Ulster Rugby Annual Report

while Lisburn retained their place in division two at the expense of Monaghan. City of Armagh retained Conference One to secure the Past Players Cup, while Academy topped Conference Two. In the Second Fifteen League City of Armagh Seconds retained the title after an unbeaten league campaign. In Division One of the Provincial League, there was a new winner, with Queen’s University Seconds winning seventeen of their eighteen league matches. The winners of Provincial Two and Three, Carrick Seconds and City of Derry Seconds, had both been relegated last season. City of Derry Seconds were clear winners of Provincial Three and highlighted a recovery in the playing fortunes of the north-west Club. The Provincial Four title went to Queen’s University Thirds, another example of the successful season also enjoyed by that Club. Both Academy Seconds and Ballyclare Fourths finished on equal league points with the former claiming the Provincial Five title based the outcome of fixtures between the two Clubs. Randalstown Thirds won Provincial Six, yet another example of a team that had turned around its performance from the previous season. The continuation of the Regional League format meant that there were two different league structures, one before and one after Christmas. Before Christmas, Enniskillen Thirds, Ballymoney Fourths, BHSFP Seconds and Lisburn Thirds won the four Regional League sections. Post Christmas, the top team in each of the four Regional League sections and the best loser from across all the sections were placed in the Premier Section of the Regional League. Enniskillen Thirds regained the Premier title, two years after winning the inaugural competition. City of Derry Thirds won Regional West while Rainey Old Boys Thirds won all ten of their fixtures to claim the Regional North title, having won Regional West last year. Ards Thirds also retained the Regional East title despite finishing on the same points as Ballymena Fourths, as results between both teams favoured the former. Dromore Thirds won Regional South. A complete listing of all league tables has been reproduced later in the report. Cup Competitions City of Armagh Firsts retained the First Trust Senior Cup in a re-run of the previous year’s decider, beating Ballymena by two points in a tense and closely fought final. In the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup final, spectators were treated to an excellent, dramatic derby between last year’s winners, Ballynahinch Seconds and Dromore. In the end it was Dromore who prevailed, winning by three points. In the River Rock Towns Cup final, played before a very large crowd on a sunny Easter Monday, last year’s winners, Ballyclare, were comprehensively outplayed by Enniskillen. Having been losing finalists in recent seasons the Enniskillen victory bridged an eighty two year gap, the Fermanagh men having waited for this victory since their last success in 1937.

Earlier on the same day, in the McCrea Cup, Grosvenor comfortably defeated Queen’s University Seconds in winning the final. The Gordon West Cup final saw Monaghan lift the cup with a narrow victory over Donaghadee who had beaten them into second place in the league. On the same day two other finals were played at the Kingspan stadium. Ballyclare Fourths were again finalists in the Forster Cup but, unlike in 2018, made no mistake in beating Academy Seconds to win the trophy. In the McCambley Cup an enjoyable and closely fought match between Ballymoney Fourths and Dromore Thirds resulted in another success for the north Antrim Club. In the final of the Crawford Cup, the domination of the Ballynahinch Club in this competition continued with their Fourths beating Banbridge Thirds to take the spoils. In the plate competitions, the Crawford and Forster Plates were won by Enniskillen Seconds and Instonians Thirds respectively. In the case of the latter the final was a nail-biting encounter with Instonians prevailing by just a single point over Ballyclare Thirds. City of Derry Thirds comprehensively defeated Ballymena Fifths, a new team to Ulster Branch competitions this year, in the final of the Butler Shield. Clubs Committee Clubs Committee meetings continued to be very well attended. There was an influx of new members and there continued to be a focus on ensuring that the committee’s effectiveness was kept under review. As well as providing an induction for new members, Clubs Committee meetings also featured presentations and workshops on aspects of the Domestic game. Ulster Branch President, Stephen Elliott, despite a very busy schedule, chaired all but one of the meetings, while Ross Workman again prepared and circulated his very comprehensive minutes in quick time. Rugby Committee Competitions Working Party A review of competition arrangements for the SONI Ulster Premiership League and First Trust Senior Cup was undertaken under the chairmanship of Greg Irwin. While the review concluded that there was no consensus for any radical change to these competitions The C.M.C. met twenty three times, once more than last year. Once again they were at their busiest at the business end of the season during March and April. As well as the appointment of another new member to the Committee, John Carleton played a critical role as the C.M.C. Chair. THE PROFESSIONAL GAME After last season, being without doubt the toughest year Ulster Rugby has faced, the turnaround in fortunes has been greatly welcomed. A lot of this work, mainly off-field, was done in the closing months of last season and in the pre-season of 2018/19. A significant change in the playing squad, with many long-serving, experienced players hanging up their professional it did propose some minor enhancements. Competitions Management Committee

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