Ulster Rugby Annual Report 2015 - 2016

The Junior Leagues, which for the first time included some of the weaker A.I.L. Second Fifteens also worked well. However, the lower sections, as well as the Minor League, were again blighted by team withdrawals and cancellations. While it is to be welcomed that the number of unfulfilled matches was lower than last season, it is still disappointing to report that over two hundred matches were cancelled. The C.M.C. will continue to implement procedures to reduce this to more acceptable levels. Ulster Bank All Ireland Competitions Once again the overall performance of Ulster clubs in the A.I.L. was disappointing. Ballynahinch, our sole representative in 1A, were relegated after losing their play-off match on the last day of the season. Also relegated were Belfast Harlequins from 1B and Rainey Old Boys, from 2B. Both Banbridge and City of Derry put themselves in great positions to gain promotion, but neither quite managed to get over the line. This means that for next season, only two Ulster sides will play in A.I.L. 1B and we will have no representatives in the top division of the league. The one really positive achievement by an Ulster club in an All Ireland context was that of Bangor, whose success in the Round Robin Series will increase Ulster’s representation in the All Ireland League to eleven teams, a welcome reverse following the demise of Ards and Instonians over the last couple of seasons. In the Ulster Bank All Ireland Cup, Ballynahinch put up a very creditable performance away to Galwegians, just coming out on the wrong end of a 35-31 scoreline. For the second successive season three Ulster teams, Instonians, Clogher Valley and Bangor, made it through to the semi-finals of the All Ireland Junior Cup. In a highly entertaining final played in dreadful weather conditions in Ashbourne, Instonians lost to Enniscorthy by 23-7 to become the third different Ulster side to fall at the final hurdle in successive seasons. Domestic League Competitions Ballymena won the Stevenson Shield having won three and drawn their other match in the Soni Ulster Championship League Section One, while Banbridge were the victors in Section Two. As related above, Bangor won Kukri Qualifying One losing only two of their eighteen matches. Carrick gained promotion to the top flight by winning Qualifying Two, also with two losses, but perhaps the league performance of the season came from Limavady who played and won all twenty two of their games, securing one hundred and seven out of a possible one hundred and ten league points and finishing an amazing twenty seven points clear of the field. The other teams promoted were Enniskillen (to Q1), U.U.C. (to Q2) plus Virginia and County Cavan (both to Q3). At the other end of the table, C.I.Y.M.S., Ballymoney and Civil Service were relegated from Q1, 2 and 3 respectively. Enniskillen, Donaghadee and Strabane, having lost their play-off matches, were reprieved thanks to Bangor’s success in the Round Robins. Bangor also won Conference One, to secure the Past Players Cup, while Carrick topped Conference Two.

DOMESTIC RUGBY COMPETITIONS

Before looking at the competition outcomes in the 2015-16 season, it is important to note the excellent performances of two Ulster Clubs: Bangor R.F.C. Bangor Rugby Club’s First Fifteen, in 2015 – 2016, achieved something which is unique in Ulster Rugby. Just before Christmas they won the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup. In the space of five days at the end of March they added the Powerade Towns Cup and the Kukri Qualifying One League Title. Then, during April, they went on to win the Conference One League, closely followed by the Ulster Bank All Ireland Round Robin Series. No Qualifying Club has experienced that level of success before, and for Bangor to have done so during the most weather-disrupted season for ten years, causing a glut of reorganised late season fixtures, simply adds to their achievement. Their success in the Round Robins, given that they had to play the champions of both Munster and Leinster away from home, was especially noteworthy and we wish them well in the Ulster Bank All Ireland League next season. Carrickfergus R.F.C. Only the success of Bangor, as outlined above, prevented Carrickfergus from being the Club of the Year. Carrick Firsts won both Qualifying and Conference Two leagues, their Seconds and Thirds were both promoted from Junior Two and Junior Five respectively, while their Fourths finished as runners-up in Minor East before going on to win the Butler Shield. The fact that all four of their sides were so successful suggests that they possess the strength in depth to be competitive in Qualifying One next season. Competition Structures The new competition structures, implemented at the start of this season, following the recommendations of the Rugby Committee Working Party, have proved to be generally successful. The two section Soni Ulster Championship League was badly affected by both the weather and the scheduling due to the World Cup and may benefit from a little more tweaking. It did however achieve its goal of reducing the number of matches played by our A.I.L. teams. The reintroduction of a revised Conference League has, after a few initial teething problems, been the most satisfactory to date. The top six A.I.L. Second Fifteens were provided with an appropriate level of competition in the first half of the season, before embarking on their own League after Christmas. The most satisfying changes of all were those made to the Kukri Qualifying League. The top twelve teams from Sections Three and Four were amalgamated to form an enlarged Section Three, the remaining teams going into the Junior League. With promotion/relegation changed to two up two down (the second place decided by means of a play-off), the interest in all three Qualifying Sections was maintained right to the end of the season. Perhaps the most significant improvement came in Qualifying Three in which only two matches were cancelled, a huge improvement on last season when nineteen games were called off.

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