Rugby Rugby is a major part of school life at R.S.D from Form One to Upper Sixth. In First Form you compete for the Arnold Shield which is always against Rainey Endowed towards the end of the season. Some friendly matches are also arranged throughout the year to provide a bit of competition. In Second Form rugby more commitment is needed for training after schools two days a week and matches that are arranged every Saturday both home and away. A trip to Coleraine Inst to take part in their annual tournament is always the highlight of the year. In third form the same format follows as in second form but some of the players may have to chance to be called up to play for the Medallion XV during their cup campaign. In Fourth Form it will be the last year you play with your own age group as part of the Medallion XV. Once again matches are scheduled for every Saturday but also during the Christmas holidays in order to prepare the Medallion Shield campaign which starts in the middle of January. A 7’s team is also selected after the cup campaigns are over which compete in a competition at Omagh Academy. From Fifth Form to Upper Sixth you play together, training three times a week with a match on Saturdays. This may come as a shock to the new fifth formers but you get used to it and isn’t so bad when you’re the ones in Upper Sixth (the old boys).1st XV, 2nd XV and 3rd XV Schools Cups begin straight after the Christmas Break. A 7’s team is also put together after the cup campaigns in which they compete in the Ulster 7’s competition which is held in Campbell College on an annual basis.
On Saturday RSD 1st XV hosted Wallace High School on the Armstrong Field. In the 1st half both teams were evenly matched however a more experienced Wallace backline exploited some missed tackles by the RSD defence resulting in three tries. RSD responded with a more organised defence which allowed Peter Nelson to charge down an attempted clearance kick within the opposition 22 which he was then able to kick through and score near the Wallace posts. The half time score was 17-5. In the 2nd half RSD had little response to the fast flowing rugby of the visiting side which allowed Wallace to score a further 5 tries resulting in a score of 42-5. This fixture has hopefully proved as a learning experience for this young 1st XV which they will hope to build on during their mid week fixture at home to Grosvenor. On Wednesday RSD hosted Grosvenor Grammar School on the Armstrong field and were hoping to improve from Saturday’s heavy defeat. With a more lively and aggressive approach to the match RSD stepped up a few gears from previous performances with strong phases of both attack and defence. We were unlucky not to have scored before the half time break after a few periods of prolonged pressure in the opposition 22. The half time score was 0-0. After the break Grosvenor changed their attacking tactics to tight “ruck and run” play which eventually paid off as they scored 10 minutes into the 2nd half. RSD responded well with the pack generating faster ball which allowed the backline to launch a series of penetrating attacks. RSD were unfortunate not to score in the dying seconds of the game leaving the score 5-0 to Grosvenor. There was a major improvement all around which is encouraging for the rest of the season. Six tries, four conversions and a penalty were scored when RSD 1st XV travelled to play Royal School Armagh on Wednesday. All scored by Royal School Dungannon. RSD played some superb rugby but the most commendable performance of the match was by Peter Nelson who scored 3 tries, 4 conversions and 1 penalty giving him a personal total of 26 points. A final score of 41-0 is a great encouragement to the team and coaching staff and will give us confidence going into our Saturday fixture at home to Foyle and Londonderry College. On Saturday RSD 1st XV hosted Foyle and Londonderry College on the Armstrong Pitch. Within the first few minutes Dungannon were under the posts with a cleverly taken tap and go by Peter Nelson which caught out the opposition. A few minutes later James Gallagher finished off some excellent rugby by RSD with another try. The weather went from bad to worse throughout the match causing a large number of unforced errors with neither side able to capitalise leaving the half time score 12-0. At the start of the second half both sides exchanged penalties. Foyle then managed to capitalise on a period of pressure in the RSD 22 with a try. RSD were able to control the last ten minutes of the game resulting in one final try by Peter Nelson and another win for RSD. On Wednesday RSD played Campbell College on the Armstrong Pitch. This proved to be a tight encounter which could have gone either way. Unfortunately it was Campbell who won 17-15. Perhaps RSD could have been victorious had they converted their chances in the 1st half. Tries were scored by Anas Smaali and Daryl Marshall with Peter Nelson getting a penalty and conversion. On Saturday the senior teams travel to play Omagh Academy. On Saturday RSD travelled to play Omagh Academy where we were hoping to bounce back after our narrow defeat to Campbell College during the week. RSD were first on the score sheet with a Peter Nelson penalty. After a period of heavy pressure inside our own half Omagh scored a converted try. RSD then turned over the subsequent restart which gave the backs quick ball that Jordan Patterson was able to score from with Peter Nelson adding the conversion. The half time score was 10-7. RSD stepped up their performance in the second half and gained better control of the game. Further points were added by three Peter Nelson penalties and a try by Anas Smaali which Peter also converted. The final score was 23-15 to RSD. RSD 1st XV 8 Dilworth School 28 RSD 1st XV 17 Auckland Grammar School 19 RSD 1st XV 15 Hamilton Boys High School 26 RSD 1st XV 37 Bethlehem College 5 RSD 1st XV 7 Manly Academy 21 Points Scorers:
The coaches: U12 - Mr Ritchie U13 - Mr Ritchie U14 - Mr Lucas, Mr Watterson Medallion XV - Mr Clingan, Mr Chambers 3rd XV - Mr Willis 2nd XV - Mr Nichol 1st XV - Mr Patton 1st XV Captain - Daryl Marshall Secretary - Adam McCarter 1st XV Committee - Mansel Purdy and Anas Smaali 2nd XV Captain - James Dilworth 3rd XV Captain - Ben Dilworth Medallion XV Captain - Daniel Maxwell U14 XV Captain - David Buckley U13 XV Captain - Mark Cuddy
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