Lurgan College go for trophy glory

The players and coaches Trevor Carruthers and Geoff Caldwell are looking forward to the final and expect the College team to take on and beat their rivals. Wednesday is a big day for rugby in the school as they try to move and establish themselves into the next level of rugby playing schools and next year they have added teams like Regent House and Portora Royal into the fixture list. “Rugby is improving and we have all been lifted by the success of the hockey in school,” said coach Geoff Caldwell. “The medallion XV just recently lost a trophy semi-final and the 2nd XV are in the last eight of the 2nd XV schools cup, a remarkable effort so far.”

The medallion are just back from a tour to Scotland and the senior squad are touring South Africa in July 2016.

“The players and all coaches in school have worked hard to get to this level and the College don’t want to stop here, the final is a big day and I genuinely believe if our forwards perform we can take on their pack and attack them in the backs,” added Geoff.

“We had a close game in the semi-final and our attitude and work rate in defence against Friends was excellent and this time we plan a bit more attacking display and an opportunity to use our set plays effectively.

“Paul Heasley has been a key component of our success and he has guided out recent improvements in strength and conditioning. Also thanks to Rob McDowell in the Junior High School and Lurgan Rugby Club for all their efforts with the lads at underage teams.

“The match kicks off at 2.30 on Wednesday and it would be great to have a big support and so far in school we have a number of buses and it would be fantastic for our support to make the journey back to Lurgan with Silverware.”

So far this season the College team has played 16, won 10, lost six. Matthew Laird has led by example and Jamie Hunter and Thomas Neil have probably been the two most consistent players. Lurgan College have 11 of the starting team coming back next year so it is a challenge for those boys to set out a marker and set their own standards so the school can work hard to have further success in the Schools’ cup next year.