The U13 boys started the season with an away fixture against a strong Dalriada side. This turned out to be a baptism of fire, going down to a heavy defeat in their first ever game of 15-a-side rugby with uncontested scrums and lineouts. Thankfully this was not a sign of things to come, and they came roaring back with a very convincing win against Belfast High School at home the following weekend. They continued their good form, remaining unbeaten up until the end of the first term, with wins over Foyle College, Coleraine GS, Larne GS, Cambridge House and Omagh Academy before avenging their earlier defeat by beating Dalriada in the last game before the Christmas break. The unbeaten run continued until the beginning of February with wins over Antrim GS and Wellington HS in January before losing for only the second time in the season at home to Coleraine and then again by the odd score in a very tightly contested final game against Rainey Endowed.
The squad was captained by Ethan Kennedy, who led by example throughout, with some excellent performances and amassing a total of 29 tries on his way to receiving the player of the year award. He was well supported by vice-captain Luke Blair, who also went on a scoring spree with 16 tries, including the best individual try in the game against Rainey. Try of the season was scored by Andrew Bond, who put the finishing touches to a great team move against Foyle that started with a crunching tackle by Charlie Calderwood. There were other notable performances from pack leader James McLoughlin, Ross Brennan, who received the most improved player award, and Adam Martin, who was like a brick wall in defence. A special mention also goes to Daniel Delap for stepping up to the plate as lineout thrower in the first game, despite never having practiced it before, earning himself a job for the remainder of the season.
The season culminated with a trip to Cambridge House for the NEEBSA U13 tournament where the boys were drawn in a group of death with Coleraine, Ballymena Academy, Dalriada and Carrick GS. First up were Ballymena and, playing into a strong gale, the boys dominated the entire game, only to suffer a 7-5 defeat. The Ballymena try coming from a long hack down the field and their only incursion into the Limavady half. This result proved to be crucial, with wins against Carrick and Dalriada meaning that the boys ended up in 3rd place in the group, narrowly missing out on the semifinal. They didn’t let the disappointment weigh too heavily as they then defeated Antrim GS in a playoff for fifth place to round off a very good season.
The coaches are extremely proud of the efforts and improvement of the entire squad throughout the season and are excited to see where this will lead in the years ahead.