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Thomas Dougan in journey from Royal fan in the stand to Armagh’s Schools' Cup final leader
@Source: newsletter.co.uk
Back then the Orchard County school had to share the trophy with Wallace as the final couldn’t be played due to Covid. On Monday, Dougan will lead Armagh out at Kingspan Stadium in this season’s decider for a showdown with Wallace and the back row has fond memories of his school’s run to the final five years ago. “I was in second year, the captain and vice-captain just lived up the road from me," said Dougan. “So it was a special one. “For me to watch them down on the pitch with a megaphone singing ‘Floreat Armachia’ in the semi-final was massive. “To be able to replay that final is a big one and there will be pressure put on, but we’ll take it in our stride. “We’ll think about it a wee bit but it is our day as such, we’ll go look to support and prove our worthiness for everyone coming to watch. “It’s our XV that we are playing for and it is everybody in the team that you would want to play with.” Dougan has the opportunity to become the first Armagh captain to lift the cup in 21 years. “It is a long time for a school like Armagh, but it is a small school so sometimes it is hard to get the numbers," he said. “It will be massive for the school if we win it and we’ll try our best. “We have about 750 in the school and around 600 of those people were supporting us in the semi-final, it is a big event for the school and everyone is up for it.” Dougan was introduced to rugby at an early age but was also proficient in the pool. “I started playing mini-rugby in P2 then my and my brother, who was P1, started playing together at Armagh and then went from there,” he said. “My mum was really into swimming so I did a lot of it at Armagh Swimming Club and a few competitions. "But it got to the point where I had to chose and rugby was the one that I wanted to go after.” Armagh stand as the final side to reach a St Patrick’s Day final, having come through the group stages. “That makes it even more special, but Wallace are a big entity and that will be a big test,” said Dougan. “Three wins out of three (in their group) and we gave away a couple of silly tries when we would have had a clean sheet. “It gave us a chance to play some of those teams that we have never played before...so I thought it was good.” Armagh came through a tight quarter-final against Regent House. The semi-final against Rainey was more straightforward. “We had them (Regent House) on our home pitch and just managed to hold them out and we were happy with our performance that day,” said Dougan. “It was a good team performance (Rainey Endowed) and we played for each other. "And we are just hoping that we can take that into the final now.” Like his Wallace counterpart Jon Rodgers, Dougan feels the battle of the back rows will be vital towards assuring dominance. “We have a good back row in Sam Graham and Bailey Russell and we’d back ourselves every day of the week,” he said. “We’ll go into it not taking a backward step and I’d say it will be a large part of the game now.” Six of Royal School Armagh’s nine cup victories came in the first eight years of the competition’s history. On St Patrick’s Day they will have a chance to surpass Coleraine and become the most successful school outside the Belfast ‘big three’ in the tournament’s history. “We don’t take days like that for granted," said Royal School Armagh coach Jonny Gillespie. “We are probably in the bottom 10 per cent of schools in terms of numbers so we have to maximise what we have. "We have had to wait a wee while, 2020 didn’t happen so we have had to wait since 2004. “There is no weight or expectation of pressure for us, it is just another game of rugby and we’ll do our very best to win it. “We’re very respectful of Wallace and what they have done...they have had some phenomenal results and they have beaten us already this season, so they start in my eyes as favourites. “That is up to us to close that gap and we will have a plan of course and we’ll just take the first 10 minutes and see how things go. “We are there to execute our plan and be the best possible version of ourselves that we can be. "We are under no illusions that it is going to be really tough but we are excited for the challenge. "But this is why you play the game and train...to test yourself against the best and I think Wallace probably are this year, so let’s see. “Once the first whistle goes it’s over to the boys...we just want to make ourselves proud, the school and the community proud.” ROYAL SCHOOL ARMAGH: Alex Stinson, Charlie Reaney, Cameron Dale, Harry Dougan, James Reid, Bailey Russell, Sam Gray, Thomas Dougan, Will Boyd, Evan Hughes, Zakir Majid, Cameron Cummings, Nathan Hamilton, Ryan Hamilton, Tristan Morris, Matthew George, Harry Hutchinson, Ben Todd, Isaac Kingston, Finlay Starrett, Reuben Finlay, Adam Harrison, Matthew Watterson.
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