On December 13th the Medallion and U 14 rugby teams set off for Dublin on their “train like a professional” tour staying at the Johnstown House Hotel where the Irish rugby team have previously stayed and trained. The boys had a great start to the tour in meeting Irish rugby players Peter O’Mahoney and Sean O’ Brian at the Applegreens on the pit stop half way down. The boys completed a gym session led by Mr Glass and a pitch session led by Mr Nicholl, finishing off with team runs from their respective team coaches. The boys were then given some free time where most of them went for a dip in the swimming pool and made use of the entertainment facilities at the Johnstown House Hotel. Later that night the medallion squad spent a bit of time doing some video analysis of their last match where there was a real focus on the match the next day.
After a hearty breakfast the boys embarked on the bus trip to play Sandford Park School in south Dublin. The Under 14s kicked off first, with conditions underfoot being a little damp led to quite a forward orientated game. Cambridge dominated initial proceedings with Adam Brown carrying ball well into the opposition 22. A few well worked pick and go’s making some hard yards from Michael Clarke and Charles Harpur created space for Glen Logan to snipe through and get the first points for Cambridge which he then converted. Sandford gained some momentum with a serious of carries but a resolute Cambridge defence denied them any points and Cambridge always looked in control for the rest of the game. Further tries from Glen and a great piece of individual skill also saw Dean Millar cross the whitewash leaving a final score line of 19-0 to Cambridge House. Some notable performances from Philip Jamieson, Stuart Donald and Adam Brown epitomising the work ethic and desire to win from Mr Finlay’s U 14 team.
The Medallion game was the second game kicking off after the U14 fixture. Right from kick-off Cambridge went through some great phases with strong carries from Stephen Lindsay and Josh Mark. This created space on the outside where Kane McIlroy showed some great footwork to get over for their first try converted by Rory McCandless. Our next try came from a lineout, Peter Haggan throwing for his first match (taking over the throwing duties due to an unfortunate injury to our normal starting hooker Lewis Allison on the Saturday) hit Rhys Ervine in the air and following several phases, winger Curtis Henry went over for his first try. Kane and Curtis scored one more each leaving the half-time score 24-0. The second half was a much tighter affair due to Sandford being more direct and Cambridge not having as much possession. Although there were no points scored in the second half the Cambridge House defence, in particular the centre partnership of Robbie Gray and Thomas Bovill put in a stalwart display thwarting all Sandford attacks with some excellent tackling. The game finished 24-0 which meant it was 2 from 2 wins for Cambridge House Grammar School.
The tour was a huge success and the tour staff would like to thank the Johnstown House Hotel for the high quality service we received, Sandford Park School in Dublin for hosting us, The Rugby Development Group for all their help and kind contributions towards the tour and the boys for their exemplary behaviour throughout the 2 days all making it a thoroughly enjoyable two days, for everyone involved.
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