Ulster Rugby - Annual Report 2017-18

Clubs saw significant growth at this age band. In Schools rugby, the contact Sevens format of the game replaced the tag format as the show-piece final at the Kingspan Stadium. Nineteen teams were involved across the Junior and Senior competitions. Monaghan Collegiate took the honours in the Senior Sevens Cup in a scintillating final against Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, but there was some consolation for Enniskillen when their younger pupils took the honours in the Junior competition. Forty one teams took part in the tag format of the game with Enniskillen Royal Grammar School securing the title in a final showdown against Grosvenor Grammar School at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena. The Girls Brigade Northern Ireland indoor touch rugby tournament was a resounding success again this year with over seven hundred girls taking part. The second year of the “Women In Coaching Programme” saw ten female coaches participating in the Year Two programme with seven new coaches entering at Year One, thus highlighting the continued growth of female representation in all aspects of the game. Our congratulations go to Monaghan RFC and Ulster U18 players Kelly McCormill and Lucinda Kinghan, who attained representative honours at Ireland U18 Sevens level.

Women’s Rugby This year we had more women playing rugby in Ulster than ever before. A greater volume of teams combined with 95% of all Adult Female team sheets being submitted, gave a more accurate picture of the number of women participating in rugby on a weekly basis in the province. Clubs fielded teams at three different levels throughout the year. We had one team in the All Ireland League, six in Division One of the Ulster Rugby Championship and a further nine in Division Two. Cooke remained the sole Ulster representatives in the All Ireland League and built on their recent return to this level by reaching both the league and cup semi- final playoffs. They finished fourth in the All Ireland League. Congratulations are recorded to Cooke’s Claire McLaughlin, who featured for Ireland in this season’s Six Nations. Division One of the Ulster Rugby Championship saw Malone have an extremely successful season, completing the league & cup double. They defeated Ballynahinch in the Junior Cup Final which was hosted at the Kingspan Stadium, the first female domestic fixture to ever be played there. Cooke and Malone have also worked hard to establish 2nd XVs, both of whom entered and competed in Division Two. The success story of the season was the creation and operation of Division Two. In its first year in existence, 95% of fixtures were fulfilled. The season was keenly contested by all teams and as the season progressed it became apparent that the competition element would go right to the wire. Although they were pushed all the way by eventual runners up Omagh RFC, it was Carrickfergus RFC who emerged as league winners. As a result of their successful campaigns both Carrick and Omagh will compete in Division One next year. 2017/18 was a successful and proactive first season for the newly restructured Women’s & Girls Committee. From this body, a working group was created to revise the 2014/2019 Women’s Strategy. Four Key areas were prioritised in the development of Women’s rugby in the province. These were leadership, increased participation, competitions and promotion/PR. With working groups having been established in each of these areas, these pillars will remain central to the progress of the Women’s & Girls Committee and the overall direction of female rugby. The 2017/18 season was a frustrating one for girls Youth rugby with the adverse weather having a significant impact on both Club and Schools matches. The U15 league was comprised of five teams who were joined by Letterkenny for the post-Christmas Cup competition, which was won by last year’s runners up, Enniskillen RFC. Six teams made up the U18 league with the Cup being awarded to Virginia who defeated Monaghan in a repeat of the 2016/17 Final. Following a review of the girls’ Youth season structure, the format for next season is to be amended to better suit the current landscape. The U12 coaches at Armagh, Donaghadee, Malone and Virginia worked brilliantly together to ensure their players got regular access to blitzes. Their efforts paid off as all

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