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• Calabar High and Cedar Grove Academy crowned Rugby League U14 and U16 champions

  Rugby League Jamaica concluded its U14 and U16 High School 13-a-side Championships on Friday, April 26, at Campion College. In U14 action, five-time defending champions Calabar High faced off against BB Coke High, whilst in U16, Calabar battled last year’s beaten finalist, Cedar Grove Academy, for top honours.

  In the U14s, Calabar overcame a spirited BB Coke outfit 8-4, to grab their sixth consecutive hold on the trophy.  Jahir Brown scored both tries for the winners, whilst Tyrell Scott got the consolidation try for BB Coke.

  Cedar Grove then won their maiden U16 title with a clinical defensive display, holding off Calabar 14-2. Elvis Simms led the victors with eight points from two tries with support from Steven Constantine with a try while Nathan Brown kicked a goal for two points.  Derone Plummer kicked a goal to give Calabar their only points.

  Commenting on his team’s performance in both finals, Oshane Edie, head coach of Calabar said, “Our U14s are a new young group who just started playing, it’s a great result to get the win and bodes well for the future. Throughout the season Devontae Molar and Amore Anderson were good for us, their exceptional play along with their teammates gave us the victory. As for our U16s, they had a good season, but I think we were a bit overconfident in the finals and paid the price. Overall, the rugby league programme at Calabar remains strong and is looking good for the future.”

  Cedar Grove’s winning coach Antonio Baker attributed victory to hard work stating, “Winning the U16 crown is a culmination of years of work that has finally paid off. We’ve been close on several occasions before, including past year, when we were beaten finalists, but this season our focus was spot on, and we are happy for the school.”

  In other action on the day, Kingston College snatched 3rd place over Campion College 6-4. Armani Burnette with the try for the winners and Donnoy Harris kicking a goal. Meanwhile, Josah Bennett bagged Campion’s lone try.

  In Girls action, BB Coke won the final 9-a-side tournament of the school year, Grove Academy 16-8 and 16-4 in a best of three clash.

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• Manchester United reunion ‘not about me’ – Mark Robins

  Mark Robins insists his FA Cup reunion with Manchester United should not distract from his Coventry side’s own dreams of Wembley glory.

  Robins was a predecessor to the fabled ‘Class of 92’ at Old Trafford, but the glory years of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville may have looked a lot different were it not for his efforts.

  His match-winning goal in the third-round match against Nottingham Forest in 1990 is widely credited with keeping Sir Alex Ferguson in a job, and he was a late substitute as the Red Devils beat Crystal Palace in the final to kick off a trophy-laden golden era.

  On Sunday he finds himself back at the national stadium in an FA Cup semi-final, with the fate of another United manager – the under-pressure Erik ten Hag – potentially in his hands.

  Yet the 54-year-old has been happy to leave the past in the past and has not been bending his squad’s ears with tales of times gone by.

  “Absolutely not. They were all born after 1990, so none of them (know about it),” he said on the eve of the game.

  “I don’t speak about things like that. It doesn’t matter what I did, I just talk about them. This is totally different and management is totally different to playing.

  “It’s not about me, it’s all about the players and the preparation and how they can execute against a top, top team.

  “These players have got an aspiration to play in the Premier League so for me, for them, it’s a chance to see how they perform, regardless of anything else around the game.”

  Robins lays no claim to the disputed version of events that paints him as the reason for sparing the most dominant manager of his generation the sack, but can still be tempted into some mild nostalgia.

  “In fairness I was substitute in a cup final 34 years ago, a brilliant occasion for us as Manchester United. It was fantastic,” he said.

  “There were only two substitutes in those days so to get on the bench in the first place, when there was a lot of talented individuals who didn’t make it, puts it into perspective. I’d just broken into the squad and played a part in the run up to the final.

  “It’s part of my experience, it’s part of my footballing background, but it was a long, long time ago.”

  One of the Sky Blues players players hoping to make some cup memories of their own is 18-goal striker Ellis Simms. A childhood Manchester City fan, Simms scored twice in the dramatic quarter-final victory over Wolves including the decisive strike in the 10th minute of added time.

  He confirmed Robins has kept his own playing days firmly in the background in the build-up to a match that represents a career high for many in the Coventry squad, but believes his efforts in the dugout should be receiving greater attention.

  “It was obviously a few years ago, probably before my time, but I’ve heard bits of it,” Simms said of Robins’ FA Cup success.

  “He’s very humble, but we know he was a top player back in the day. Now it’s about us as players but he’s going to do everything he can to help us.

  “He should get more praise than he does. Getting us this far in the competition, the majority of people didn’t think we would get this far so it’s massive credit to him.”

• John Mousinho admits Portsmouth celebrations took their toll against Wigan

  John Mousinho admitted Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One title celebrations had an impact on their 2-1 defeat to Wigan.

  Pompey had their return to the Championship confirmed after they beat Barnsley on Tuesday, but Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis spoilt their promotion party – which saw them lift the trophy as champions.

  Mousinho said: “I think Wigan deserved to win. We were awful in the first half. I don’t think we got the press right.

  “We were good in possession, but not out of possession, and we got punished for it. We changed things around for the second half and we were more aggressive and much better.

  “Their second goal was poor defensively. We created more chances after our goal but just couldn’t get the equaliser.

  “We wanted to go out on a high, so the players are obviously disappointed to have lost that unbeaten run.

  “I thought we had enough in the tank pre-match to win it, but it’s been a difficult week in terms of normality. Winning on Tuesday, the euphoria of that, and the awards here on Wednesday meant the preparation was very different from the last 44 games.

  “Next week will be back to normal in terms of physicality and mentally.”

  Wigan’s Jonny Smith hit a post in the 13th minute, but the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later when Chambers put the loose ball past Pompey goalkeeper Will Norris.

  Latics sealed the win when Magennis beat Norris with seven minutes to go, despite Kusini Yengi pulling one back for Pompey in the 85th minute.

  Wigan manager Shaun Maloney said: “It was a game of two halves really. The first half was probably the best we’ve played all season. We had chances to increase the lead but didn’t take them. That would have made the game very different.

  “Pompey were talking about keeping up their unbeaten run and reaching 100 points, but we wanted to win this game. We’ve had 500 fans travel down here today, so it was important we played well.

  “Luke really hurt them the first half, and it would be great to have him back next season.

  “Jonny’s really stepped up. I think if anything I need more from him next season. He needs a full pre-season and I think he’s a brilliant player.

  “The game changed after their goal. Sam (Tickle) has made some tremendous saves getting in where it hurts. The scuffle at the end on the touchline was just about two teams wanting to win.”