S. Thomas’ College beat Royal College in the Under-16 and Under-14 encounters, winning 17-05 and 14-00 respectively. Royal meanwhile clinched the Under-18 clash winning 07-05 in the friendly matches played at the S. Thomas’ College grounds.
Under 16 match
The Royal youngsters came into the clash as favourites, but some great play from the Thomian juniors saw the Royalists trail 07-05 at the end of the first half. The Royalists managed the single try but failed to convert. The Thomians had no such problems after some good passing led to both their tries, they successfully converted.
The Royal youngsters fought valiantly in the second half as they attempted to comeback from behind, but to no avail. The Thomian youngsters broke through on two more occasions for two unconverted tries.
Full Time: S. Thomas College 17 (3T 1C) – 05 (1T) Royal College
Under 14 match
After the first few opening minutes of even play, it were the Thomians who struck first yet again. They passed the ball off to their winger on the edge, who then ran downfield before cutting back in for the Thomians’ first goal.
The Royal youngsters tried to fire back, with a majority of the action following the try taking place inside the Thomian half. The S. Thomas juniors stayed strong however, as they ended the first half with a 07-00 lead.
Majority of play in the second half took place in the Royalists half, as the Royal youngsters struggled to keep hold of possession.
The Thomians’ continuous pressure on the Royal backline paid off when in the dying moments of the game they broke through once again for their second goal of the game.
Full Time: S. Thomas’ College 14 (2T 2C) – 00 Royal College
Under 18 match
Thomas’ dominated play in the first half with a majority of the play taking place in the Royal half. The Royal defence was put under tremendous pressure throughout the half, but did well to hold on to end the first half 0-0.
The second half got off to a similar start, with the Thomians’ going on the attack once again. The Royalists showed more attacking intent this time around, but both defences held strong.
It were the Royalists however who broke the deadlock. Some good passing play found their teammate in their own half before he showed some brilliant skill to out manoeuvre and out-pace the Thomian defence before diving through the posts for their converted try.
The Royalists’ battled hard to defend their slim lead while the Thomians’ fought to get back on level terms. It paid off eventually after a series of scrummages and mauls saw S. Thomas’ get over the line for their try. They just needed a successful conversion to pull back level, but the Royalists’ attempt to unnerve the Thomian kicker seemingly worked as the conversion was struck a yard short of the target.
Full Time: S. Thomas College 05 (1T) – 07 (1T 1C) Royal College
