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The Forster Cup was won by a strong Malone Fourths
side who overcame a tenacious Enniskillen Seconds
and C.I.Y.M.S. Thirds beat Dungannon Fourths in the
Plate final.
In the last Domestic match of the season at the
Kingspan Stadium, Ballymoney Fourths, captained by
their youthful Clubs Committee representative John
Waide, won the McCambley Cup. In a tremendous
game of rugby they beat Malone Fifths by 22-17. While
obviously lacking the pace and power on view at an
Ulster match, the commitment, enthusiasm and effort of
all thirty six players were a credit to their clubs and it is
very gratifying that the teams at the “bottom” end of our
competition structure can put on such an enjoyable and
entertaining match.
In the final of the Butler Shield Carrickfergus Fourths
completed a great season for the East Antrim club
by coming out on top by seven points against Belfast
Harlequins. The Ravenhill Cup was won by Ballymoney
Fourths.
As recorded above, many of our finals are held at the
Kingspan Stadium. The arrangements for these games
are the responsibility of the stadium management team
and thanks are due to David Boyd, Anita Bayne and
their staff for the superb organisation of these events.
Clubs Committee
As usual, the Clubs Committee meetings were very well
attended and many issues were discussed and debated
over the course of the season. Ulster Branch President
Bobby Stewart chaired the meetings in a very business-
like manner, while Ross Workman’s minutes were
again of the high standard to which we have become
accustomed over the years.
Competitions Management Committee
As was the case last season, the C.M.C. met twenty
one times. As expected, a great deal of the business
was transacted during March and April. The attendance
records prove the dedication and commitment of the
members and their preparedness to give up so much of
their own time is much appreciated.
Denis Gardiner
Denis Gardiner is stepping down as Competitions
Honorary Secretary after 10 years in post. He has
shown tremendous commitment and dedication to
his role of organising and managing competitions at
all levels in Ulster. He has given tremendous service
to Ulster Rugby and has gained the respect and trust
of all clubs. Being a glutton for punishment, Denis is
now taking over another challenging role as Honorary
Secretary of the Ulster Branch and we wish him well in
this new role.
WOMENS RUGBY IN ULSTER
As in previous years, female rugby continues to develop
within Ulster though this season has had a number of
challenges.
As a result of the ending of funding from DCAL the
number of dedicated female rugby officers dropped
from 3 to 1 at the beginning of the season which had a
direct impact on the number of clubs and schools that
could be supported. As the game has grown at adult
and youth level, the amount of administration required
to run competitions etc. has also grown. Unfortunately
the Women’s Committee still suffers from a lack of
willing volunteers, with a lot of the work falling to a
small number of committed individuals. For the game
to grow further and fulfil its potential this is an area that
all stakeholders within the women’s game must help to
support.
Girls Rugby
In Schools rugby the Danske Bank Girls’ Tag Schools
Cup again proved to be popular with 48 teams from 38
schools participating. Enniskillen Collegiate defeated
Ballyclare High School 9 tries to 6 in the Final held
at Kingspan Stadium. This year, as part of a global
trial by World Rugby, the IRFU launched Gx7s – a half
pitch contact 7s programme. In Ulster this proved to
be a popular addition to the schools calendar with
27 teams from 19 schools participating. As a result 4
Ulster Schools qualified for the IRFU National 7s Day at
the Aviva Stadium (Enniskillen Collegiate, Kilkeel High
School, Magh Ene College Bundoran and Monaghan
Collegiate). Enniskillen Collegiate reached the final of
the main competition only to be beaten by a golden try
in extra time, whilst Monaghan Collegiate won the plate
competition.
In Youth rugby, as a direct result of additional funding
from DCAL, 12 clubs (Armagh, Ballyclare, Ballynahinch,
Cooke, City of Derry, Clogher Valley, Donaghadee,
Dungannon, Enniskillen, Limavady, Malone and
Randalstown) were supported with the development of
specific U12 girls’ teams. All 12 clubs attended a blitz
in Cookstown at the end of March and it is hoped that
the majority of these players will progress into their
respective U13 teams next season.
At U15 level, 4 clubs were involved in a league at the
start of the season with a further 3 clubs able to develop
to a stage post-Christmas where they joined these
teams to play a series of friendlies. Work is continuing to
develop and grow the game at this level.
At U18 level 5 teams were involved in a very competitive
league structure. Virginia won the league and a
combined team from Clogher Valley/Armagh won the
cup. Monaghan defeated Enniskillen in the U18 Bowl
Competition. It was pleasing to note that 4 of the 5
teams played a minimum of 9 competitive games
throughout the season.
It is pleasing to report that the end of season youth blitz
at Armagh RFC was the biggest to date with over 250
girls at U12, U15 and U18 taking part on the day. The
growth of the game was also reflected in the fact that
Female Youth rugby was included for a second year at
the prestigious Carrick 7s.
Girls Representative Rugby
In terms of representative rugby, the U18s had an
excellent unofficial Inter-provincial series again this year
and showed further improvement from the year before
despite losing key positional players. The numbers and
standard of players coming through for U18 screenings
is increasing year on year. It was pleasing to see Brittany
Hogan represent Ireland at the Girls U18 7s Tournament
in Belgium.
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