Ulster Rugby v Edinburgh

CELTIC CUP KICKS-OFF THIS WEEKEND The first round of the new Celtic Cup kicks off this evening as Ulster A, sponsored by CD Group, host Leinster A at Malone RFC (5.00pm).

The Celtic Cup will be contested by development squads from the four Irish provinces plus the four Welsh regions, and is aimed at providing a learning environment for emerging professional players, coaches and referees by recreating the week-to-week challenges presented by senior professional rugby. The new competition replaces the British & Irish Cup, which proved to be a particularly useful testing ground for young Ulster players such as Jacob Stockdale, John Andrew, Ross Kane and Rob Lyttle in recent years. The eight teams will be divided into two conferences of four Welsh regions and four Irish provinces. Each Irish province will play each of the Welsh regions and will play against two Irish provinces. Similarly, the Welsh regions will play each of the Irish provinces and will play two of their Welsh counterparts. The top-ranked province from the Irish conference will play the top-ranked region from the Welsh conference in the inaugural final (venue to be confirmed).

ULSTER’S 2018/19 CELTIC CUP FIXTURES: WEEKEND 1 Ulster v Leinster Friday 7th September Kick off 5pm at Malone RFC WEEKEND 2 Ulster v Scarlets Friday 14th September Kick off 7pm at Instonians/Cooke RFC WEEKEND 3 Cardiff Blues v Ulster Saturday 22nd September Kick off 2.30pm at Cardiff Arms Park WEEKEND 4 Ulster v Dragons Saturday 29th September Kick off 2.30pm at Ballymena RFC WEEKEND 5 Ospreys v Ulster Friday 5th October Kick off 7pm at Swansea RFC WEEKEND 6 Connacht v Ulster October 12th-14th at Details TBC CELTIC CUP ROUND 1 FIXTURES: FRIDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER Ulster v Leinster Kick off 5pm at Malone RFC Munster A v Connacht A Kick off 5.30pm at Irish Independent Park Ospreys A v Scarlets A Kick off 7pm at Bridgend RFC Dragons A v Cardiff Blues A Kick off 7.15pm at Rodney Parade

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