Bangor RFC have rounded off a fantastic 2015/16 season in style by winning the Round-Robin Inter-Provincial Qualifying League and securing their place in Senior Rugby for 2016/17.
Bangor travelled to Clonmel on Saturday knowing that a win would guarantee them at least a play-off spot for promotion to Division 2C of the Ulster Bank League. What transpired was a superb 29-12 bonus point victory that ensured they topped the league and secured automatic promotion to the senior ranks for the club’s first time since 2002.
With their main rivals Enniscorthy expected to take a bonus win over Westport, Bangor faced the onerous task of not only beating two time Munster champions Clonmel on their home patch, but also recording a try-scoring bonus point to ensure automatic promotion.
Bangor got off to a dream start when David Bradford intercepted a loose pass for a clear run into the left corner on 2 minutes. Jason Morgan added the conversion to put Bangor 7 points in front.
Following a narrowly missed penalty attempt by Clonmel shortly after, Bangor again went on the charge and forced a penalty inside the host’s 22. Bangor opted for the scrum, forcing some room for Number 8 Curtis Stewart to pick up and drive over the line. Morgan once again added the extras and Bangor now lead 14-0.
On 23 minutes Stewart once again went in search of the line but was this time held short, however the ball was quickly transferred to Davy Charles on the right wing and he managed to squeeze in at the corner. Now 19-0 up, Bangor were just one try away from that all-important bonus point.
Clonmel initiated a fight-back but after several phases of attacking play, Bangor forced a turnover to relive the pressure. Kicks by Gareth Millar and Mark Widdowson forced Clonmel back and their defender could only slice his kick out to give Bangor an attacking line-out inside the twenty two. A few phases later Phil Whyte charged over from 5 metres for the bonus point try. Morgan tapped over the conversion and Bangor now held a commanding 26-0 lead.
Clonmel continued to fight resolutely and were rewarded on 38 minutes when they found a gap in the Bangor defence to register an unconverted try, leaving the score 26-5 at the interval.
The second half was much less of exciting spectacle as Bangor sought to consolidate their lead, while Clonmel were unable to break down an impressive Bangor defence. Yellow cards were issued to Davy Charles and Darren Kelly following a number of penalty infringements by Bangor, and Clonmel eventually made use of the extra man to get the converted try and narrow the gap to 26-12.
For the final 10 minutes, it never looked as though Clonmel could draw back the required scores, and indeed it was Bangor who had the final say following a sustained period of pressure, they were awarded a penalty under the posts. Morgan converted to the sound of the full-time whistle and sparked jubilant scenes of celebration for Bangor.
Bangor team: J Leary, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, C Burton, M Aspley, D Bradford, J Clegg (c), J Guthrie, G Millar, M Widdowson, J Morgan, M Weir, D Charles, R McCloskey.
Subs: A Jackson, C Stewart, P Dornan, D Caughey, N Cuthbertson.
Bangor scorers: D Bradford (1T), C Stewart (1T), D Charles (1T), P Whyte (1T), J Morgan (3C, 1P).
The win tops off a fantastic season for Bangor RFC, who had already collected the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup, Powerade Towns Cup, Kukri Qualifying League one title, Conference League One title and narrowly missed out on All Ireland Junior Cup Final after losing their semi final to eventual winners Enniscorthy.
It has been a tremendous achievement by Head Coach Jason Morgan and his assistant Michael Ferguson to guide their players through what can be best described as a marathon season, as Morgan commented:
“It’s just sinking in now what we have done, it’s a very difficult thing in Irish rugby to do. It was our 38th fixture of the season, whereas the Southern teams are only playing around 25 so we’re really proud of what the boys have done. It has taken a huge squad effort, and that is probably what I am most proud of. Players have been prepared to play for the 2’s and then take their chance when they got it. No-one has walked away from the team, so I’m very proud of them all.”
As player-coach, Morgan has been at the heart of the Bangor success story, “We’ve got a really good committee at Bangor with some progressive thinking guys. I had spent a year at Ards and they approached me and asked me to get back involved with club. I think they knew what I was capable of, they put a lot of trust in me and they have given me all the support both as a player and also as I moved into a coaching role.”
Morgan was also keen to stress that this wasn’t an overnight success story, and is the result of a longer term strategy: “Five years ago we finished mid-table in Qualifying Two, and we set a plan of where we wanted to go. A huge amount of work has went into getting it right. It has been a long haul but we’ve finally managed to get it, and hopefully we can carry that momentum going forward as a senior club.”
Looking ahead, Morgan is adamant that Bangor won’t be content with just consolidating their position in Senior rugby, “We’re certainly not going up to make up the numbers. We feel that if we can add two or three players in key areas to the squad we will be there or thereabouts. We’d be hoping to have a run in the Senior Cup, then we’ll be aiming to finish in the top four of the league. We’ll be keeping an eye on the Enniscorthy versus Sligo game this weekend, and that might give us an idea of how we can compete next year.”
Bangor travelled to Clonmel on Saturday knowing that a win would guarantee them at least a play-off spot for promotion to Division 2C of the Ulster Bank League. What transpired was a superb 29-12 bonus point victory that ensured they topped the league and secured automatic promotion to the senior ranks for the club’s first time since 2002.
With their main rivals Enniscorthy expected to take a bonus win over Westport, Bangor faced the onerous task of not only beating two time Munster champions Clonmel on their home patch, but also recording a try-scoring bonus point to ensure automatic promotion.
Bangor got off to a dream start when David Bradford intercepted a loose pass for a clear run into the left corner on 2 minutes. Jason Morgan added the conversion to put Bangor 7 points in front.
Following a narrowly missed penalty attempt by Clonmel shortly after, Bangor again went on the charge and forced a penalty inside the host’s 22. Bangor opted for the scrum, forcing some room for Number 8 Curtis Stewart to pick up and drive over the line. Morgan once again added the extras and Bangor now lead 14-0.
On 23 minutes Stewart once again went in search of the line but was this time held short, however the ball was quickly transferred to Davy Charles on the right wing and he managed to squeeze in at the corner. Now 19-0 up, Bangor were just one try away from that all-important bonus point.
Clonmel initiated a fight-back but after several phases of attacking play, Bangor forced a turnover to relive the pressure. Kicks by Gareth Millar and Mark Widdowson forced Clonmel back and their defender could only slice his kick out to give Bangor an attacking line-out inside the twenty two. A few phases later Phil Whyte charged over from 5 metres for the bonus point try. Morgan tapped over the conversion and Bangor now held a commanding 26-0 lead.
Clonmel continued to fight resolutely and were rewarded on 38 minutes when they found a gap in the Bangor defence to register an unconverted try, leaving the score 26-5 at the interval.
The second half was much less of exciting spectacle as Bangor sought to consolidate their lead, while Clonmel were unable to break down an impressive Bangor defence. Yellow cards were issued to Davy Charles and Darren Kelly following a number of penalty infringements by Bangor, and Clonmel eventually made use of the extra man to get the converted try and narrow the gap to 26-12.
For the final 10 minutes, it never looked as though Clonmel could draw back the required scores, and indeed it was Bangor who had the final say following a sustained period of pressure, they were awarded a penalty under the posts. Morgan converted to the sound of the full-time whistle and sparked jubilant scenes of celebration for Bangor.
Bangor team: J Leary, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, C Burton, M Aspley, D Bradford, J Clegg (c), J Guthrie, G Millar, M Widdowson, J Morgan, M Weir, D Charles, R McCloskey.
Subs: A Jackson, C Stewart, P Dornan, D Caughey, N Cuthbertson.
Bangor scorers: D Bradford (1T), C Stewart (1T), D Charles (1T), P Whyte (1T), J Morgan (3C, 1P).
The win tops off a fantastic season for Bangor RFC, who had already collected the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup, Powerade Towns Cup, Kukri Qualifying League one title, Conference League One title and narrowly missed out on All Ireland Junior Cup Final after losing their semi final to eventual winners Enniscorthy.
It has been a tremendous achievement by Head Coach Jason Morgan and his assistant Michael Ferguson to guide their players through what can be best described as a marathon season, as Morgan commented:
“It’s just sinking in now what we have done, it’s a very difficult thing in Irish rugby to do. It was our 38th fixture of the season, whereas the Southern teams are only playing around 25 so we’re really proud of what the boys have done. It has taken a huge squad effort, and that is probably what I am most proud of. Players have been prepared to play for the 2’s and then take their chance when they got it. No-one has walked away from the team, so I’m very proud of them all.”
As player-coach, Morgan has been at the heart of the Bangor success story, “We’ve got a really good committee at Bangor with some progressive thinking guys. I had spent a year at Ards and they approached me and asked me to get back involved with club. I think they knew what I was capable of, they put a lot of trust in me and they have given me all the support both as a player and also as I moved into a coaching role.”
Morgan was also keen to stress that this wasn’t an overnight success story, and is the result of a longer term strategy: “Five years ago we finished mid-table in Qualifying Two, and we set a plan of where we wanted to go. A huge amount of work has went into getting it right. It has been a long haul but we’ve finally managed to get it, and hopefully we can carry that momentum going forward as a senior club.”
Looking ahead, Morgan is adamant that Bangor won’t be content with just consolidating their position in Senior rugby, “We’re certainly not going up to make up the numbers. We feel that if we can add two or three players in key areas to the squad we will be there or thereabouts. We’d be hoping to have a run in the Senior Cup, then we’ll be aiming to finish in the top four of the league. We’ll be keeping an eye on the Enniscorthy versus Sligo game this weekend, and that might give us an idea of how we can compete next year.”