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Following consultation with clubs it was decided to run
the Youth Leagues under a regionalised structure for the
2016/17 season. This was in the hope that more players
and volunteers would become involved. While it is
accepted that the new arrangement was not universally
popular and did not suit everyone, on balance it has
been agreed to continue the structure for at least one
more season.
This season the Youth Committee has taken on
responsibility for the management of the Youth Girls’
game. Work continues on engaging and fully integrating
their representatives into the Youth Structures.
Alignment of the rules and regulations is underway and
while the Girls’ game is not without its challenges, it
does present a huge opportunity for further growth. For
next season it is hoped to run two leagues at U15 and
one at U18.
Use of the IRFU player registration system has
improved, as clubs get more familiar with the process,
with the result that there have been considerably fewer
instances of teams being excluded from competitions
for playing ineligible players. Whilst the Youth
Committee’s main focus is on growing the game, it is
also the vehicle for the dissemination of information to
clubs such as law changes, safety updates and general
rugby information.
The dedicated work of the Youth Competition
Committee, which oversees the running of all Youth
league and cup games is much appreciated. The
Y.C.C. is responsible for the organisation of the League
Finals for all age grades, played at Mid-Ulster Sports
Arena, Cookstown in April. The Girls U18 and U15
Cup finals, held at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena, were both
won by Virginia, with the Youth Plate, Bowl and Shield
finals taking place at MUSA in Cookstown. The season
culminated with very successful Ulster Carpets Youth
Cup Finals day at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday
13th May where Portadown won the U14 Cup, Virginia
was successful the U16 Cup and Armagh retained the
U18 Cup in front of very enthusiastic supporters. The
results of all Youth League and Cup competitions are
recorded in appendices at the rear of the report.
The Ulster Branch is extremely appreciative of the
support of Ulster Carpets who continue to sponsor
not only our Youth League and Cup Competitions but
also the monthly awards to recognise the work and
effort that clubs are putting into the Youth game. These
awards are particularly appreciated as they recognise
the tremendous contribution to Youth rugby of club
volunteers, so vital to the future of our sport.
Thanks also go to the Youth Committee, under
the chairmanship of Paul Hart, for all its work and
commitment throughout the year.
MINI RUGBY
Forty-five clubs provided mini rugby at the start of
the season, ensuring that right through the province
children were given the opportunity to participate
within the sport. Numbers of participants at each club
remained steady.
As the change from the traditional national festival
format proved successful it was decided at national level
to retain the format for the incoming season. Ballyclare
RFC once again hosted this season’s festival that saw
twenty teams from across the province and five teams
from Leinster making the journey to the province,
including five girls’ sides for the first time.
The culmination of the Aviva National festival series
was the National event at the Aviva Stadium on the
20th May. Ulster was well represented by four U10
boys’ sides and one U12 girls’ side. The clubs taking
part were Armagh, Ballymena, Inishowen, Lisburn and
Virginia.
The two areas identified at the start of the season as
a focus for mini rugby were the development of the
U12 age group and the registration of all club mini
rugby players. Sterling work by the Ulster Branch
Development Staff ensured that both of these areas
showed a significant improvement during the course of
the year.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Centra, every mini rugby
club in the province has had the opportunity to play
at the Kingspan Stadium during half time, focusing on
the U12 age group. In addition the support of Maxol
resulted in the running of festivals throughout the Ulster
Region, focusing on the U7, U9 and U12 age groups. In
total nine festivals were scheduled to take part through
the course of the season.
Overall it has been a successful season for mini rugby
in Ulster and it is sincerely hoped that the increasing
focus on the introduction of the girls’ game the province
will see a further increase in playing numbers and
participating clubs.
AGE GRADE AND
REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS
ULSTER UNDER 20S
Head Coach
Kieran Campbell
Assistant Coach:
Willie Anderson
Strength and Conditioning:
David Drake
Manager:
Hugh McCaughey
Physio:
Dave Minion
Doctor:
Phil McClelland
Resources Manager:
Andy Weir
Video Analysis:
Bryan Young/Johnny Creighton
Ulster’s Academy had an intensive summer training
schedule, with great commitment from the players and
coaches alike, leading into the interprovincial matches in
September.
Prior to the games against the two other Provinces
(Connacht withdrew from this year’s round of games),
Ulster had a training camp and played Aurillac in France.
This proved a very worthwhile exercise with the young
Ulstermen coming out on top in a tough encounter
and beating a large and physical team from Aurillac,
who are of course coached by former Ulster favourite
Jeremy Davidson. It also gave the squad and coaches
a chance to hone some of the summer preparation
and test players and patterns in a testing competitive
environment.
The first Inter-pro was against Leinster. The first half
was an evenly contested affair, with both sides playing
IRFU ULSTER BRANCH
ANNUAL REPORT & STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2016/17
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