Preview of this weekend's club rugby action...
It was a good weekend for the Ulster UBL clubs with wins for Ballynahinch, Malone, City of Armagh, Rainey OB, Dungannon and Omagh with Banbridge, Queens Uni, Belfast Harlequins and Bangor going down to narrow defeats. Three intercept tries in the second half cost Ballymena dearly in their 27 -15 loss at Shannon with struggling City of Derry losing 49 – 14 at MU Barnhall. Malone remain leaders in Div 2A with Ballynahinch 2nd and Banbridge 4th in Div 1B. Queens Uni are 4th with City of Armagh 5th in Div 2A. Rainey OB are 2nd with Dungannon 7th in Div 2B. Both Belfast Harlequins and City of Derry occupy 9th and 10th place in Div 2B. In Div 2C Omagh are 3rd and Bangor 4th. Not a bad return from the Ulster teams to have 7/12 occupying top four places in their leagues.
There were many impressive performances. Ballynahinch winning in Cork. City of Armagh coming back from a 24 – 6 deficit at halftime to win 30 – 27 at home to Queens Uni. Dungannon defeating 4th place Wanderers 17 -12. The two wins that impressed were Malone scoring eight tries in their 55 – 14 win at Greystones and Omagh who came back from a 25 – 13 behind at halftime to win away to Thomond 39 – 32 scoring six tries in the process.
Belfast Harlequins narrowly lost out to league leaders Old Crescent in Div 2B 29 – 27 at Deramore Park. What a result that would have been the 10th place team defeating the 1st place team. The back to back games in the UBL over the next two weeks are crucial for the ambitions of the Ulster clubs going into the Christmas break before the league resumes on the 6th January.
This weekend in Round 9 we have several entertaining games with the pick being the clash of the top two teams in Div 1B Ballynahinch and Shannon meeting at Ballymacarn Park. We also have the Ulster derby involving City of Derry and Dungannon at the Craig Thompson stadium.
You will have noticed that Rainey OB are the only Ulster UBL team not playing this weekend. Their game at Irish Independent Park in Cork has been put back to the 16th December as Munster are using the pitch on Saturday.
Congratulations have to go to City of Armagh rugby club on their 1st and 2nd xv reaching the Senior and Junior Cup Finals at the Kingspan stadium. The 1st xv will play Ballymena in the final of the First Trust Senior Cup on Tuesday the 19th December followed by City of Armagh seconds who play the current holders of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup, Ballynahinch seconds on Thursday the 21st December. What a week it will promise for the club after the 1st xv won the Stevenson Shield last season.
It was not to be for Malone rugby club in their 125th Anniversary season as the seconds lost out to a last minute score at Ballynahinch to lose 15 – 14 in the Junior Cup semi final. This added to the disappointment of the 1st xv losing out to City of Armagh in the Senior Cup semi final the previous week.
It is an indication of the progress clubs including Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Malone, City of Armagh and Rainey OB are making as these teams compete for UBL honours this season. I could not leave out Omagh rugby club who have made incredible progress in their return to the UBL. Their strength in depth has been the key to their success. The fact that Ballynahinch, Malone and City of Armagh seconds are able to compete with the top Junior Clubs in Ulster demonstrates the playing resources clubs need to compete in the UBL.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Ballyclare remain the pacesetters in Division 1 with neighbours Carrickfergus in 2nd place. These two teams are to play each other at the Cloughan on Boxing Day, December 26th. What a feast of rugby this fixture will promise for club supporters.
Instonians and Dromore will have something to say about the outcome of this league. Can CIYMS, Cooke and Coleraine challenge for the top four. As to who finishes in the bottom two places that is a contest between Clogher Valley, Enniskillen and Portadown.
In Div 2: Grosvenor remain out in front three points ahead of 2nd place Randalstown with these two teams due to meet at Neilsbrook on the 16th December. Third place Ballymoney return to league action this week after their Junior Cup journey came to an end after losing 17 – 7 at home to City of Armagh seconds in the semi finals.
There is considerable interest at the bottom end of this Division with six points separating five teams, Ards, Lisburn, Limavady, PSNI and UUC.
In Div 3 the top two teams Lurgan and Donaghadee meet at Pollack Park with three points separating the two teams.
In Conference League One we have a top of the table clash between Ballynahinch seconds and City of Armagh seconds at Ballymacarn Park. With the 1st xv playing Shannon it promises to be another busy day for the officials at Ballynahinch rugby club.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE
DIV 1A
Clontarf (5) v Dublin Uni (8)
Garryowen (2) v Cork Constitution (3)
St Mary’s College )9) v Buccaneers (10)
Terenure College (4) v Young Munster (7)
UCD (6) v Lansdowne(1)
DIV 1B
Ballymena (9) v Old Belvedere (3)
Ballynahinch (2) v Shannon (1)
Banbridge (4) v Dolphin (10)
Naas (7) v Old Wesley (6)
UL Bohemians (8) v UCC (5)
Ballymena v Old Belvedere
Has been a difficult opening first half to the season for Ballymena. They have lost their last three UBL games including all four games at home to slip down into 9th place. They have reached the final of the First Trust Senior Cup to be played at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday the 21st December against City of Armagh.
Their opponents this weekend Old Belvedere under the guidance of former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan have recovered from relegation last season to move up to 3rd place in the league. Out of their last 6 UBL games they have won 4, drawn 1 and their only defeat came three weeks ago at Banbridge where they lost narrowly 15 – 14.
The challenge for Ballymena is to start picking up league points with five points separating the teams in 6th – 9th place. Crucial two weeks coming up for the Ballymena club.
The 27 -15 defeat at Shannon may have looked a comprehensive defeat for Ballymena. This was far from the case. Three intercept tries gifted the home side a convincing win in the second half. Head coach Andy Graham believes his team have only themselves to blame for recent defeats. Again the team made 2/3 line breaks they failed to take advantage off. The team are good enough to win but they attempt to play rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch. There is so much good stuff Ballymena are playing it is the errors and mistakes that are letting the team down. The coach is seeing improvement in every game with the defence much improved. Bench replacement Ryan Matheison came off the bench to score a fine individual try to wrap up the Ballymena scoring at Shannon.
Last weekend Ballymena were missing Stephen Mulholland, David Whann, Adrian Hamilton, Matthew Rea, Ross Kane, Matthew Agnew, James Gallagher, Nacho Clandera, Andrew Ferguson, Michael Stronge and Jonny Rossborough. Both Rossborough and Ferguson were unavailable with the rest of the players carrying injuries.
Further injuries were picked up in the Shannon match with Marcus Rea, Bryan Young ruled out this week. Callum Patterson, Glenn Baillie and Mark Foster all face late fitness tests for injuries they received.
Ulster releases this week include: David Shanahan, Brett Herron, Adam McBurney, Matthew Rea and Callum Patterson. Mathew Agnew is expected to be available. Injuries rule out Marcus Rea and Clive Ross.
The coach is having to manage Michael Stronge (Ireland Sevens) and Matty Agnew and Angus Kernohan involved in Ireland Under 20 squad training during this UBL block of games.
He will welcome back Nacho Clandera and Stephen Mulholland to the pack this week. The coach is hoping David Whann and Adrian Hamilton along with James Gallagher will be available for next week. With British & Irish Cup commitments next weekend the Ballymena coach will need all his club players fit for the return trip to Old Belvedere.
Ballymena team: 1. Nacho Clandera, 2. Adam McBurney, 3. Chris Cundell, 4. If Mark Foster does not come through a fitness test Joe Thompson/Matthew Rea may start in second row. 5. Conor Smyth, 6. Stephen Mulholland, 7. Matthew Agnew, 8. Matthew Rea, 9. David Shanahan, 10. Brett Herron, 11. Glen Baillie, 12. Callum Patterson, 13. Angus Kernohan, 14. Dean Reynolds, 15. Rodger McBurney. Replacements to be finalised from Andrew Ferguson, James Taggart, Josh Bill, Dominic Gallagher, Russell Blair, Ryan Matheison, Matthew Norris, Jonny Rossborough and Michael Stronge.
Ballynahinch v Shannon
That was a crucial 22 – 18 win against UCC for Ballynahinch against a top four team after losing games against Old Belvedere and Banbridge. Two wins against league leaders Shannon will see Ballynahinch sitting top of Div 1B going into the Christmas break. Ballynahinch have won 5/6 of their UBL games with their only loss coming at Banbridge.
Ulster releases include: Peter Browne, Aaron Cairns, Jonny McPhillips, David Busby, Rory Butler and Kyle McCall. Injury rules out Jonny ‘Mo’ Simpson, Jack Regan and Aaron Hall.
Banbridge v Dolphin
These are the ‘banana skin’ games where if players and teams are not switched on they can lose these games against teams fighting for their survival. Daniel Soper will make sure his players are totally focused for the visit of Dolphin who have lost their last 6 UBL games.
Head coach Daniel Soper was disappointed with his teams 21 – 20 loss at Old Wesley. Too many errors, too many penalties and a soft defence contributed to their defeat. At times the team were excellent but they must strive to sustain playing for 80 mins.
Injuries rules out Nick Hayes and Conor Field this week. Both Tom O’Toole and Rob Lyttle will travel with Ulster to Wales on Friday night but will be available to play on Saturday.
Ulster releases include: Rob Lyttle, Caleb Montgomery. Eric O’Sullivan and Tom O’Toole. Nick Timoney and Greg Jones are involved with Ulster with James Hume and Michael Lowry on the injured list.
DIV 2A
Blackrock College (7) v Nenagh Ormond (3)
Cashel RFC (6) v City of Armagh (5)
Galwegians (9) v Highfield (2)
Malone (1) v Galway Corinthians (8)
Queens Uni (4) v Greystones (10)
City of Armagh v Cashel RFC
Armagh staged one of the most dramatic comebacks to win 30 – 27 against Queens Uni at the Palace Grounds last week. It ended a four match losing run. This weekend they face County Tipperary side Cashel who are level on 20 points with Armagh. Wins for both teams are crucial to contest the playoffs.
Assistant coach Chris Parker was encouraged by the second half showing from his Armagh team to come back from a 24 – 6 halftime deficit at home to Queens Uni to win 30 – 27 last Saturday. The players showed a lot of character to get themselves back into the game and come out on the right side of the result. The first half however was very disappointing. Any time the Armagh team made an error it was capitalised upon by a clinical Queens side. The second xv result in winning their Junior Cup semi final at Ballymoney 17 – 7 has given everybody a real boost and it is great to be involved in both Cup Finals, but there is a lot of rugby to be played before those two finals and the players know that their focus is first and foremost on this week with two extremely difficult away for the 1st xv at Cashel and the seconds top of the table clash with Ballynahinch.
Selection this week won’t be confirmed until after training on Thursday night. There are a number of players carrying bangs and niggles that need to be assessed with a couple of players to confirm their availability to travel. Peter Starrett and John Faloon are available for selection again with Paul Mullan joining Ali Birch and Andrew Willis on the side lines. For both coaches Willy Faloon and Chris Parker it will be a case of resting and rotating a few players this week with the busy schedule coming up in the next four weeks.
Malone v Galway Corinthians
After consecutive losses against City of Armagh in the Senor Cup semi final and a 20 – 11 loss at home to Queens Uni Malone bounced back in emphatic style to run in eight tries in their 55 – 14 win at Dr Hickey Park against Greystones. Now Head coach Paddy Armstrong will be looking a similar response when they play Galway Corinthians home and away. Corinthians have shown this season they can trouble any of the teams in this league losing 17 – 16 at second place Highfield before defeating Cashel 19 – 8 at home. These performances show how dangerous the Connacht side will be. There was some surprise in the 33 – 19 defeat Corinthians suffered at home to Blackrock College last Saturday.
Malone Head coach Paddy Armstrong was pleased with the performance of his team at Greystones. The injury to Ulster Academy prospect Joe Dunleavy will rule him out to the new year after playing so well for the team. There will be a couple of late fitness tests on Thursday night before the team is confirmed for Saturday.
Ulster releases include: Jack Owens, Peter Cooper and Matthew Dalton with Joe Dunleavy ruled out through injury.
Queens Uni v Greystones
What can you say. Queens leading 24 – 6 at Armagh to lose 30 – 27 last weekend. No doubt many questions were asked at the Dub in training this week by the students coaching team.
Ulster releases include: Jonny Stewart. Injury rules out releases of Angus Curtis and Alexander Clarke.
DIV 2B
City of Derry (10) v Dungannon (7)
Old Crescent (1) v Navan RFC (3)
Skerries (6) v MU Barnhall (5)
Wanderers (4) v Belfast Harlequins (9)
City of Derry v Dungannon
After the results last weekend City of Derry dropped down into 10th place on points difference behind 9th place Belfast Harlequins. Their only win this season came at home against Belfast Harlequins 32 – 17. It is an interesting meeting this match between the two teams. Last season with City of Derry struggling they surprised everybody by defeating Dungannon at home 16 – 15 on the 31.12.16 and then travelling to Stevenson Park where they recorded another one point win this time winning 18 – 17. In the season 2015/16 City of Derry won 37 – 25 at Stevenson Park on the 31.10.15 with Dungannon winning at Judges Road 9 – 7 0n the 6.2.16. Will we see City of Derry doing the same this weekend at the Craig Thompson Stadium. Dungannon come into the game on the back of two wins in the UBL. An understrength City of Derry team lost 49 – 14 away to MU Barnhall.
Backs coach Richard McCarter acknowledges City of Derry face two tough games against Dungannon. They will be looking to repeat the results of last season. Out half Neil Burns scored his team’s 14 points including two tries in their 49 – 14 defeat away to MU Barnhall last Saturday.
Stephen Corr, Adam Bratton, Ross Harkin and Thomas Cole return to the squad this week with injury ruling out David Ferguson, David Graham and Simon Logue.
Dungannon Head coach Andy Hughes is pleased that his new combinations are starting to come together after back to back wins against Wanderers and Belfast Harlequins. With injuries to John Russell and Duran Drummeck the coach has found a new half back pairing of scrum half Ben Matchett and out half Chris Swash with Swash contributing 16 points against Quins and scoring two of the Dungannon tries at home to Wanderers in the teams 17 – 12 win last week. Each week the coach is seeing improvement in the backline with the team improving each week in their performances.
The next two games against City of Derry will have a massive impact on the team’s season leading into the Christmas period. After the two narrow defeats last season his team will not under estimate them. Judges Road is always a tough place to go. They are always a strong physical side with plenty of quality throughout the team.
In this league if you turn up off your game you will lose which Old Crescent very nearly found out last week at Belfast Harlequins.
Selection wise: Andrew McPhillips, Duran Krummeck and John Russell are out injured with both Adam Batt and Daniel Maxwell unavailable. Mark Riddell returns to the squad after being unavailable for the Wanderers match.
Belfast Harlequins v Wanderers
Belfast Harlequins Head coach Nicky Wells makes a number of changes with Dan Bingham unavailable due to work commitments. Forwards coach Danny Annett comes into the second row with Jaz Andress moving to 6. Matt McKenzie returns at 10 with the coach hoping to confirm the availability of Paul Kerr to play at full back in the absence of the unavailable Mark Glover.
DIV 2C
Bective Rangers (9) v Thomond (2)
Bruff (6) v Midleton (7)
Omagh (3) v Malahide (5)
Sligo (1) v Bangor (4)
Tullamore (10) v Seapoint (8)
Omagh v Malahide
Both these teams met in the Round Robin Playoffs at the end of last season with Malahide winning 26 -17 at the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields. These two sides had impressive wins last weekend with Omagh scoring six tries in their 39 – 32 win at Thomond and Malahide winning 21 – 0 at home to Bruff. Omagh are undefeated in their last 3 x UBL matches. All the ingredients are there for another titanic struggle between these two teams this weekend.
Head coach Phil Marshall was delighted with the character of his players to win at Thomond in Limerick on Saturday. Replacement hooker Phil Ewing picked up a shoulder injury and will be replaced by prop Kyle Alexander with Matthew Sproule covering hooker. Otherwise the coach is going with the same squad that travelled to Limerick. The challenge for the coaches is to nurse the squad through the next two weeks in the games against Malahide.
Sligo v Bangor
Bangor lost their unbeaten home record going down 22 – 17 to Bective Rangers last week. The challenge for the team is to bounce back from this defeat and pick up valuable league points against league leaders Sligo in these back to back games.
1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong was disappointed to see his Bangor team lose to Bective Rangers at Upritchard Park last weekend. As he keeps pointing out to me there is very little between the teams in this league. Only 16 points separate the 10 teams in the league with 4th place Bangor only 8 points ahead of 10th place Tullamore. The problem against Bective was the team did not play for the first 50 mins.
The playing squad has trained well this week after a ‘heart to heart session’ with coaches Jason Morgan and Lewis Stevenson on Tuesday night. There are areas the players are working on with accuracy with ball in hand and field kicking that are putting the team under pressure. It was the total 80 min performances that secured wins over Bruff and Midleton. That is what the coaches are looking for in the back to back games with Sligo. To win games in the UBL you need that attitude in every match. The defeat at home to Bective and the realisation the team need points will hopefully focus the minds of the players.
Selection has been difficult this week with several tough calls. Bangor team: 1. Philip Whyte (Captain), 2. Andrew Shaw, 3. James Leary, 4. Dave Caughey, 5. With Lewis Stevenson unavailable Jack Cooke will move from number 8 into the second row. The back row will be picked from James Henley, Ryan Latimer, David Bradford and Jamie Clegg. 9. Gareth Wright, 10. Lewis Bret, 12. Mark Widdowson, 13. Phil Broderick. Back three will be picked from Dave Charles, Desi Fusco, Nathan Graham, Jules Storey, Ross McCloskey and Rob Gamble based on training on Thursday night. The forward replacements will be picked from Andrew Jackson, Martin Withers, Evan Wellard McMillan and Charlie Clegg.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 1
Ballyclare (1) v Portadown (8)
CIYMS (5) v Instonians (2)
Clogher Valley (10) v Carrickfergus (2)
Coleraine (7) v Enniskillen (9)
Cooke (6) v Dromore (4)
Ballyclare v Portadown
Head coach Mike McKeever was delighted with his teams 27 – 10 bonus point win at Enniskillen two weeks ago. He would have taken a win never mind the bonus point at Mullaghmeen. In Ricky Lutton, Dave Clarke, Ryan Tweed and Joel McBride he had stand-out players in their win.
The challenge for the coach is building continuity in selection. He has been trying to add a form of rotation in a few positions from week to week to assist with adding depth for when injuries/unavailability might occur and giving opportunity to other players to impress. This has been the case with Gareth Byers, Aaron Coleman, Owen Kirk and Callum Wilson in the outside backs and front row forwards Dean Jones, Rory Henderson and Al Boyd and back row players Paul Robinson and Ryan Tweed being rotated. These rotations are not confirmed until the team is finalised on a Thursday night with lessons having been learnt from previous seasons as the coaches look to strengthen the senior sides for the latter part of the season.
This approach has helped the development of the clubs second xv. This team are producing some great performances this season in the league and are building a cup run which is excellent for competition at training. There was joy at the club last weekend as Ballyclare seconds defeated previously undefeated Ballynahinch thirds in the Crawford Cup.
For the coach it is pleasing to see the number of players coming down to the club from the two local schools to play senior rugby at Ballyclare.
Portadown Head coach Richard Hedley was very disappointed with his players performance against Carrick at home. There were too many unforced errors that were punished by Carrick. The games don’t get any easier with the team having to travel to leaders Ballyclare.
Selection wise: Mark Muldrew is not available with Robert Greenlee, Ryan Muldrew, Michael Orr and Josh Matchett returning to the team.
The coach is still awaiting a couple of late fitness tests before finalising his team on Thursday night.
CIYMS v Instonians
Head coach Gareth Fry has a few injury worries ahead of the game with Instonians. Both Paddy Aiken and Stuart Ferguson are unavailable along with centre Nathan Burns and prop Tim Acheson for this week. The coach still expects to select a strong squad with team selection to be finalised on Thursday night.
One area that has concerned Gareth Fry is the difficulty coaches have in keeping numbers up at training and motivating players with games only being played every other week. This situation provides no continuity for the team.
With this game being a Belfast derby the CI coach is expecting a very physical game against a very strong Instonians team that contains two recent professional players in their squad. His squad are looking forward to the challenge at Belmont on Saturday afternoon.
It is back to league action this weekend for the Instonians coaching team of William Leacock, Roger Wilson and Jon Andress. They face a tough physical Belfast derby away to CIYMS at Belmont. Second row Harry Cleland remains out long term with a shoulder injury. The coaches welcome back Rory McCurry after injury and back row forward Josh Atkinson after illness.
Clogher Valley v Carrickfergus
The Fivemiletown side lost their last league game at CIYMS 27 – 14 two weeks ago. Carrickfergus overwhelmed Portadown at Chambers Park to move into second place. Crucial game for both teams.
Coleraine v Enniskillen
Head coach Richard Boyd was really pleased with the performance and attitude of his young squad in their 26 – 18 win at Cooke two weeks ago. The Club have a long injury list at the minute but the young squad played really well and deservedly got the victory. This is a big game for the 1st xv at the weekend and the players have to really stepped things up in training in recent weeks. It is important the team back up the performance at Cooke to keep the momentum going and build confidence.
Enniskillen are always a tough side to beat and they will be well drilled. His Coleraine team will have to try and match their set piece if they are to have any chance of winning this match with discipline an area the team have to improve. The weather will have a big part to play and it is important his team adapt to the conditions and keep the error count down.
In terms of selection this week the coaches have selected the same team that won at Cooke with the only change being on the bench with Dijon McCorkell returning from injury to boost the teams front row options.
For Enniskillen Head coach William Gibson he is without the services of Robert Balacoune and Jamie Johnston this week with both being replaced by Tyler Millar and Alex Gormley.
Yes the league table does not make great reading, but there is still a long way to go. The players are putting more pressure on themselves to raise their levels on the training pitch and on match days. He is hoping they get the reward for their hard work over the last couple of weeks. His players enjoyed the break after the Ballyclare game and are looking forward to a good match at Coleraine.
Cooke v Dromore
Head coach Colin Atkinson has been disappointed with his team’s recent results. The problem has been the players have not played for the full 80 minutes. They know they are capable of doing so much better. In this league you need to be on your game every week or else you will lose. The fixture list again is proving very frustrating with the on/off fixture programme. An example is Cooke second xv have only played one game in the last six weeks having received a bye in the Foster Plate last week. It is tough on the players to stay motivated to train and push themselves. The playing squad all need competition to push their performance.
Selection this week will be finalised on Thursday night. Matthew Elliott is ruled out following an concussion injury 2 minutes into the Coleraine game. He is joined by Adrian Dodd who is ruled out with a groin injury. Second row Andrew Quigley will make a welcome return in the pack for Saturday.
On another note Colin Atkinson was keen to mention the great work of Noel Brown with Cooke under 16s and Our Lady & Saint Patrick’s College Knock and their Medallion team. His work is helping to build the number of players interested in playing rugby from traditionally non rugby playing communities. There was a clip on BBC News line last Friday night about the school that has been shared on Cooke rugby club Facebook page.
A new face we have noticed playing on Cooke 1st xv is Robert Mitchell. Robert is a Scottish player who played at the club several seasons ago and has returned to Northern Ireland to work.
Dromore Director of Rugby Jeremy Ogle is looking to the 1st xv to build on their wins over Ballynahinch seconds and CIYMS when they travel to Shaws bridge on Saturday. With the clubs second xv going well in the league and Cup there have been greater numbers turning out to train during the week.
The team for Cooke will be finalised on Thursday night after a number of late fitness tests. It is expected to be similar to the side that defeated CIYMS 31 – 20.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE DIV 1
Ballynahinch seconds (2) v City of Armagh seconds (1)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 2
Academy (5) v Lisburn (7)
Grosvenor (10) v Ards (6)
PSNI (9) v Ballymoney (3)
Academy v Lisburn
For Head coach Gareth Lynn it will be a case of him lifting his Academy players after back to back losses against Malone seconds and Ards. The defeat at Ards was particularly difficult to take. The team had been on an unbeaten run. They were leading 12 – 0 at Ards and then were routed by an Ards team who scored 57 unanswered points to win 57 – 12. Academy face a Lisburn team who have only won 1/7 and need league points to avoid the bottom two places. The team have shown in recent games how they have improved losing at Limavady 36 – 24 and going down at home to Larne 22 – 15.
Grosvenor v Ards
The Div 2 league leaders have won 7/7 and remain favourites to win the league. In their last league outing they travelled to 3rd place Ballymoney and won 23 – 0.
Ards Head coach John West was missing a number of players in the teams 30 – 21 defeat at Ballymena seconds in the Conference league two weeks ago. The coach and his players are looking forward to match against Grosvenor on Saturday. Robert Ford has done a tremendous job with the Grosvenor team over the last couple of seasons. They have set the benchmark for the rest of the teams in Div 2 this season. He is looking to measure his teams progress against them to see where they are.
Ards are expected to be on similar lines to the side that defeated Academy 57 – 12 four weeks ago. Numbers have been good at training with selection to to be finalised on Thursday night.
PSNI v Ballymoney
It has been a busy several weeks for the Ballymoney coaches and players as they managed their team through a busy Junior Cup, league and Conference league programme. The opportunity is there for the team to return to winning ways after suffering successive defeats against City of Armagh seconds in the Junior Cup and league leaders Grosvenor at Kilraught Road.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE DIV 2
Banbridge seconds (7) v Larne (10)
Limavady (12) v Omagh seconds (5)
Randalstown (4) v Ballymena seconds (6)
UUC (13) v Malone seconds (1)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 3
BHSFP (8) v Holywood (9)
Cavan (7) v Strabane (3)
Donegal Town (12) v Civil Service (11)
Letterkenny (10) v Monaghan (4)
Lurgan (1) v Donaghadee (2)
Newry (6) v Virginia (5)
Preview compiled by George Millar
It was a good weekend for the Ulster UBL clubs with wins for Ballynahinch, Malone, City of Armagh, Rainey OB, Dungannon and Omagh with Banbridge, Queens Uni, Belfast Harlequins and Bangor going down to narrow defeats. Three intercept tries in the second half cost Ballymena dearly in their 27 -15 loss at Shannon with struggling City of Derry losing 49 – 14 at MU Barnhall. Malone remain leaders in Div 2A with Ballynahinch 2nd and Banbridge 4th in Div 1B. Queens Uni are 4th with City of Armagh 5th in Div 2A. Rainey OB are 2nd with Dungannon 7th in Div 2B. Both Belfast Harlequins and City of Derry occupy 9th and 10th place in Div 2B. In Div 2C Omagh are 3rd and Bangor 4th. Not a bad return from the Ulster teams to have 7/12 occupying top four places in their leagues.
There were many impressive performances. Ballynahinch winning in Cork. City of Armagh coming back from a 24 – 6 deficit at halftime to win 30 – 27 at home to Queens Uni. Dungannon defeating 4th place Wanderers 17 -12. The two wins that impressed were Malone scoring eight tries in their 55 – 14 win at Greystones and Omagh who came back from a 25 – 13 behind at halftime to win away to Thomond 39 – 32 scoring six tries in the process.
Belfast Harlequins narrowly lost out to league leaders Old Crescent in Div 2B 29 – 27 at Deramore Park. What a result that would have been the 10th place team defeating the 1st place team. The back to back games in the UBL over the next two weeks are crucial for the ambitions of the Ulster clubs going into the Christmas break before the league resumes on the 6th January.
This weekend in Round 9 we have several entertaining games with the pick being the clash of the top two teams in Div 1B Ballynahinch and Shannon meeting at Ballymacarn Park. We also have the Ulster derby involving City of Derry and Dungannon at the Craig Thompson stadium.
You will have noticed that Rainey OB are the only Ulster UBL team not playing this weekend. Their game at Irish Independent Park in Cork has been put back to the 16th December as Munster are using the pitch on Saturday.
Congratulations have to go to City of Armagh rugby club on their 1st and 2nd xv reaching the Senior and Junior Cup Finals at the Kingspan stadium. The 1st xv will play Ballymena in the final of the First Trust Senior Cup on Tuesday the 19th December followed by City of Armagh seconds who play the current holders of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup, Ballynahinch seconds on Thursday the 21st December. What a week it will promise for the club after the 1st xv won the Stevenson Shield last season.
It was not to be for Malone rugby club in their 125th Anniversary season as the seconds lost out to a last minute score at Ballynahinch to lose 15 – 14 in the Junior Cup semi final. This added to the disappointment of the 1st xv losing out to City of Armagh in the Senior Cup semi final the previous week.
It is an indication of the progress clubs including Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Malone, City of Armagh and Rainey OB are making as these teams compete for UBL honours this season. I could not leave out Omagh rugby club who have made incredible progress in their return to the UBL. Their strength in depth has been the key to their success. The fact that Ballynahinch, Malone and City of Armagh seconds are able to compete with the top Junior Clubs in Ulster demonstrates the playing resources clubs need to compete in the UBL.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Ballyclare remain the pacesetters in Division 1 with neighbours Carrickfergus in 2nd place. These two teams are to play each other at the Cloughan on Boxing Day, December 26th. What a feast of rugby this fixture will promise for club supporters.
Instonians and Dromore will have something to say about the outcome of this league. Can CIYMS, Cooke and Coleraine challenge for the top four. As to who finishes in the bottom two places that is a contest between Clogher Valley, Enniskillen and Portadown.
In Div 2: Grosvenor remain out in front three points ahead of 2nd place Randalstown with these two teams due to meet at Neilsbrook on the 16th December. Third place Ballymoney return to league action this week after their Junior Cup journey came to an end after losing 17 – 7 at home to City of Armagh seconds in the semi finals.
There is considerable interest at the bottom end of this Division with six points separating five teams, Ards, Lisburn, Limavady, PSNI and UUC.
In Div 3 the top two teams Lurgan and Donaghadee meet at Pollack Park with three points separating the two teams.
In Conference League One we have a top of the table clash between Ballynahinch seconds and City of Armagh seconds at Ballymacarn Park. With the 1st xv playing Shannon it promises to be another busy day for the officials at Ballynahinch rugby club.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE
DIV 1A
Clontarf (5) v Dublin Uni (8)
Garryowen (2) v Cork Constitution (3)
St Mary’s College )9) v Buccaneers (10)
Terenure College (4) v Young Munster (7)
UCD (6) v Lansdowne(1)
DIV 1B
Ballymena (9) v Old Belvedere (3)
Ballynahinch (2) v Shannon (1)
Banbridge (4) v Dolphin (10)
Naas (7) v Old Wesley (6)
UL Bohemians (8) v UCC (5)
Ballymena v Old Belvedere
Has been a difficult opening first half to the season for Ballymena. They have lost their last three UBL games including all four games at home to slip down into 9th place. They have reached the final of the First Trust Senior Cup to be played at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday the 21st December against City of Armagh.
Their opponents this weekend Old Belvedere under the guidance of former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan have recovered from relegation last season to move up to 3rd place in the league. Out of their last 6 UBL games they have won 4, drawn 1 and their only defeat came three weeks ago at Banbridge where they lost narrowly 15 – 14.
The challenge for Ballymena is to start picking up league points with five points separating the teams in 6th – 9th place. Crucial two weeks coming up for the Ballymena club.
The 27 -15 defeat at Shannon may have looked a comprehensive defeat for Ballymena. This was far from the case. Three intercept tries gifted the home side a convincing win in the second half. Head coach Andy Graham believes his team have only themselves to blame for recent defeats. Again the team made 2/3 line breaks they failed to take advantage off. The team are good enough to win but they attempt to play rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch. There is so much good stuff Ballymena are playing it is the errors and mistakes that are letting the team down. The coach is seeing improvement in every game with the defence much improved. Bench replacement Ryan Matheison came off the bench to score a fine individual try to wrap up the Ballymena scoring at Shannon.
Last weekend Ballymena were missing Stephen Mulholland, David Whann, Adrian Hamilton, Matthew Rea, Ross Kane, Matthew Agnew, James Gallagher, Nacho Clandera, Andrew Ferguson, Michael Stronge and Jonny Rossborough. Both Rossborough and Ferguson were unavailable with the rest of the players carrying injuries.
Further injuries were picked up in the Shannon match with Marcus Rea, Bryan Young ruled out this week. Callum Patterson, Glenn Baillie and Mark Foster all face late fitness tests for injuries they received.
Ulster releases this week include: David Shanahan, Brett Herron, Adam McBurney, Matthew Rea and Callum Patterson. Mathew Agnew is expected to be available. Injuries rule out Marcus Rea and Clive Ross.
The coach is having to manage Michael Stronge (Ireland Sevens) and Matty Agnew and Angus Kernohan involved in Ireland Under 20 squad training during this UBL block of games.
He will welcome back Nacho Clandera and Stephen Mulholland to the pack this week. The coach is hoping David Whann and Adrian Hamilton along with James Gallagher will be available for next week. With British & Irish Cup commitments next weekend the Ballymena coach will need all his club players fit for the return trip to Old Belvedere.
Ballymena team: 1. Nacho Clandera, 2. Adam McBurney, 3. Chris Cundell, 4. If Mark Foster does not come through a fitness test Joe Thompson/Matthew Rea may start in second row. 5. Conor Smyth, 6. Stephen Mulholland, 7. Matthew Agnew, 8. Matthew Rea, 9. David Shanahan, 10. Brett Herron, 11. Glen Baillie, 12. Callum Patterson, 13. Angus Kernohan, 14. Dean Reynolds, 15. Rodger McBurney. Replacements to be finalised from Andrew Ferguson, James Taggart, Josh Bill, Dominic Gallagher, Russell Blair, Ryan Matheison, Matthew Norris, Jonny Rossborough and Michael Stronge.
Ballynahinch v Shannon
That was a crucial 22 – 18 win against UCC for Ballynahinch against a top four team after losing games against Old Belvedere and Banbridge. Two wins against league leaders Shannon will see Ballynahinch sitting top of Div 1B going into the Christmas break. Ballynahinch have won 5/6 of their UBL games with their only loss coming at Banbridge.
Ulster releases include: Peter Browne, Aaron Cairns, Jonny McPhillips, David Busby, Rory Butler and Kyle McCall. Injury rules out Jonny ‘Mo’ Simpson, Jack Regan and Aaron Hall.
Banbridge v Dolphin
These are the ‘banana skin’ games where if players and teams are not switched on they can lose these games against teams fighting for their survival. Daniel Soper will make sure his players are totally focused for the visit of Dolphin who have lost their last 6 UBL games.
Head coach Daniel Soper was disappointed with his teams 21 – 20 loss at Old Wesley. Too many errors, too many penalties and a soft defence contributed to their defeat. At times the team were excellent but they must strive to sustain playing for 80 mins.
Injuries rules out Nick Hayes and Conor Field this week. Both Tom O’Toole and Rob Lyttle will travel with Ulster to Wales on Friday night but will be available to play on Saturday.
Ulster releases include: Rob Lyttle, Caleb Montgomery. Eric O’Sullivan and Tom O’Toole. Nick Timoney and Greg Jones are involved with Ulster with James Hume and Michael Lowry on the injured list.
DIV 2A
Blackrock College (7) v Nenagh Ormond (3)
Cashel RFC (6) v City of Armagh (5)
Galwegians (9) v Highfield (2)
Malone (1) v Galway Corinthians (8)
Queens Uni (4) v Greystones (10)
City of Armagh v Cashel RFC
Armagh staged one of the most dramatic comebacks to win 30 – 27 against Queens Uni at the Palace Grounds last week. It ended a four match losing run. This weekend they face County Tipperary side Cashel who are level on 20 points with Armagh. Wins for both teams are crucial to contest the playoffs.
Assistant coach Chris Parker was encouraged by the second half showing from his Armagh team to come back from a 24 – 6 halftime deficit at home to Queens Uni to win 30 – 27 last Saturday. The players showed a lot of character to get themselves back into the game and come out on the right side of the result. The first half however was very disappointing. Any time the Armagh team made an error it was capitalised upon by a clinical Queens side. The second xv result in winning their Junior Cup semi final at Ballymoney 17 – 7 has given everybody a real boost and it is great to be involved in both Cup Finals, but there is a lot of rugby to be played before those two finals and the players know that their focus is first and foremost on this week with two extremely difficult away for the 1st xv at Cashel and the seconds top of the table clash with Ballynahinch.
Selection this week won’t be confirmed until after training on Thursday night. There are a number of players carrying bangs and niggles that need to be assessed with a couple of players to confirm their availability to travel. Peter Starrett and John Faloon are available for selection again with Paul Mullan joining Ali Birch and Andrew Willis on the side lines. For both coaches Willy Faloon and Chris Parker it will be a case of resting and rotating a few players this week with the busy schedule coming up in the next four weeks.
Malone v Galway Corinthians
After consecutive losses against City of Armagh in the Senor Cup semi final and a 20 – 11 loss at home to Queens Uni Malone bounced back in emphatic style to run in eight tries in their 55 – 14 win at Dr Hickey Park against Greystones. Now Head coach Paddy Armstrong will be looking a similar response when they play Galway Corinthians home and away. Corinthians have shown this season they can trouble any of the teams in this league losing 17 – 16 at second place Highfield before defeating Cashel 19 – 8 at home. These performances show how dangerous the Connacht side will be. There was some surprise in the 33 – 19 defeat Corinthians suffered at home to Blackrock College last Saturday.
Malone Head coach Paddy Armstrong was pleased with the performance of his team at Greystones. The injury to Ulster Academy prospect Joe Dunleavy will rule him out to the new year after playing so well for the team. There will be a couple of late fitness tests on Thursday night before the team is confirmed for Saturday.
Ulster releases include: Jack Owens, Peter Cooper and Matthew Dalton with Joe Dunleavy ruled out through injury.
Queens Uni v Greystones
What can you say. Queens leading 24 – 6 at Armagh to lose 30 – 27 last weekend. No doubt many questions were asked at the Dub in training this week by the students coaching team.
Ulster releases include: Jonny Stewart. Injury rules out releases of Angus Curtis and Alexander Clarke.
DIV 2B
City of Derry (10) v Dungannon (7)
Old Crescent (1) v Navan RFC (3)
Skerries (6) v MU Barnhall (5)
Wanderers (4) v Belfast Harlequins (9)
City of Derry v Dungannon
After the results last weekend City of Derry dropped down into 10th place on points difference behind 9th place Belfast Harlequins. Their only win this season came at home against Belfast Harlequins 32 – 17. It is an interesting meeting this match between the two teams. Last season with City of Derry struggling they surprised everybody by defeating Dungannon at home 16 – 15 on the 31.12.16 and then travelling to Stevenson Park where they recorded another one point win this time winning 18 – 17. In the season 2015/16 City of Derry won 37 – 25 at Stevenson Park on the 31.10.15 with Dungannon winning at Judges Road 9 – 7 0n the 6.2.16. Will we see City of Derry doing the same this weekend at the Craig Thompson Stadium. Dungannon come into the game on the back of two wins in the UBL. An understrength City of Derry team lost 49 – 14 away to MU Barnhall.
Backs coach Richard McCarter acknowledges City of Derry face two tough games against Dungannon. They will be looking to repeat the results of last season. Out half Neil Burns scored his team’s 14 points including two tries in their 49 – 14 defeat away to MU Barnhall last Saturday.
Stephen Corr, Adam Bratton, Ross Harkin and Thomas Cole return to the squad this week with injury ruling out David Ferguson, David Graham and Simon Logue.
Dungannon Head coach Andy Hughes is pleased that his new combinations are starting to come together after back to back wins against Wanderers and Belfast Harlequins. With injuries to John Russell and Duran Drummeck the coach has found a new half back pairing of scrum half Ben Matchett and out half Chris Swash with Swash contributing 16 points against Quins and scoring two of the Dungannon tries at home to Wanderers in the teams 17 – 12 win last week. Each week the coach is seeing improvement in the backline with the team improving each week in their performances.
The next two games against City of Derry will have a massive impact on the team’s season leading into the Christmas period. After the two narrow defeats last season his team will not under estimate them. Judges Road is always a tough place to go. They are always a strong physical side with plenty of quality throughout the team.
In this league if you turn up off your game you will lose which Old Crescent very nearly found out last week at Belfast Harlequins.
Selection wise: Andrew McPhillips, Duran Krummeck and John Russell are out injured with both Adam Batt and Daniel Maxwell unavailable. Mark Riddell returns to the squad after being unavailable for the Wanderers match.
Belfast Harlequins v Wanderers
Belfast Harlequins Head coach Nicky Wells makes a number of changes with Dan Bingham unavailable due to work commitments. Forwards coach Danny Annett comes into the second row with Jaz Andress moving to 6. Matt McKenzie returns at 10 with the coach hoping to confirm the availability of Paul Kerr to play at full back in the absence of the unavailable Mark Glover.
DIV 2C
Bective Rangers (9) v Thomond (2)
Bruff (6) v Midleton (7)
Omagh (3) v Malahide (5)
Sligo (1) v Bangor (4)
Tullamore (10) v Seapoint (8)
Omagh v Malahide
Both these teams met in the Round Robin Playoffs at the end of last season with Malahide winning 26 -17 at the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields. These two sides had impressive wins last weekend with Omagh scoring six tries in their 39 – 32 win at Thomond and Malahide winning 21 – 0 at home to Bruff. Omagh are undefeated in their last 3 x UBL matches. All the ingredients are there for another titanic struggle between these two teams this weekend.
Head coach Phil Marshall was delighted with the character of his players to win at Thomond in Limerick on Saturday. Replacement hooker Phil Ewing picked up a shoulder injury and will be replaced by prop Kyle Alexander with Matthew Sproule covering hooker. Otherwise the coach is going with the same squad that travelled to Limerick. The challenge for the coaches is to nurse the squad through the next two weeks in the games against Malahide.
Sligo v Bangor
Bangor lost their unbeaten home record going down 22 – 17 to Bective Rangers last week. The challenge for the team is to bounce back from this defeat and pick up valuable league points against league leaders Sligo in these back to back games.
1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong was disappointed to see his Bangor team lose to Bective Rangers at Upritchard Park last weekend. As he keeps pointing out to me there is very little between the teams in this league. Only 16 points separate the 10 teams in the league with 4th place Bangor only 8 points ahead of 10th place Tullamore. The problem against Bective was the team did not play for the first 50 mins.
The playing squad has trained well this week after a ‘heart to heart session’ with coaches Jason Morgan and Lewis Stevenson on Tuesday night. There are areas the players are working on with accuracy with ball in hand and field kicking that are putting the team under pressure. It was the total 80 min performances that secured wins over Bruff and Midleton. That is what the coaches are looking for in the back to back games with Sligo. To win games in the UBL you need that attitude in every match. The defeat at home to Bective and the realisation the team need points will hopefully focus the minds of the players.
Selection has been difficult this week with several tough calls. Bangor team: 1. Philip Whyte (Captain), 2. Andrew Shaw, 3. James Leary, 4. Dave Caughey, 5. With Lewis Stevenson unavailable Jack Cooke will move from number 8 into the second row. The back row will be picked from James Henley, Ryan Latimer, David Bradford and Jamie Clegg. 9. Gareth Wright, 10. Lewis Bret, 12. Mark Widdowson, 13. Phil Broderick. Back three will be picked from Dave Charles, Desi Fusco, Nathan Graham, Jules Storey, Ross McCloskey and Rob Gamble based on training on Thursday night. The forward replacements will be picked from Andrew Jackson, Martin Withers, Evan Wellard McMillan and Charlie Clegg.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 1
Ballyclare (1) v Portadown (8)
CIYMS (5) v Instonians (2)
Clogher Valley (10) v Carrickfergus (2)
Coleraine (7) v Enniskillen (9)
Cooke (6) v Dromore (4)
Ballyclare v Portadown
Head coach Mike McKeever was delighted with his teams 27 – 10 bonus point win at Enniskillen two weeks ago. He would have taken a win never mind the bonus point at Mullaghmeen. In Ricky Lutton, Dave Clarke, Ryan Tweed and Joel McBride he had stand-out players in their win.
The challenge for the coach is building continuity in selection. He has been trying to add a form of rotation in a few positions from week to week to assist with adding depth for when injuries/unavailability might occur and giving opportunity to other players to impress. This has been the case with Gareth Byers, Aaron Coleman, Owen Kirk and Callum Wilson in the outside backs and front row forwards Dean Jones, Rory Henderson and Al Boyd and back row players Paul Robinson and Ryan Tweed being rotated. These rotations are not confirmed until the team is finalised on a Thursday night with lessons having been learnt from previous seasons as the coaches look to strengthen the senior sides for the latter part of the season.
This approach has helped the development of the clubs second xv. This team are producing some great performances this season in the league and are building a cup run which is excellent for competition at training. There was joy at the club last weekend as Ballyclare seconds defeated previously undefeated Ballynahinch thirds in the Crawford Cup.
For the coach it is pleasing to see the number of players coming down to the club from the two local schools to play senior rugby at Ballyclare.
Portadown Head coach Richard Hedley was very disappointed with his players performance against Carrick at home. There were too many unforced errors that were punished by Carrick. The games don’t get any easier with the team having to travel to leaders Ballyclare.
Selection wise: Mark Muldrew is not available with Robert Greenlee, Ryan Muldrew, Michael Orr and Josh Matchett returning to the team.
The coach is still awaiting a couple of late fitness tests before finalising his team on Thursday night.
CIYMS v Instonians
Head coach Gareth Fry has a few injury worries ahead of the game with Instonians. Both Paddy Aiken and Stuart Ferguson are unavailable along with centre Nathan Burns and prop Tim Acheson for this week. The coach still expects to select a strong squad with team selection to be finalised on Thursday night.
One area that has concerned Gareth Fry is the difficulty coaches have in keeping numbers up at training and motivating players with games only being played every other week. This situation provides no continuity for the team.
With this game being a Belfast derby the CI coach is expecting a very physical game against a very strong Instonians team that contains two recent professional players in their squad. His squad are looking forward to the challenge at Belmont on Saturday afternoon.
It is back to league action this weekend for the Instonians coaching team of William Leacock, Roger Wilson and Jon Andress. They face a tough physical Belfast derby away to CIYMS at Belmont. Second row Harry Cleland remains out long term with a shoulder injury. The coaches welcome back Rory McCurry after injury and back row forward Josh Atkinson after illness.
Clogher Valley v Carrickfergus
The Fivemiletown side lost their last league game at CIYMS 27 – 14 two weeks ago. Carrickfergus overwhelmed Portadown at Chambers Park to move into second place. Crucial game for both teams.
Coleraine v Enniskillen
Head coach Richard Boyd was really pleased with the performance and attitude of his young squad in their 26 – 18 win at Cooke two weeks ago. The Club have a long injury list at the minute but the young squad played really well and deservedly got the victory. This is a big game for the 1st xv at the weekend and the players have to really stepped things up in training in recent weeks. It is important the team back up the performance at Cooke to keep the momentum going and build confidence.
Enniskillen are always a tough side to beat and they will be well drilled. His Coleraine team will have to try and match their set piece if they are to have any chance of winning this match with discipline an area the team have to improve. The weather will have a big part to play and it is important his team adapt to the conditions and keep the error count down.
In terms of selection this week the coaches have selected the same team that won at Cooke with the only change being on the bench with Dijon McCorkell returning from injury to boost the teams front row options.
For Enniskillen Head coach William Gibson he is without the services of Robert Balacoune and Jamie Johnston this week with both being replaced by Tyler Millar and Alex Gormley.
Yes the league table does not make great reading, but there is still a long way to go. The players are putting more pressure on themselves to raise their levels on the training pitch and on match days. He is hoping they get the reward for their hard work over the last couple of weeks. His players enjoyed the break after the Ballyclare game and are looking forward to a good match at Coleraine.
Cooke v Dromore
Head coach Colin Atkinson has been disappointed with his team’s recent results. The problem has been the players have not played for the full 80 minutes. They know they are capable of doing so much better. In this league you need to be on your game every week or else you will lose. The fixture list again is proving very frustrating with the on/off fixture programme. An example is Cooke second xv have only played one game in the last six weeks having received a bye in the Foster Plate last week. It is tough on the players to stay motivated to train and push themselves. The playing squad all need competition to push their performance.
Selection this week will be finalised on Thursday night. Matthew Elliott is ruled out following an concussion injury 2 minutes into the Coleraine game. He is joined by Adrian Dodd who is ruled out with a groin injury. Second row Andrew Quigley will make a welcome return in the pack for Saturday.
On another note Colin Atkinson was keen to mention the great work of Noel Brown with Cooke under 16s and Our Lady & Saint Patrick’s College Knock and their Medallion team. His work is helping to build the number of players interested in playing rugby from traditionally non rugby playing communities. There was a clip on BBC News line last Friday night about the school that has been shared on Cooke rugby club Facebook page.
A new face we have noticed playing on Cooke 1st xv is Robert Mitchell. Robert is a Scottish player who played at the club several seasons ago and has returned to Northern Ireland to work.
Dromore Director of Rugby Jeremy Ogle is looking to the 1st xv to build on their wins over Ballynahinch seconds and CIYMS when they travel to Shaws bridge on Saturday. With the clubs second xv going well in the league and Cup there have been greater numbers turning out to train during the week.
The team for Cooke will be finalised on Thursday night after a number of late fitness tests. It is expected to be similar to the side that defeated CIYMS 31 – 20.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE DIV 1
Ballynahinch seconds (2) v City of Armagh seconds (1)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 2
Academy (5) v Lisburn (7)
Grosvenor (10) v Ards (6)
PSNI (9) v Ballymoney (3)
Academy v Lisburn
For Head coach Gareth Lynn it will be a case of him lifting his Academy players after back to back losses against Malone seconds and Ards. The defeat at Ards was particularly difficult to take. The team had been on an unbeaten run. They were leading 12 – 0 at Ards and then were routed by an Ards team who scored 57 unanswered points to win 57 – 12. Academy face a Lisburn team who have only won 1/7 and need league points to avoid the bottom two places. The team have shown in recent games how they have improved losing at Limavady 36 – 24 and going down at home to Larne 22 – 15.
Grosvenor v Ards
The Div 2 league leaders have won 7/7 and remain favourites to win the league. In their last league outing they travelled to 3rd place Ballymoney and won 23 – 0.
Ards Head coach John West was missing a number of players in the teams 30 – 21 defeat at Ballymena seconds in the Conference league two weeks ago. The coach and his players are looking forward to match against Grosvenor on Saturday. Robert Ford has done a tremendous job with the Grosvenor team over the last couple of seasons. They have set the benchmark for the rest of the teams in Div 2 this season. He is looking to measure his teams progress against them to see where they are.
Ards are expected to be on similar lines to the side that defeated Academy 57 – 12 four weeks ago. Numbers have been good at training with selection to to be finalised on Thursday night.
PSNI v Ballymoney
It has been a busy several weeks for the Ballymoney coaches and players as they managed their team through a busy Junior Cup, league and Conference league programme. The opportunity is there for the team to return to winning ways after suffering successive defeats against City of Armagh seconds in the Junior Cup and league leaders Grosvenor at Kilraught Road.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE DIV 2
Banbridge seconds (7) v Larne (10)
Limavady (12) v Omagh seconds (5)
Randalstown (4) v Ballymena seconds (6)
UUC (13) v Malone seconds (1)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 3
BHSFP (8) v Holywood (9)
Cavan (7) v Strabane (3)
Donegal Town (12) v Civil Service (11)
Letterkenny (10) v Monaghan (4)
Lurgan (1) v Donaghadee (2)
Newry (6) v Virginia (5)
Preview compiled by George Millar