RBAI book place in Schools' Cup final with victory over Ballymena
RBAI will meet Belfast rivals Campbell College in the Schools’ Cup final after they defeated Ballymena Academy 22-14 to book their place at Ravenhill on St Patrick’s Day.
Inst rallied from 14-5 down to score 17 unanswered points and coach Jamie Kirk praised his side’s defence and resilience as they look to win the trophy for the second time in three years.
“Firstly, full credit to Ballymena – I thought the first half they were excellent in terms of how they executed their game plan,” he said.
"I think going into half-time, they had spent considerable time in our 22 and I think we'd spent 35 seconds in theirs, so there were a few areas that we thought – around that tight area of the ruck – defensively, we needed to improve on.
“I thought we started to do that towards the end of the first half, and then probably the biggest thing, I thought, was half-time we'd thrown two punches and we'd scored, and it was important for us to take confidence from that, even though we were down, and go out into the second half and just trust the players around us.
“I thought their forwards were really well-coached; their line-out was difficult to get at, they were clear in terms of how they wanted to defend them all, so I thought when we got our opportunity there, we executed really well.
“It's something we've done all season and we back ourselves there, so we were really pleased. I thought that was a big moment in the game.”
Even trailing by nine points, Kirk said there was no panic in the Inst ranks.
“I think, firstly, we were allowing their entries into the 22, where they were effective there, so prevention from that,” he added.
“When we were in there, there were a few things we needed to tidy up. I think the biggest thing at half-time was we needed to trust in each other and trust in our ability. It's easy when you're 14-5 [behind] to go into your shell, whereas we needed the opposite.
“We needed to back each other; we needed to believe that we're good enough and be brave. I thought we did that, and certainly we weren't as accurate as we would want to be, but I thought the intent was there, and that was really positive for us.”
Kirk is looking forward to going head-to-head to head with Campbell coach Richie McMaster in the final.
“Richie and I are good friends, and I know he's got brilliant knowledge about the game,” he said. “He was a quality player, and I have absolutely no doubt whilst I've never coached with him, he'll be an excellent coach. They'll be difficult to break down and they'll be dangerous.”
RBAI: Johan Power, Jack Coulter, Adam Millar, Connor Patton, Andrew Purcell, Charlie O’Connor, Sebastian Clark; Reuben Edmondson, Ross Dillon (capt), Reuban McIlwarth, Connor Ballantine, Reuben Magown, Cian McClean, Adam Boyd
Replacements: Ross, Montgomery, Ronan Hamilton, Matthew Watkins, Owen Walker, Conor Davis, Rocco Steen, Dylan Gray, Benjamin McCarten
BALLYMENA ACADEMY: Ben Collins, Zac Topping, Billy Wylie, Seth McCready, James Worthington, Ollie Collins (capt); Oliver Shaw, Jacob Casson, Will Coffey, Oscar Eddies, Joshua Paterson, George Gamble, Harry Lamont
Replacements: Jack McMaster, Reuben Skelly, Daniel Thompson, Ellijah Fitzpatrick, Jeremiah Gallagher, Daniel McNamee, Daniel Johnston