Ulster Rugby - Annual Report 2017-18

schoolboy centre partner Stewart Moore, neither of whom gave an inch in defence. In the second and final Interprovincial, Ulster fell to a late narrow defeat at the hands of a much more experienced Munster team at Thomond Park. Whilst the young white knights were hugely disappointed to let a six point lead slip in the last five minutes, they could take great heart from the fact that Munster had to wheel on some very experienced cavalry to wrestle victory away from the talented and dynamic group of young Ulster players. It was a game in which the small margins proved crucial, with thirteen points being missed with the boot, whereas Munster converted four from five. Crucial restarts in the last five minutes gave Munster that all too important possession in the championship moments. However, this group of young players learned a lot against older and more experienced opponents, which ultimately proved extremely valuable when the B+I cup games came round. The performances in the Interprovincial series were also recognised when the Irish U20 team was selected with nine Ulster players being capped in the Six Nations matches. This was the best representation for many years and is a reflection of the emerging talent coming through the Ulster Academy, fed by players from both Schools and Clubs. ULSTER UNDER 19 Head Coach : Willie Anderson Assistant Coach: James Topping Coaches: David Creighton & Ross Hunter Strength and Conditioning: Matthew Godfrey Manager: Barney McGonigle Physiotherapist: Jason Patton Doctor: Owen Rainey Resources: Andy Weir & Ian McCaugherty Video Analysis: Bryan Young, Ben Thompson & Michael Chernek GPS Analyst: Simon MacLeod Age Grade Manager: Michael Black Ulster Rugby Nutritionist: Stephanie Ingram Ulster Rugby Administration Officer: Lesley McGaughey The Ulster U19 squad was identified and met just after the Easter period on a number of days at Ballymena Academy. The season plan was presented to the players, the majority of whom then returned to their Schools to finalise their preparations for examinations. The end of June/beginning of July saw the start of an intensive summer training schedule with great commitment and attention to detail, on and off the pitch, being shown by those in attendance. By the end of July the coaches were readily able to identify the potential starting team as well as the back-up players. The demands of the U20/Academy team impacted somewhat on the U19 squad with a number of players not being released to the squad until early September. However, as both squads had worked closely together during the summer sessions, this was a relatively easy transition for the number of players involved.

Ulster, focusing on the U7, U9 & U12 age groups. In total nine festivals were scheduled through the course of the season. Overall it has been a successful season for mini rugby in Ulster and it is sincerely hoped that with an increasing focus on the introduction of the girls’ game the province will see a further increase in playing numbers and participating Clubs. AGE GRADE AND REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS ULSTER UNDER 20 /ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Head Coach : Kieran Campbell Assistant Coach: Willie Anderson Strength and Conditioning: Amy Davis The Ulster U20/Academy Development Squad had an intensive summer training programme, culminating in two interprovincial matches against Leinster and Munster. Unfortunately, Connacht was unable to participate in the series, but this did not detract from the very competitive nature of the Tri-series. Ulster opened their Interprovincial series with a memorable win over their Leinster equivalents with a storming finish, demonstrating real character and resilience to overhaul a seventeen point deficit in the last twelve minutes. Astonishingly, the team scored twenty nine of their thirty four points in the first and last ten minutes of the game and although being outscored in the other sixty minutes, they were not outplayed! It isn’t often that Ulster win at any level in Donnybrook and certainly not when trailing by seventeen points, but this young team was characterised by determination, resilience, self-belief and a bit of old style grit and steel. In the forwards the back row was outstanding with man of the match Mattie Agnew tackling anything in blue and being a real thorn in blue flesh at the breakdown. His colleagues in the back row were only marginally less impressive, with Dunleavy doing a lot of unseen work and making a lot of hard yards with the ball. The second row of Dalton and Regan dominated at the lineout and marauded in the loose, whilst the front rows of Clark, O’Hagan and O’Toole, McCall, Cooper and O’Sullivan all enjoyed performances of which they could be proud. In the backs Kelly, Smith and Kernohan were impressive in offence, being there to score the tries or provide the assists. Young half backs Stewart and Lowry controlled the game well and orchestrated the creative plays that saw Ulster create so many clear cut opportunities. It was great to see Rory Butler, returning from a long injury lay-off, come through unscathed with some bulldozing runs and neat hands linking with his Manager : Hugh McCaughey Physiotherapist: Dave Minion Doctor: Phil McClelland Resources Manager : Andy Weir Video Analysis: Bryan Young GPS Analyst: Simon MacLeod Age Grade Manager: Michael Black

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