On Tuesday the 5^th February Banbridge Academy Medallion XV, sponsored by RG Brown, Plant & Machinery Sales took on Regent House in the quarter final of the Medallion Trophy. With the wind at their backs, Regent House took an early lead with a score in the corner after a number of phases against a resilient Academy defence. The rest of the first half went without score but was far from uneventful, with a player from both teams receiving a yellow card for high tackles. The Academy team started the second half strong with the wind at their backs. After consistent pressure the Academy won a penalty, allowing Matthew Daly to put a kick into touch on the Regent House 5m line. The Academy pack was able to capitalise on this territory with a well worked catch and drive, resulting in captain Ben Bradshaw getting a score. From the kick-off, the home side again used the wind to their advantage and pressure from the Academy defence forced a knock-on on the visitors10m line. The Academy pack got the squeeze on in the scrum and forced Regent to concede a penalty, allowing Matthew Daly to add a further 3 points. From the moment the Academy received the next kick, pressure was put on the Regent House defence with the Academy back line carrying strongly and creating problems for the visitor’s defence. As the pressure built, Regent’s defence conceded another penalty in their own 22 and once again the Academy had an attacking line out in the corner. A well executed catch and drive resulted in a try again from the Captain, with another 2 points added from Matthew Daly.

As we approached the last quarter of the game, the Academy held a 15-7 lead but Regent House refused to lie down. Strong tackles from John McCallister and Marcus McNeill managed to defend against Regent House pressure and forced a turnover to clear the lines. Strong runs from Ollie Norris, Nicholas Brown and Joel Good gained the important yards to keep territory, allowing the Academy to maintain their attack as opposed to just holding on. Excellent organisation in the back line from scrum half Daniel Lappin and out-half Will Russell, resulted in consistent structured attacks throughout to put pressure on the opposition defence. Regent House managed to mount an attack in the final minutes of the game, but phase after phase the Academy defended well. Eventually Regent found gaps in the defence and pushed into the Academy 22. An offside decision by the referee resulted in a yellow card for the Academy and reduced them to 14 for the final few minutes. Regent House capitalised on the extra man and put pressure on the Academy defence and, despite strong defence from back row Scott Allen and full back Ryan Matthew, Regent House scored a try in the last play of the game leaving the final score 15-14 to Banbridge Academy Medallion XV.

The squad would like to thank the faithful group of parents and supporters who travel with them on a weekly basis, the support is always appreciated. We would also like to thank our sponsor, RG Brown of Bessbrook for providing the entire squad with a new set of shirts for our Cup campaign.