to within five metres of the line. Playing a penalty advantage captain Callum Smyton broke to crash over and restore the lead. The conversion from wide left just failed to go over leaving the score at 8-5 to Enniskillen. Two more penalties by Keys extended the lead to 14-5. Wallace pressed hard and were camped on the Enniskillen line for a long time.
Tremendous team defence forced a critical turnover by Stinson, following a Gamble tackle. Smyton spotted an overlap and passed to Stephen Balfour, who fed Sam Milligan on the right wing. With the length of the field ahead of him Milligan stepped outside his opposite man and reached half-way. Wallace were penalised at the tackle and Smyton’s left foot took play to a lineout five metres from the Wallace line. The siege had been lifted and Enniskillen were able to play the rest of the game in the Wallace 22. Stinson and Beatty crossed the line but each time were deemed to have been ‘held up’. It didn’t matter, as the clock was running down in the home team’s favour..
The win puts an Enniskillen School into the semi-finals for the first time in the 107 year history of the tournament. The boys now face Ballymena Academy on Saturday February 24 at Dungannon Royal School. Kick off will be at 11am.
The other semi-final sees Campbell College play Methody, who beat Belfast Inst. by the narrowest of margins.

Enniskillen RGS Medallion Squad: Justin White, Ryan Phair, Mathew Graham, David Scoltan,Mathew Beatty, Ben Davis, Mathew Wilson, David Stinson, Zak Havers, Andrew Breen, Henry Keys, Callum Smyton (C), Rory Gamble, Johnny Elliott, Mathew Bothwell, Eddie Keys, Taine Haire, Stephen Balfour, Sam Balfour, Stuart Brown, Sam Milligan, Adam Sanderson, Jason Bothwell, Hugo Graham and Andrew Patton.