SCHOOLS' CUP RUGBY: Holders RBAI ready for Ballymena Academy challenge in semi-final

The holders are preparing for a massive showdown with Academy at the Kingspan Stadium.

Both these teams have come through their recent Schools’ Cup encounters relatively unscathed with neither team conceding a try in the course of those two games.

RBAI have been scoring tries for fun having run four tries in against Coleraine Grammar School in their third Round game and six tries against Sullivan Upper in the quarter-finals.

Most of these tries have been scored by the Belfast Inst backs but Inst forwards, such as Charlie Cloke, have been responsible for a couple of tries as well.

The Belfast Inst coaches, Director of Rugby Dan Soper and Richard Hedley, know their young charges are keen to emulate the RBAI Class of 2015 and will have a great desire to hold on to the Schools’ Cup.

However, they will have to overcome the challenge the Ballymena Academy team will provide and the Inst coaching staff will not be allowing their squad to look beyond that game.

They will be hoping the Belfast Inst pack, with players such as Callum Reid, a potential Ireland U18 player, John Dickson, Neil Saulters, Jake Chambers and Charlie Cloke to call upon will at least get parity with the strong Ballymena pack at set piece time.

They will have to if the Belfast Inst half backs, Rhys O’Donnell and Michael Lowry, are to be allowed to impose their undoubted game management skills on the proceedings.

Outside backs such as James Hume, another potential target for the Ireland U18 Management team, Ben McGavock, Joe Finnegan and Mark Keane have thrived off the good work from their pack and half backs in the course of the current Schools’ Cup campaign.

However, it seems that the Belfast Inst player who has benefitted most from the good work from his team mates has been the Royal Belfast Academical Institution captain Conor Field.

The Ballymena Academy players, coached by Joh Andrews and Gavin Murray, have gone about their business in a most efficient manner in their last two Schools’ Cup games.

Their 12-3 victory against a very good Wallace High School team in the third round instilled a great deal of confidence in their squad of players which was carried through their fourth round game against a committed Belfast Royal Academy team.

The Academy squad has a good mixture of youth and experience among the ranks.

Team captain Marcus Rea who has also captained the Ulster U19 team, is one of a number of players who has played for three years in the Schools’ Cup competition.

Alexander Clarke, a member of last season’s Ireland U18 FIRA squad, is a key player in the Ballymena Academy pack.

His throwing, striking, carrying, tackling and decision making skills displayed against the Belfast Royal Academy team in the quarter-final game were of the highest order.

The Ballymena backline has a number of players who can work well with the ball in hand given the right conditions and quality of possession.

Michael Stronge is an emerging scrum half who has the ability to influence the outcome of games.

He has already featured with the Ulster U19 team despite being two years young. His half back partner, Bruce Houston, is very young but has a mature head on his shoulders.

He has scored over 120 points for the team this season.