Derek Suffern hails performance as Wallace seal place in Schools’ Cup quarter-finals

Wallace have never won the trophy outright but did share it with Royal School Armagh in 2020 when the final was postponed due the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wallace head coach Derek Suffern was pleased with the result and performance in his side’s first outing in this year’s competition.

“We actually thought we played a very controlled and measured performance, always in that first cup game you never know how the boys are going to perform,” said Suffern.

“Being at home is always comforting for the boys in that first game and also against a team that we hadn’t played before, so we didn’t get as many distractions in the preparation and just very much focused on ourselves and got a good result at the end of it.”

There are some work-ons for Suffern’s team ahead of their next game.

“Our tempo in attack, just trying to speed our game up a little bit, would be the one major thing,” he said.

"Everywhere else we were pretty comfortable and pretty happy with how the boys produced.”

Wallace’s reward for beating Foyle is a home tie against Coleraine Grammar in the last eight.

“In a cup competition some days you play away from home and some days the Belfast schools will play the country schools,” Suffern said.

“We are just happy to be at home and we played Coleraine in and around Christmas time, and it was a pretty close affair. We’d imagine something very similar but very pleased to be at home.”

The likes of Nathan Doak emerged from the Wallace 2020 team and Suffern wants the class of 2023 to write their own history.

“That is long gone now and it is good to see a lot of the boys doing well for themselves in the pro game, academies and even in club rugby as well and we are chuffed for those guys,” he said.

“I suppose they have a set a bit of a bar that other guys can aspire to.

“These guys are on their own journey, it is a home draw in the quarter final and we just have to try and produce and see where it takes us.”

Wallace scored seven tries against Foyle.

Sam Warwick claimed a hat-trick, Matthew Crowe, Ben Armstrong Charlie Beattie and Noah McCluskey all got a touchdown each, while Beattie kicked four conversions.

Coleraine set up a clash with Wallace by winning the north west derby 15-7 against Limavady.

Campbell and Methody left it late to book their places in the quarter finals.

Defending champions Methody needed the last play of the game to claim a 29-22 victory over Belfast Royal Academy at Roughfort.

It was a last kick of the game victory for Campbell as they edged past Ballymena Academy 13-10.

It was more comfortable for RBAI at Enniskillen as they won 29-13 despite trailing 8-7 at the break.

Sullivan Upper beat Royal School Armagh 8-7 and Dromore High defeated Down High 34-22. Ballyclare High went down 24-18 at Royal School Dungannon.

Quarter final draw: RBAI v Dromore, Wallace HS v Coleraine GS, Sullivan v Campbell College, RS Dungannon v Methodist College. Fixtures to be played on February 11.