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BIG OPPORTUNITIES IN THE YEARS AHEAD
Ulster Rugby Chief Executive, Shane Logan,
highlighted the valuable contribution made by
the All Party Group to date, and discussed its
importance for the continued growth of rugby
in Ulster, including the hosting of the Women’s
Rugby World Cup in Belfast next August and
the potential benefits of Ireland hosting the 2023
Rugby World Cup.
The event at Stormont was attended by 17 MLAs,
in addition to First Minister, Arlene Foster, and
Ulster Rugby players Chris Henry, Darren Cave
and Stuart McCloskey.
Speaking at the briefing, Alastair Ross MLA
said, “It is vitally important to work in partnership
and hopefully the All Party Group will continue
to play a positive role in developing the game
of rugby across Ulster. “We also recognise that
sporting organisations are often better placed
than statutory agencies to deliver important
programmes in the community and Ulster
Rugby has successfully done just that with many
Department for Communities’ social strategies.
“The ambition is to get more people playing
rugby. We want to help Ulster Rugby to grow the
game in non-traditional areas, to grow female and
disability rugby, and to support clubs and schools
in terms of improving their infrastructure.
“We want to make sure there is adequate
investment in terms of grassroots rugby and we
need to make sure the levels of investment in
rugby are at the same levels as football and GAA.
“It is important to help the professional game
in Ulster to be competitive and we have been
delighted to see the progress the senior Ulster
side has made over the past five or six years.
“We have successfully supported bids for
Kingspan Stadium to host the 2015 PRO12 Final
and the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. It is
also important to acknowledge that the current
bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup is another
massive opportunity for us in many ways.”
Shane Logan said he was delighted with the
impact the All Party Working Group has made to
date and is excited about what it can deliver for
rugby in the future. “The Working Group, chaired
by Alastair, has helped us to deliver on practical
issues and has allowed us to make an impact
both within the community and in the professional
game.
“Over the past few years, with the support of
the Northern Ireland Executive, we have had
20,000 people from some of the most deprived
backgrounds taking part in rugby programmes.
Female rugby and disability rugby have grown
significantly in that time also, and we have a world
class facility at Kingspan Stadium, which the
entire community can benefit from.
“While there is still a long way to go, particularly to
ensure that our clubs receive greater investment
in their facilities, it’s reassuring to know that the
All Party Working Group is committed to helping
us achieve this. The opportunities around the
Rugby World Cup events in 2017 and 2023 are
huge, and it’s important that we capitalise on
these.”
Alastair Ross MLA, Chair of the All Party Assembly Group on Rugby, hosted
a Breakfast Briefing Reception in Parliament Buildings on Tuesday morning to
provide an update on its progress over the past five years.
ALL PARTY ASSEMBLY GROUP ON RUGBY