On a crisp, dry morning at the Eisenhower Playing Fields, Enniskillen Royal continued their Schools’ Cup preparations with an emphatic 47-12 victory over Royal School rivals Dungannon.

Both teams had shown glimpses of their potential in previous games throughout the season but it was the home side that would dominate the opening encounters and set the tone for the rest of the match.

The strength of the Enniskillen pack that proved was on full display in the first half as they dismantled Dungannon in the physical encounters at both the contact area and the setpiece which resulted in five unanswered tries.

After a brilliant line break from prop Toby Newman to bring the play deep into the Dungannon, ERGS won a penalty 5m from the try line. A well-worked tap penalty routine saw Newman power over for the opening score which was convert by Sam Paton.

From the restart Enniskillen made another rapid break up the pitch, moving the ball from left to right before second row Clarke Balfour punched through a big hole in the defence to score under the posts, again converted by Paton.

It wasn’t long before Enniskillen got on the board again with wing Ben Wallace making good yards out wide which ultimately led to a Dungannon infringement.

Outhalf Thomas Barnett kicked the ball to within 5m of the try line and the resulting lineout saw hooker Robbie McIlwrath the beneficiary of a strong driving maul. Sam Paton maintained his good kicking percentage with another conversion.

Minutes later McIlwrath was on the end of another powerful maul and doubled his tally of tries and Paton making it four from four off the tee.

Enniskillen finished the first half as they started running in another try with Josh Ovens getting his name on the scoresheet this time and Paton adding the extras.

The second half was a much more evenly contested affair with Dungannon fighting back and turning the game into a contest. And with that it was the away side that got on the scoreboard first with a converted try after sustained pressure in the ERGS half.

Enniskillen responded immediately with Sam Clarke crossing the whitewash after some strong forward carries in the Dungannon ‘22’.

Andrew Kerr followed this up very quickly with a deserved try of his own after another good performance on the wing. Paton converted one leaving his tally at an impressive 6 kicks from 7.

Dungannon did have the last say getting their second and final try of the match to leave scoreline at 47-12 in favour of Enniskillen.

The home side will be pleased with some of their attacking play and the strength of their maul but will need to improve on their defensive shape and line speed to compete in the latter stages of the Schools’ Cup against the stronger-seeded teams.