The Under 14 Rugby Squad left for Limavady on Tuesday morning with the feeling of stepping into the unknown. Several members of the squad were not only making their Cullybackey rugby debuts, but their debut for any school team. The atmosphere on the bus was one of nervous excitement.
The squad were taken through several warm up drills by the excellent assistant coach, Ismael Mohammad and began their first match with earnest.
The squad played four fixtures, winning all four in the process
- Dunclug 5 Cullybackey 15
- St Mary’s 5 Cullybackey 27
- Oakgrove 5 Cullybackey 15
- Ballymoney High School 0 Cullybackey 15
Try scorers on the day included Max Mitchell, Ben Shaw, Charlie Glass, Ethan Kennedy, Jay Shannon and squad captain Jonathan Wylie.
Everyone in the squad played fantastically throughout all the matches and it is hard to single anyone out for extra praise but credit must go first of all to Daniel Lowry who never took a backwards step all day, which included some terrific ball carrying, rucking, tacking and on several occasions appeared to be carrying several members of the opposition (and the ball they were holding) down the pitch. Max Mitchell finished the day top try scorer and put in a few bone shuddering tackles which were felt all the way on the side of the pitch and Captain Jonathan Wylie led by example in all four games, displaying a calm demeanour throughout, with excellent decision making skills and even scoring a superb sole try after injuring his hand in the final game.
The mood on the bus on the way home was one of elation with all very much looking forward to their next outing. The future looks very bright for the Under 14 Rugby team.