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It is pleasing to note that recruitment target KPI’s have
been met this season. Whilst there is always scope to
improve, the recruitment of persons who are closer to
the start of their sporting days rather than coming to
the end is a key target. All clubs have been asked to
take measures to encourage inactive players towards
refereeing. However, it is disappointing to note the high
number of clubs without any affiliated referees and more
efforts are needed to get clubs to encourage members
to take up refereeing. The USRFR is grateful for the
hard work and commitment of John Crothers and David
Wilkinson junior in the development and delivery of the
recruit intake programme.
The KPI targets for the training and referee development
programmes have been met with more than 51 training
workshops run at all levels. There have also been
some 55 one to one coaching sessions and the newly
introduced use of video analysis has been a significant
development tool with 42 games reviewed and reported
upon. A key element of the Operations Team this year
was the evolution of the Development Group Program
and its associated coaching structure. 16 USRFR
Referees, showing high potential, received over 95
coaching reports either from referee cams or dedicated
experienced coaches attending their games. In addition
there has been 320 general assessments carried out by
Ian Thompson and his team of assessors.
Women’s Adult Rugby
At adult level Cooke finished a credible 6th in the All
Ireland League and also made it to the All Ireland Cup
Final, losing out narrowly 10-7 to Galwegians. Cooke
convincingly beat QUB by 76-15 in the final of the Rosie
Stewart Cup.
This season saw 12 teams involved in Ulster provincial
competitions. Enniskillen won Ulster Division 1 but
were deemed ineligible for promotion to AIL as they did
not meet all of the participation criteria. City of Derry
defeated Enniskillen 24-10 in the Ulster Women’s Senior
Shield.
In the Ulster Women’s Senior Plate Final, Cavan
defeated Carrickfergus 33-0. Ballynahinch defeated
Ballyshannon 48-5 in the ReJenerate Cup Final
whilst Ballymoney defeated Belfast Harlequins in the
Development Shield Final.
At National level, Claire McLaughlin of QUB was
included in the Ireland Six Nations squad and gained
her first cap during the competition. Kathryn Dane,
originally from Enniskillen RFC was included in the
Ireland 7s programme for the first time. Both players
joined Ashely Baxter who has been a member of the
Ireland Women’s Squad and Ireland 7s Squad for a
number of seasons now.
In August 2017, Ireland will play host to the Women’s
Rugby World Cup, with Belfast staging the Semi-final
and Final stages. This world class event provides an
opportunity to raise the profile of the female game within
Ulster and to inspire more females to get involved in all
aspects of the game.
Johnny Neary is stepping down after many years as
Chairman of the Women’s Committee. Johnny has
given tremendous service and commitment to the
development and organisation of the Women’s game in
Ulster and the Branch is very appreciative of all that he
has done over many years.
REFEREES (USRFR)
The Referees Society continues to make a tremendous
contribution to the game in Ulster. Currently there are
140 active referees, which is slightly up on last season,
as well as 43 assessors and 24 trial referees still
undergoing training. Concerns around the retention of
active referees had been raised during the year. These
concerns were investigated and happily were found to
be without foundation. With a drop of a about 10% in the
number of male adult rugby games being played and
referee numbers remaining stable, the USRFR do not
see a crisis in recruitment although the development
potential of the recruit base is continually monitored and
reviewed.
However, there are periods when the requirements
for referee’s peak, such as a large number of Ulster
based AIL fixtures or when the Ulster team plays on a
Saturday along with other PRO12 games. Should these
periods coincide with bouts of unavoidable illnesses,
injuries and various domestic issues, the supply system
of referees becomes strained especially at the higher
grade refereeing levels, and it can become difficult to
cover all available games.
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