C.A.I’s Under 14 travelled to Ballymena Academy on Saturday to take part in the annual O’Kane Tournament. The Inst boys played some magnificent rugby to claim the trophy, beating off competition from some of the best rugby schools in the country.

The competition kicked off with Inst up against a strong and spirited Ballyclare High School team in what their coaches, Mr Gaston and Mr Boyd, thought would be a very close game. With the games only lasting for 7 minutes each half, the players knew that any mistakes could cost them victory. Coleraine started the game brilliantly with captain and out half Conor Shiels putting centre Joel Stanbridge through a gap in midfield to score an excellent try after only a minute. Coleraine then continued to play some great running rugby, scoring 4 more tries through out half Shiels, wing Calum Wallace, and a brace for centre Jonny Crowe. Shiels converted three of the tries to leave the score 31 – 0 to Coleraine.

Inst second game saw them pitted against Cambridge House. Once again the Coleraine boys got off to a great start with a superb solo try from Shiels. Inst struggled to get into their free flowing style for the rest of the half and after a few words from the coaches at half time, began to play some better rugby. Three more tries following in the second half with Shiels converting two to leave the final score 24- 0. The result meant that Coleraine topped their group and would go on to play Grosvenor in the quarter finals.

The Coleraine boys knew they would have to be at their best to beat a tough Grosvenor team if they wanted to move on to the semi finals. Inst got off to another flying start with Jonny Crowe claiming a try after excellent pressure from the Coleraine defence forced a mistake from the Grosvenor centre, allowing Crowe to kick through and score. The early try took some of the pressure off the Coleraine players, and they went on to play some fantastic free flowing, running rugby. Three tries followed with the pick scored by Joel Stanbridge, who finished off a length of the field move, with the ball being handled brilliantly by both backs and forwards. Shiels converted one of the tries to leave the final score 22- 0.

In the semi finals Inst were against Royal School Armagh, who had also progressed through the group stages undefeated, playing some powerful rugby using their huge pack of forwards. The Coleraine pack knew they would have to produce their best rugby of the tournament if they were to progress against a team that was much bigger than them. Armagh started positively and were able to get their big forwards running on to the ball at pace, causing the Inst defence a lot of problems. To their coach’s relief, Inst managed to withhold the Armagh pressure, with the backrow trio of Matthew Dunlop, Mark Gordon and Luke McKinley putting in some huge tackles. After the indefatigable Gordon won his team a penalty after great work at the breakdown, Shiels kicked to the corner to give Coleraine a lineout on the Armagh line. Hooker Keiran Burns threw with pinpoint accuracy to the tail of the lineout, were Dunlop took the ball cleanly and popped it off to second row Thomas Pethick who charged for the line, only to be stopped by a four Armagh defenders. A series of close range drives by the Inst pack were repelled before the ball was recycled again and Pethick was on hand to pick up and drive his way over the line with the help of the rest of the pack. Shiels added the conversion to leave the score at 7 – 0 at half time. Early in the second half Coleraine won another penalty just outside the Armagh 22. Fullback Cameron Fulton stepped up to the knock over a superb kick to make the score 10-0 with 10 minutes to play. Coleraine then managed to play out the rest of the game with relative ease, with Shiels using his cultured left boot to keep Armagh pinned back in their own half.

Coleraine’s opponents in the final were the undefeated Wallace High School who had beaten the hosts Ballymena in the semi final. Wallace were also the holders of the trophy having won the competition last season. The Inst boys knew they have to produce their best rugby of the season of they were to defeat the impressive Wallace, who had already beaten the Coleraine boys earlier in the season. Wallace got off to a flying start, launching wave after wave of attacks through their strong running backs. The Inst line was breached for the first time in the tournament after four minutes, when the impressive Wallace centre ran in a superb individual try. The Inst boys were disappointed to concede the try but did not allow it to dampen their spirits. From the kick off Coleraine began to get into their stride with their pack beginning to dominate the bigger Wallace forwards, with John McClean putting in some barnstorming charges to get his team on to the front foot. A series of clever attacks orchestrated by Shiels, and some excellent rucking by the pack, ended with Coleraine being awarded a penalty five yards from the Wallace line. Quick thinking by the elusive Shiels saw him take a quick tap, side step two defenders and touch down in the corner for a great score just before half time. The conversion was missed to leave the score 7-5 to Wallace at half time. The Inst boys now had the bit between their teeth and started the second half strongly. The Coleraine pack were now in complete control and were dominating the lineouts with Pethick and Matthew McCooke securing some great ball. After more great ruck ball was won by the Inst pack, the ball was moved wide were Crowe ran a great line and was put into space by Shiels, the centre then stepped inside the full back and looked odds on to score but was thwarted by a last gap tap tackle from a covering Wallace player only yards from the line. Inst were now in the Wallace 22 and managed to maintain the possession. After a series of drives from the Inst pack, the ball was moved wide by scrum half Bradley Dempster to Shiels, who dummied and stepped inside the Wallace defence to score his second try of the final. With only four minutes remaining the Coleraine team had to hold their nerve and see out the game. A great kick from Shiels put Wallace back into their 22 as Coleraine began to go for the jugular. It looked like a third try for Coleraine was on the cards, but a knock on by Coleraine saw possession given to Wallace, who moved the ball wide to their excellent centre, who went on a weaving run through the Coleraine defence. It looked like the Wallace player was going to go all the way and score himself but magnificent covering tackles by Luke Scott and Luke McKinley saved Coleraine. More concerted pressure from Wallace followed but the Coleraine defence was superb and managed to hold out. The referee finally blew the final whistle and brought an end to a pulsating encounter, sparking massive celebrations from the Coleraine players and supporters.

All credit goes to the Inst squad, who were magnificent throughout the whole tournament and never let any of their teammates down. The pack, led by Thomas Pethick, was superb all day, and gave no respect to opposition packs who were bigger than them. They laid the platform for the exciting backs, marshalled by Conor Shiels, to show their speed and skill. This is the first time Inst have won the trophy since a side captained by Gillan Carruthers emerged victorious in 1997. That victory laid a platform for his side to go to a Medallion Shield Final the following year. Hopefully this victory can inspire this Inst team to go one better than Gillan’s team next season and bring the Medallion Shield back to Coleraine.