There are five Ulster derbies taking place in the Ulster Bank League this weekend, while there are plenty of crucial games in the Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship. Here is our preview of the games...
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Ballynahinch (2nd) v Ballymena (8th)
In their Round 10 Ulster Bank League game at Thomond Park, Ballynahinch lost 49-19 to league leaders Shannon, while the team suffered a 15-11 defeat at Gibson Park against Malone in the Ulster Rugby Premiership. Brian Mclaughlin and his coaching team will want to see their squad win this game to maintain their promotion challenge.
Ballymena Head Coach Andy Graham is hoping for a positive reaction from his team after defeats away to Old Belvedere in the UBL, City of Armagh in the First Trust Senior Cup Final, Dungannon away in the Kyle Cup Final on Boxing Day and Banbridge away in the SONI Ulster Rugby Premiership. Injuries and unavailability have not helped as the coach continues to bring through young players into the 1st XV squad. It is experience these players need and it is a question of how quickly they adapt to the rigours of the All Ireland League.
Injuries rule out Mark Foster, Alan Smyth, Dean Reynolds, Nathan Rankin, John Loughlin with Matthew Norris, James Taggart, Andrew Ferguson and Houston Bonner are likely to be involved with the 2nds in their Towns Cup match away to Dungannon. Bryan Young is not available this weekend.
Graham is expecting a very tough encounter at Ballmacarn Park. He wants his team to be more clinical with the ball and take the chances they are creating. This Brian McLaughlin coached Ballynahinch team are very good at keeping the ball and frustrating their opponents. His team will need to be physical in the contact zone.
The ingredients are there for a keenly contested match. When these two sides met at Eaton Park on the 11th Novemeber, Ballynahinch were comfortable 0-27 winners.
Banbridge (3rd) v Old Belvedere (5th)
Round 10 in Cork ensured Banbridge came away from Irish Independent Park with an impressive 11-16 win over 10th place Dolphin to maintain their promotion challenge. The team continued their winning run with a 31-12 defeat of Ballymena at Rifle Park last Saturday in the Ulster Rugby Premiership. When these two teams last met in November, Banbridge hung on to win 15-14 so another close affair is expected in Dublin.
Both Caleb Montgomery and Eric O’Sullivan have been released by Ulster but injury has ruled out Tom O’Toole, Michael Lowry and James Hume.
Head Coach Dan Soper is aware his team have plenty of areas to work on and improve in the second half of the season. If they do, the team could have a strong finish. His team are expecting a difficult match at Old Belvedere.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2A
Queen’s University (5th) v Malone (1st)
There was relief that Queen’s ended a losing run at Bangor last Saturday by winning 7-36. The team had lost their last three matches in the UBL against City of Armagh and then Greystones in back-to-back games. With work taking Daniel Dass to London, there was a bonus with the return to playing of former Ards, Instonians and Bangor number 8 Curtis Stewart, who put in an impressive ball carrying display against his former club.
There are doubts about the availability of centres Conor McKee and Rory Bell, with Captain Nigel Simpson and David Whitten returning this week to the pack. Back rower Jonny Lees is a major doubt. Winger Mark Keane is another doubt as he follows the return to play protocols.
Malone Head Coach Paddy Armstrong has lost the services of back row forward Phil Lucas for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. He has been delighted with the response of the players who have trained hard throughout the Christmas period.
Both the coaches and the players are looking forward to the return game with Queens at the Dub after losing 11-20 at Gibson Park back in November. Malone warmed up for this fixture with a 15-11 win over Ballynahinch last week. The players showed their fighting qualities to come back from 3-11 to win the match with a strong final quarter.
Jack Owens and Peter Cooper are in line to play, but both Joe Dunleavy and Matthew Dalton are unavailable.
City of Armagh (4th) v Highfield (2nd)
The Armagh team for this one is expected to be along similar lines to the side that defeated Ballymena in the First Trust Senior Cup Final before Christmas. Armagh warmed up for their weekend fixture in Cork by defeating struggling City of Derry 82-0 at the Palace Grounds last Saturday in the SONI Ulster Premiership, scoring 13 tries in the process.
Both Peter Starrett and Andrew Willis remain on the injury list, with the coaches hoping they will be available towards the end of January.
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Dungannon (6th) v Belfast Harlequins (9th)
Dungannon Head Coach Andy Hughes was disappointed with the performance of his team in their 22-15 defeat at Omagh last Saturday. He acknowledged it was not a good day for his team as the performance lacked intensity and structure. On top of that, Dungannon lost two props, Sean O’Hagan and Rodney Bennett, to season-ending injuries.
With no fewer than 12 changes to the squad this week, the coach is hoping the players can pick up from where they have left off prior to the Christmas break. Influential back rower Jonah Mau’u is unavailable as he hasn’t returned from New Zealand yet.
Harlequins Head Coach Nicky Wells was delighted with the attitude of his players in their 18-17 win over Rainey OB in the Ulster Rugby Premiership at Deramore Park last week. For the game at Dungannon, Wells is expected to retain the same pack, with Matthew McKenzie and Mark Glover returning to the backline.
Rainey OB (2nd) v City of Derry (10th)
Head Coach John Andrews was not too concerned about his team’s loss at Belfast Harlequins last Saturday as he used the match to give his extended squad some valuable game time. The only players missing this week are Jason Bloomfield and Josh McIlroy. Rainey will be looking maximum points with their postponed game coming up against Sunday’s Well on the 13th January to narrow the gap on leaders Old Crescent.
City of Derry is in a battle for their survival after another heavy defeat away to City of Armagh last Saturday. Current Head coach Trevor Will is in place for two years, while current Assistant 1st XV Coach James Doherty has a pivotal role as a Community Development Officer in increasing the numbers playing rugby at the club. With the right people in charge, this club can return to being a force in Ulster rugby.
When these two teams met at the Craig Thompson Stadium on 11th November, Rainey won 5-40.
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Bangor (6th) v Omagh (3rd)
Bangor suffered a heavy defeat to Queen’s at home last Saturday as they were unable to cope with the pace and handling skills of the visitors.
Players who were carrying knocks pre-Christmas have recovered to strengthen the options for the Bangor coaches, but captain Philip Whyte and back row forward Ryan Latimer are ruled out for the remainder of the season with long-term injuries.
Omagh Head Coach Phil Marshall has lost hooker Adam Pollock to a shoulder injury but he is hoping to have Richard Hemphill in to replace him, with Ally Beckett expected to take a place on the bench. Otherwise, the team will be the same that done so well against Dungannon. The coach is expecting another really difficult game at Bangor on Saturday (they drew 6-6 at Thomas Mellon Playing Fields earlier this season).
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 1
Clogher Valley (9th) v CIYMS (5th)
Two wins over top four teams Carrickfergus and Dromore at the Cran have moved Clogher Valley up to 9th place. With fellow strugglers Enniskillen playing Portadown, will we see Clogher move out of the bottom two places?
CIYMS have quietly moved up to level on points with 4th placed Carrickfergus after winning 11-15 at Coleraine last Saturday. Head Coach Gareth Fry was delighted with his team’s performance at Coleraine. It was a tight game with the team scoring two excellent tries and then defending well until they conceded a late try.
As with any fixture around Christmas, both teams were missing a few players with the players coming into the CIYMS team performing and adding to the selection decisions to be made this week. Fry is full of praise for the work being done by Forwards Coach Darren Barbour, who is using all his experience from the All Ireland League to mould the pack into a really competitive unit. This has allowed the backs to play some really good rugby in all conditions.
Clogher will be tough opposition, especially after their win over Dromore last week. The Cran is a tough place to visit, but CIYMS will be buoyed by their 27-14 win at Belmont earlier in the season.
Coleraine (7th) v Cooke (6th)
Head Coach Richard Boyd was disappointed with his team’s loss at home to CIYMS on Saturday. The coaches are blooding lots of young local players this year due to the long injury list, with the players learning a lot from this defeat.
Cooke Head Coach Colin Atkinson conceded his team struggled against a very strong Instonians pack in their 33-15 loss at Shaw’s Bridge last Saturday. With a number of players missing, this had an impact on his small playing squad. Injuries continue to hamper the squad as they prepare for the trip to Coleraine.
When these two teams met at Shaw’s Bridge on 18th November, Coleraine won 18-26.
Dromore (3rd) v Ballyclare (1st)
Director of Rugby Jeremy Ogle was deeply disappointed with Dromore’s performance in the 18-8 loss at Clogher Valley last Saturday. Once again, poor form away from home has let them down, with coaches Jonny Cullen and Jamie Kirk working hard to reverse these defeats. Rory Pepper, Blair McDonald and Matty McMaster available for selection after missing the Clogher game.
Ballyclare Head Coach Mike McKeever and his players are looking forward to the run of league fixtures that will test each club’s strength-in-depth as they pick up injuries and deal with unavailabilities.
Dromore are a strong side at home as they showed in defeating Instonians earlier in the season. But the win over Carrick will assist the Ballyclare squad in preparing for a team that has a strong pack and a talented player in Lee Steenson at scrumhalf.
The Ballyclare team contains a real mix of youth and experience. It is pleasing to see Niall Lawther, Gareth Byers, Michael Kirk, Matthew Robson, David Chambers and Paul Robinson return to training after illness / injury or travel / work commitments.
When these two teams met on the opening day of the season at the Cloughan, Ballyclare won a high-scoring game 48-34.
Enniskillen (8th) v Portadown (10th)
Head Coach William Gibson is looking a similar performance from his Enniskillen players that saw them defeat Clogher Valley 31-0 just before Christmas. He is asking the players for another big effort as they look to cut out the mistakes that cost them the game at Coleraine. The challenge is for the players to move away from the bottom of the table.
The injury list that has plagued the club since the beginning of the season is reducing and competition for places is therefore improving.
Portadown Head Coach Richard Hedley is very much aware of the need for his players to win at Enniskillen this week. It has been a stop-start period of games over the last month and selection has been difficult due to injury and unavailability. Robert Greenlee, Danny Alexander and Mark Henderson are unavailable for the match and will be replaced by Robert Reid, Taylor Tweedie and Matthew Wilson in the forwards.
When these two teams met on the opening day of the season at Chambers Park, Enniskillen won a closely fought game 19-20.
Instonians (2nd) v Carrickfergus (4th)
Director of Rugby William Leacock was delighted with the manner of his team’s performance in picking up a much-needed bonus point win against neighbours Cooke. That result closed the gap on leaders Ballyclare to just one point with nine games remaining. Instonians are expecting another tough encounter with Carrickfergus at Shaw’s Bridge this week with the players looking another win to keep the pressure on at the summit.
Carrick coaches Davy Scott and Michael Rainey will be looking to reverse two consecutive defeats away to Ballyclare and Clogher Valley as the team challenge for a top four finish this season.
When these sides met at the Tom Simms Memorial Grounds on in early September, Instonians won 7-15 in a tightly contested game.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Ballynahinch (2nd) v Ballymena (8th)
In their Round 10 Ulster Bank League game at Thomond Park, Ballynahinch lost 49-19 to league leaders Shannon, while the team suffered a 15-11 defeat at Gibson Park against Malone in the Ulster Rugby Premiership. Brian Mclaughlin and his coaching team will want to see their squad win this game to maintain their promotion challenge.
Ballymena Head Coach Andy Graham is hoping for a positive reaction from his team after defeats away to Old Belvedere in the UBL, City of Armagh in the First Trust Senior Cup Final, Dungannon away in the Kyle Cup Final on Boxing Day and Banbridge away in the SONI Ulster Rugby Premiership. Injuries and unavailability have not helped as the coach continues to bring through young players into the 1st XV squad. It is experience these players need and it is a question of how quickly they adapt to the rigours of the All Ireland League.
Injuries rule out Mark Foster, Alan Smyth, Dean Reynolds, Nathan Rankin, John Loughlin with Matthew Norris, James Taggart, Andrew Ferguson and Houston Bonner are likely to be involved with the 2nds in their Towns Cup match away to Dungannon. Bryan Young is not available this weekend.
Graham is expecting a very tough encounter at Ballmacarn Park. He wants his team to be more clinical with the ball and take the chances they are creating. This Brian McLaughlin coached Ballynahinch team are very good at keeping the ball and frustrating their opponents. His team will need to be physical in the contact zone.
The ingredients are there for a keenly contested match. When these two sides met at Eaton Park on the 11th Novemeber, Ballynahinch were comfortable 0-27 winners.
Banbridge (3rd) v Old Belvedere (5th)
Round 10 in Cork ensured Banbridge came away from Irish Independent Park with an impressive 11-16 win over 10th place Dolphin to maintain their promotion challenge. The team continued their winning run with a 31-12 defeat of Ballymena at Rifle Park last Saturday in the Ulster Rugby Premiership. When these two teams last met in November, Banbridge hung on to win 15-14 so another close affair is expected in Dublin.
Both Caleb Montgomery and Eric O’Sullivan have been released by Ulster but injury has ruled out Tom O’Toole, Michael Lowry and James Hume.
Head Coach Dan Soper is aware his team have plenty of areas to work on and improve in the second half of the season. If they do, the team could have a strong finish. His team are expecting a difficult match at Old Belvedere.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2A
Queen’s University (5th) v Malone (1st)
There was relief that Queen’s ended a losing run at Bangor last Saturday by winning 7-36. The team had lost their last three matches in the UBL against City of Armagh and then Greystones in back-to-back games. With work taking Daniel Dass to London, there was a bonus with the return to playing of former Ards, Instonians and Bangor number 8 Curtis Stewart, who put in an impressive ball carrying display against his former club.
There are doubts about the availability of centres Conor McKee and Rory Bell, with Captain Nigel Simpson and David Whitten returning this week to the pack. Back rower Jonny Lees is a major doubt. Winger Mark Keane is another doubt as he follows the return to play protocols.
Malone Head Coach Paddy Armstrong has lost the services of back row forward Phil Lucas for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. He has been delighted with the response of the players who have trained hard throughout the Christmas period.
Both the coaches and the players are looking forward to the return game with Queens at the Dub after losing 11-20 at Gibson Park back in November. Malone warmed up for this fixture with a 15-11 win over Ballynahinch last week. The players showed their fighting qualities to come back from 3-11 to win the match with a strong final quarter.
Jack Owens and Peter Cooper are in line to play, but both Joe Dunleavy and Matthew Dalton are unavailable.
City of Armagh (4th) v Highfield (2nd)
The Armagh team for this one is expected to be along similar lines to the side that defeated Ballymena in the First Trust Senior Cup Final before Christmas. Armagh warmed up for their weekend fixture in Cork by defeating struggling City of Derry 82-0 at the Palace Grounds last Saturday in the SONI Ulster Premiership, scoring 13 tries in the process.
Both Peter Starrett and Andrew Willis remain on the injury list, with the coaches hoping they will be available towards the end of January.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2B
Dungannon (6th) v Belfast Harlequins (9th)
Dungannon Head Coach Andy Hughes was disappointed with the performance of his team in their 22-15 defeat at Omagh last Saturday. He acknowledged it was not a good day for his team as the performance lacked intensity and structure. On top of that, Dungannon lost two props, Sean O’Hagan and Rodney Bennett, to season-ending injuries.
With no fewer than 12 changes to the squad this week, the coach is hoping the players can pick up from where they have left off prior to the Christmas break. Influential back rower Jonah Mau’u is unavailable as he hasn’t returned from New Zealand yet.
Harlequins Head Coach Nicky Wells was delighted with the attitude of his players in their 18-17 win over Rainey OB in the Ulster Rugby Premiership at Deramore Park last week. For the game at Dungannon, Wells is expected to retain the same pack, with Matthew McKenzie and Mark Glover returning to the backline.
Rainey OB (2nd) v City of Derry (10th)
Head Coach John Andrews was not too concerned about his team’s loss at Belfast Harlequins last Saturday as he used the match to give his extended squad some valuable game time. The only players missing this week are Jason Bloomfield and Josh McIlroy. Rainey will be looking maximum points with their postponed game coming up against Sunday’s Well on the 13th January to narrow the gap on leaders Old Crescent.
City of Derry is in a battle for their survival after another heavy defeat away to City of Armagh last Saturday. Current Head coach Trevor Will is in place for two years, while current Assistant 1st XV Coach James Doherty has a pivotal role as a Community Development Officer in increasing the numbers playing rugby at the club. With the right people in charge, this club can return to being a force in Ulster rugby.
When these two teams met at the Craig Thompson Stadium on 11th November, Rainey won 5-40.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2C
Bangor (6th) v Omagh (3rd)
Bangor suffered a heavy defeat to Queen’s at home last Saturday as they were unable to cope with the pace and handling skills of the visitors.
Players who were carrying knocks pre-Christmas have recovered to strengthen the options for the Bangor coaches, but captain Philip Whyte and back row forward Ryan Latimer are ruled out for the remainder of the season with long-term injuries.
Omagh Head Coach Phil Marshall has lost hooker Adam Pollock to a shoulder injury but he is hoping to have Richard Hemphill in to replace him, with Ally Beckett expected to take a place on the bench. Otherwise, the team will be the same that done so well against Dungannon. The coach is expecting another really difficult game at Bangor on Saturday (they drew 6-6 at Thomas Mellon Playing Fields earlier this season).
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 1
Clogher Valley (9th) v CIYMS (5th)
Two wins over top four teams Carrickfergus and Dromore at the Cran have moved Clogher Valley up to 9th place. With fellow strugglers Enniskillen playing Portadown, will we see Clogher move out of the bottom two places?
CIYMS have quietly moved up to level on points with 4th placed Carrickfergus after winning 11-15 at Coleraine last Saturday. Head Coach Gareth Fry was delighted with his team’s performance at Coleraine. It was a tight game with the team scoring two excellent tries and then defending well until they conceded a late try.
As with any fixture around Christmas, both teams were missing a few players with the players coming into the CIYMS team performing and adding to the selection decisions to be made this week. Fry is full of praise for the work being done by Forwards Coach Darren Barbour, who is using all his experience from the All Ireland League to mould the pack into a really competitive unit. This has allowed the backs to play some really good rugby in all conditions.
Clogher will be tough opposition, especially after their win over Dromore last week. The Cran is a tough place to visit, but CIYMS will be buoyed by their 27-14 win at Belmont earlier in the season.
Coleraine (7th) v Cooke (6th)
Head Coach Richard Boyd was disappointed with his team’s loss at home to CIYMS on Saturday. The coaches are blooding lots of young local players this year due to the long injury list, with the players learning a lot from this defeat.
Cooke Head Coach Colin Atkinson conceded his team struggled against a very strong Instonians pack in their 33-15 loss at Shaw’s Bridge last Saturday. With a number of players missing, this had an impact on his small playing squad. Injuries continue to hamper the squad as they prepare for the trip to Coleraine.
When these two teams met at Shaw’s Bridge on 18th November, Coleraine won 18-26.
Dromore (3rd) v Ballyclare (1st)
Director of Rugby Jeremy Ogle was deeply disappointed with Dromore’s performance in the 18-8 loss at Clogher Valley last Saturday. Once again, poor form away from home has let them down, with coaches Jonny Cullen and Jamie Kirk working hard to reverse these defeats. Rory Pepper, Blair McDonald and Matty McMaster available for selection after missing the Clogher game.
Ballyclare Head Coach Mike McKeever and his players are looking forward to the run of league fixtures that will test each club’s strength-in-depth as they pick up injuries and deal with unavailabilities.
Dromore are a strong side at home as they showed in defeating Instonians earlier in the season. But the win over Carrick will assist the Ballyclare squad in preparing for a team that has a strong pack and a talented player in Lee Steenson at scrumhalf.
The Ballyclare team contains a real mix of youth and experience. It is pleasing to see Niall Lawther, Gareth Byers, Michael Kirk, Matthew Robson, David Chambers and Paul Robinson return to training after illness / injury or travel / work commitments.
When these two teams met on the opening day of the season at the Cloughan, Ballyclare won a high-scoring game 48-34.
Enniskillen (8th) v Portadown (10th)
Head Coach William Gibson is looking a similar performance from his Enniskillen players that saw them defeat Clogher Valley 31-0 just before Christmas. He is asking the players for another big effort as they look to cut out the mistakes that cost them the game at Coleraine. The challenge is for the players to move away from the bottom of the table.
The injury list that has plagued the club since the beginning of the season is reducing and competition for places is therefore improving.
Portadown Head Coach Richard Hedley is very much aware of the need for his players to win at Enniskillen this week. It has been a stop-start period of games over the last month and selection has been difficult due to injury and unavailability. Robert Greenlee, Danny Alexander and Mark Henderson are unavailable for the match and will be replaced by Robert Reid, Taylor Tweedie and Matthew Wilson in the forwards.
When these two teams met on the opening day of the season at Chambers Park, Enniskillen won a closely fought game 19-20.
Instonians (2nd) v Carrickfergus (4th)
Director of Rugby William Leacock was delighted with the manner of his team’s performance in picking up a much-needed bonus point win against neighbours Cooke. That result closed the gap on leaders Ballyclare to just one point with nine games remaining. Instonians are expecting another tough encounter with Carrickfergus at Shaw’s Bridge this week with the players looking another win to keep the pressure on at the summit.
Carrick coaches Davy Scott and Michael Rainey will be looking to reverse two consecutive defeats away to Ballyclare and Clogher Valley as the team challenge for a top four finish this season.
When these sides met at the Tom Simms Memorial Grounds on in early September, Instonians won 7-15 in a tightly contested game.