Medallion Shield
Logo of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union
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| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| No. of teams | 38 (season 2013-14) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Royal School Armagh |
| Most titles |
Methodist College Belfast 35 outright and 3 shared |
| Related competitions |
Ulster Schools Cup |
| Official website |
Ulster Rugby Danske Bank Schools Cup |
| Notes | |
| Also includes subsidiary competitions - Medallion Plate, Medallion Bowl and Medallion Trophy | |
The Medallion Shield is an annual rugby union competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The competition is open to all schools within Ulster, but only schools from within Northern Ireland currently enter, with no entries from schools situated in the three Ulster counties within the Republic of Ireland.
The competition has been contested continuously since its inception in 1910 and, in that time, fourteen different schools have secured at least a shared win of the shield. Teams entering the Medallion Shield are composed of boys that are under 15 years of age at the start of the school year. Entry in 2012-13 stood at 38 schools.
Methodist College Belfast and Royal Belfast Academical Institution are the most successful schools with 38 wins (35 outright wins and 3 shared wins).
The current holder is The Royal School, Armagh.
It was reported in 1909 that discussions had taken place between Belfast Royal Academy, Campbell College, Methodist College and Royal Belfast Academical Institution about setting up a rugby junior competition for pupils with an age qualification given as under fifteen years of age on 1 November. The success of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup which had started that year had prompted these discussions. Henry McIntosh, the Headmaster of Methodist College and respected rugby coach, was the main driving force behind the idea.
In 1910 Methodist College and Royal Belfast Academical Institution proceeded with the competition and for the first five years only these two schools competed. The third school to join was Royal School Dungannon in 1915.Bangor Grammar School entered for the first time in 1916, with Ballymena Academy and Coleraine Academical Institution following in 1917.
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