Campbell College's Schools' Cup win 'written in the stars' for Ritchie McMaster over RBAI

Campbell last year lost John McKinney – winner of four Schools’ Cup titles during his decades of service – and the players walked out on St Patrick’s Day with initials stitched on to their shirts for the final occasion.

“I think, in sport, sometimes some things just are written in the stars,” said McMaster following victory. “Obviously this year was massive for us, losing a legend of Campbell College like John McKinney.

"And although that doesn't just mean you're going to go on and win a Schools’ Cup, it was a massive, massive motivating factor.

“I was saying to the other coaches, there's so many wee things that just happened this year, small things in the build-up which just gave us real belief and, yeah, just incredibly proud of the group to get over the line.

“It's one of those things we've actually tried to harness since December.

"It's not just ‘oh, we're in the Schools’ Cup final and we'll do it for John’...this has been something which has been building for many, many weeks and months now. For that group especially, they've been very lucky to work alongside a guy called Johnny Parks as their mental skills coach, who's done a really great job at managing their emotions.

“It was trusting the process and we knew that Inst was going to put us under serious pressure. They were going to have their purple patches and I think it was about managing that as much as anything.”

Campbell hadn’t scored since the 40th minute and were down for the last 20 minutes – but McMaster always believed they would make another mark on the scoreboard.

“I kept trying to get the comms on to the boys from touchline that they were going to get a chance...and there is no better time to score than the last play of the game to win a cup final,” he said. "We were on the receiving end of that in 2023, whenever Jacob Boyd got over in the far corner to win the cup for Inst...so some things maybe are just written in the stars.”

McMaster has kicked penalties to win Ulster Senior Cups at club level but it was a totally different experience in the coaching box.

“You really don't have any control whenever you're up in the stand, you can get your messages on but your heart rate is a bit higher watching, I think, than it is playing,” he said. “I stopped playing a couple of years ago and there's nothing that quite replicates the adrenaline of playing.

"But I think that is a very, very close second today...it's incredible to bring the cup back to Campbell.”

McMaster is the second member of his family to win a Schools’ Cup.

“My uncle John, he won back in 1978, for Bangor Grammar,” he said. “And then my dad (Terry) never won a Schools’ Cup but he went on to play for Ulster.

“It's just one of those things.

"I think you dream about it whenever you're a kid at school, you want to win the Schools’ Cup and if you don't do it when you play, it's a really good feeling to win it as a coach.”

McMaster paid tribute to his opposite number and good friend, RBAI coach Jamie Kirk.

“Jamie's an incredible rugby coach, but more importantly, he's a great guy, he's a really, really humble guy with a great work ethic and I feel for him,” said McMaster. “I really do because I know the amount that he'll have poured into that, all season to get his team prepared for today. And it's incredibly small margins that it comes down to...I do definitely feel for him.”