Holders RBAI prevail in Schools' Cup clash with Belfast rivals Campbell College to reach quarter-finals

The repat of last year’s final was built up as the tie of the round but failed to ignite and Inst coach Jamie Kirk was relieved to reach the quarter-finals, when his side will travel to Banbridge Academy.

“People were building it up before the game and choosing a favourite quite early, but everybody knows that when it's a rivalry, and it's a Schools' Cup game, they're going to be nervous,” stated Kirk.

“They're schoolboys at the end of the day, it really just comes down to the performance on the day.

"After we weathered those first 15 minutes, we grew into it and had a lot of dominance in the phase play.

“They really have a lot of trust in our defence, it's something that we talk a lot about and there's a lot of belief there too.

“We knew Campbell would come and try and break that down with their kicking game and we've done a lot of work on that over the last four weeks,” added Kirk.

“I thought Josh Gibson in the backfield was outstanding, Charlie Gray as well, and our wingers, that was pleasing.

“For us, it was important that we had Campbell in the back of our mind, but we really didn't turn the page to it until we had finished our game with Presentation Brothers on January 2nd.”

“I think that brought us into a nice cup window where we had a narrower focus in terms of the timeframe and it wasn't building and building for six weeks.”

Kirk was happy to be in the hat for the quarter-final draw after a nervy opening period for his side.

“Speaking to Fraser (Campbell), our captain who has that experience at national level and in the final last year, he was very honest in terms of how nervous the boys really were,” he said.

“We discussed that before the game and told them that they're nervous because it's something that they care so much about.

“We would rather be a little nervous rather than go in over-confident and get caught cold. It was about reassuring them that pressure is a good thing.

“If you ask different people there's a different favourite each week in this competition.

“The pressure is external, but we put ourselves under pressure internally,” Kirk added.

“That's why we want to be here, that's what rugby is about.

“Getting that opportunity to play at the next stage is pressure but it's what we want, it's what we're going after; you've got to be prepared to step into those moments.

First half tries from Freddie Clarke and Blake McClean gave Inst a 10-6 interval lead. Winger Alex Place slotted over two penalties after the break.

Banbridge Academy beat Portadown College 40-0 to set up a quarter-final clash with the holders.

Sullivan will travel to Methody in the last eight, the Holywood school enjoyed a 41-3 home win over Larne Grammar while the Belfast side won 22-9 at Rainey.

Wallace’s reward for a 31-7 win over Royal School Armagh is a trip to Enniskillen, who beat Friends 13-5.

The remaining quarter-final sees Regent House – 34-21 winners over Dromore High – host Ballymena Academy after they edged BRA 17-15.