Ulster Rugby vs Cardiff Blues

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IRFU
ULSTER BRANCH
Kingspan Stadium,
85 Ravenhill Park,
Belfast, BT6 0DG
T // +44 (0)28 9049 3222
OFFICERS
Bobby Stewart
// President
John McKibbin
// Senior Vice President
Graffin Parke
// Junior Vice President
John McKibbin
// Honorary Secretary
Michael Boyd
// Honorary Treasurer
Denis Gardiner
// Competitions Secretary
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Shane Logan
// Chief Executive
Chris Webster
// Domestic Rugby Manager
Audrey Robinson
// Financial Controller
Fiona Hampton
// Head of Sales & Marketing
PRESIDENT’S
WELCOME
I would particularly like to welcome
the officials, players and supporters
who have made the trip from Wales
and I hope that you enjoy your time in
Belfast.
With the World Cup taking place this
is just the fifth round of the PRO12, but
more importantly it is just the second
of 16 consecutive games for both
teams. This will mean that the coaches
will have to carefully manage the
player’s game time to ensure that they
get sufficient time to recover.
Cardiff has got off to a shaky start with
only one win to date and will be intent
on bettering their position of eighth in
the PRO12 this evening.
Ulster have also got off to a shaky
start and will want to capitalise on the
reputation of ‘Fortress Kingspan’.
I had hoped that I would be
congratulating Ireland on reaching
the semi-final of the World Cup but
unfortunately that was not to be.
When you look at the results of the
quarter-finals I think the last pool game
between France took too much out of
both sides as they both looked tired in
their matches.
With the World Cup over for Ireland
we can look forward to our Ulster
representatives returning to Kingspan
Stadium.
Les Kiss will be taking up his
appointment as Director of Rugby in
November and I welcome him and his
family to Belfast and I hope that they
enjoy their time here.
This week sees the first round of the All
Ireland Junior Cup and I wish Ulster’s
representatives Bangor, Clogher
Valley, Dromore and Instonians good
luck and I hope to see their names in
the quarter-final draw.
Tonight is a special night for our charity
of the year, Alzheimer’s Society. Fans
have been asked to wear funky hats
and bucket collectors will be around
the stadium. Please donate as much
as you can to this fantastic cause and
help support their ‘Don’t keep it under
your hat’ campaign.
I hope that you all enjoy the game
tonight and give Cardiff Blues a great
Ulster reception this evening.
Good luck to Ulster and remember,
STAND UP FOR THE ULSTERMEN!!
Bobby Stewart // President
IRFU (Ulster Branch)
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to
Kingspan Stadium this evening for this Guinness
PRO12 match against Cardiff Blues.