Lions pride runs deep in this Belfast powerhouse

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools

- Brendan Gallagher

ANY discussion on the best rugby schools in the UK and Ireland must certainly include a close look at the claims of the Royal Belfast Academical Institute whose many successes have ranged through the centuries and continue apace.

Starting in 1875, when they could lay claim to seven members of the Ireland team, RBAI have spawned 84 Ireland internationals with one of those – Hugh Ferris – also winning a Springbok cap after he emigrated to South Africa in 1903. And of those 84, 13 went on to become British and Irish Lions.

Closer to home they have always been a powerhouse school in the Ulster Schools Cup which has become more than just a rugby institution in the province since its inception in 1876 with the competition final every March 17 always playing to packed houses at Ravenhill and now the Kingspan.

RBAI took a little time to make their mark and didn’t win their first title until 1888 but they have been making up for lost time ever since with 32 outright wins, four shared titles and 21 losing appearances as finalists. Only their great rivals, Methodist College Belfast, have more titles with 36.

Unsurprisingly they also boast a fine record in the Medallion (U15) competition with 35 wins and three shared titles in 51 appearances in the final. Another little statistic worth noting is that despite being situated in the heart of Belfast, RBAI never lost a day’s school or rugby throughout the Troubles in the 1970s and 1980s.

There have been some glorious periods of dominance in the senior competition with seven straight titles between 1943-48 while RBAI were also losing finalists in 1949 and 1950 before winning again in 1951. Another, briefer, golden period came more recently with a hard earned hattrick of wins between 2015-17.