Ulster Rugby Annual Report

Domestic League Competitions In the SONI Ulster Premiership Division One the fixture schedule was amended to conclude the league programme by the end of December. In the final match, played at Ballymacarn Park on 29th December, Ballynahinch beat Malone to win the Stevenson Shield. Rainey Old Boys won Division Two without losing a match. In the Ulster Championship Division One there was an exciting climax on 23rd March, with three teams, Instonians, Ballyclare and Dromore, in contention for the title. In the end, Ballyclare’s close defeat to Dromore (the third year in a row that Ballyclare had lost out on the last Saturday of the league programme) allied to Instonians’ victory over Cooke meant that Instonians retained the title. They will be joined in next season’s All-Ireland Junior Cup by Ballyclare, Dromore and Grosvenor (who had only gained promotion to Championship One this season). Clogher Valley returned to the top flight by winning Championship Two, winning all of their fixtures after Christmas and securing two bonus point wins against title rivals Randalstown and Limavady in a thrilling conclusion to the league competition. Donaghadee, runner-up in Championship Three last season, made no mistake this time, being crowned champions after winning all twenty two matches. Following the outcome of a Competitions Working Party Review at the end of the previous season, automatic promotion from the top 1st XV in the Provincial League was ended, and no team was therefore promoted to Championship Three. At the other end of the tables, Coleraine, UUC and Ophir were automatically relegated from Championship One, Two and Three respectively. A play-off victory over Academy saw CIYMS remain in the first division,

Management Committee keeps the number of cancellations under constant review and will take steps to address the issue as it prepares for the 2019/20 season. The recent trend of a greater spread of success across all adult competitions continued. For instance, of the eleven Domestic male finals played, nine were won by different Clubs. As with last year, the impact of bonus points across all league sections ensured that there was competition right until the end of the season across all leagues as teams fought for promotion or to avoid relegation. All Ireland Competitions Overall, the performance of Ulster Clubs in the AIL was mixed. Ballynahinch secured promotion from 1B to the top tier of the AIL with a strong closing run of victories. After being beaten in a play-off last season, Rainey had a fine away victory against Blackrock in a play-off to secure promotion to 2A. By contrast, Ballymena were relegated from 1B. Malone and Queen’s University also lost out in their promotion bids at the play-off stages, losing to UCC and Navan respectively. A frantic final couple of rounds of the AIL saw Bangor, Belfast Harlequins, City of Derry and Dungannon retain their places in their respective divisions. In the round robin competition, Instonians again represented Ulster and had two home matches against the Munster and Leinster champions. After a loss at home to Enniscorthy, Instonians beat Connacht champions, Connemara, but in the final fixture, were narrowly beaten by Clonmel in a keenly contested match at Shaws Bridge. None of Ulster’s teams reached the semi-final of the All-Ireland Junior Cup.

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IRFU ULSTER BRANCH ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19