Ulster Rugby Annual Report 2016-17

forward and into the hands of fly half Bokkie Carstens. As he gathered and accelerated, he left the Leinster defence scrambling and made it all the way under the posts, leaving McCluggage with a simple conversion to make the score 12-5. Leinster pressed again in the closing stages of the first half but the Ulster defence held firm. Ulster got off to the perfect start in the second half, with Brian Hughes soaring high to gather the ball from Cartens restart. Ulster held onto the ball, going through the phases before the ball made its way to Phil Cartmill who spotted the a Leinster prop in front of him and went for the outside break. He went clean through and had the speed to go all the way to score in the corner. McCluggage converted to make the score 19-5. Leinster was next to score, keeping in touch at 10-19. McCluggage then increased Ulster’s lead with a penalty before Leinster rallied again, scoring a try on sixty minutes to make it a one score game at 22-15. Coach Richard Boyd then looked to his bench to freshen things up and this had the desired effect. Mitchell McComb gathered a loose Leinster kick, and the back three of Ulster were in perfect harmony as he moved the ball early to Phil Cartmill and on to Neil Brown who weaved his way past a number of defenders in a brilliant solo run. The conversion was missed but Ulster was firmly in control at 27-15 with fifteen minutes to go. Ulster then put the game and the championship to bed in the closing stages as a misdirected pass from Leinster just inside the Ulster half broke to Ulster centre Mikey Poskitt who had the awareness and pace, to score close to the Leinster posts. He converted his own try to make the final score 34-15, giving Ulster their third win and a clean sweep to claim the 2017 Inter Provincial title. The Branch would like to thank everyone involved with the Ulster Juniors for their hard work, dedication and

commitment. It takes a great deal of effort at the end of a long season to keep things going. The Juniors Management team appreciated the efforts of the staff at the Ulster Branch, Barry Willis, Paul Whitten and Lesley McGaughey for their help with the logistical and organisational work behind the scenes. They also wish to thank Ulster Branch Senior Vice President Graffin Parke and wish him well for his incoming year as President. It is always an extremely busy time of year for Branch officials and representatives and Graffin did an outstanding job of organising and coordinating with his colleagues, who gave freely of their time, to attend and support the Juniors at their three fixtures this year. It was greatly appreciated and recognised as the best support the Juniors have had for a number of years. Many thanks go to Randalstown RFC and David Anderson for hosting the home game against Munster, especially at such short notice, and to John Todd for stepping in for Colin as manager during his period of paternity. Thanks also go to physiotherapist Katie Lannon, who gave outstanding care and attention to the players as always, and to Gareth Bell for his assistance with the Juniors’ squad this year. The name Billy Savage is synonymous and goes hand in hand with the Ulster Juniors and yet again he didn’t disappoint. With as many as twenty one new caps utilised this season, they all now know who Billy Savage is. Thanks Billy! Well done and congratulations to Captain Chris Nash and to all the players involved, including those who didn’t quite make the match-day squad this time around. It was a fantastic season for the Ulster team and everyone who came along played their part in this season’s success. Finally, thanks and congratulations go to the new Ulster Juniors Head Coach Richard Boyd, his assistant

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