Ulster Rugby vs Connacht

CLUB RUGBY: THE SEASON SO FAR

men currently sit in a congested mid section of the table, with more than half of their games played. ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B Ballymena are in with a shout of promotion as just they trail Galwegians at the summit. Malone who have had a mixed start to their campaign lie in mid table, while Belfast Harlequins are struggling for form and are in danger of relegation. ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2A Queen’s University provide Ulster’s best chance of promotion as they occupy a top four spot. Banbridge, Rainey and City of Derry will all be hoping for top half finishes, while Dungannon will hope their improved form of late will see them move up from the lower end of the table. ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2B The two Ulster teams in Division 2 have enjoyed mixed starts - Armagh are progressing well and are just off the pace at the top, while Ards are rooted to the bottom of the table. KUKRI QUALIFYING LEAGUE 1 Instonians sit top of the pile and will carry great momentum into 2015. Clogher Valley, Portadown, Bangor, Ballyclare and Dromore look set to compete for places in next season’s All Ireland Junior Cup. Ballymoney are in danger of dropping to Q2. KUKRI QUALIFYING LEAGUE 2 Omagh are probably favourites for promotion after just missing out to Ballyclare last year. Carrickfergus, Coleraine and Academy will be their main challengers, while UUC and Holywood have struggled so far. KUKRI QUALIFYING LEAGUE 3 Larne are the team to beat in Q3 and Donegal

CLUB RUGBY

FIRST TRUST SENIOR CUP Earlier this month, Ballynahinch won the

Kingspan Stadium decider 17-10 to secure their second ever Senior Cup title and make it a 7th straight final defeat in the competition for Malone. The Cregagh Red Sox went 0-10 up thanks to an early Josh Pentland penalty and a converted try by Jack McMurtry. But ‘Hinch hit back with 17 unanswered points, including tries from wing Stephen McAuley, First Trust Man of the Match Michael Graham and centre Richard Reaney. The Ballymacarn Park had a tough route to the final as well, requiring late scores to defeat Armagh (17-16) and City of Derry (19-14) in their quarter final and semi final respectively. ‘Hinch will now proceed to take on Connacht side Buccaneers in the last four of the All Ireland Cup. MILLARMCCALL WYLIE JUNIOR CUP Instonians put in a clinical performance to register a 13-0 final win over an Omagh side which dominated the majority of the match. The Shaw’s Bridge club were awarded a second half penalty try and outhalf Fraser Wright kicked the rest of the points on a wet night at Kingspan Stadium. ALL IRELAND JUNIOR CUP It has been a superb season for Ulster clubs in the All Ireland Junior Cup to date. Ulster had three semi finalists, with Bangor edging Clogher Valley 9-6 to book a place in the final in the New Year. At the time of writing CIYMS had drawn 25-25 with Dundalk in the other last four clash and faced a replay with the Leinster side. ULSTER SENIOR LEAGUE City of Derry lead the way in the Ulster League, with ‘Hinch and Malone trailing three points behind. Both those sides have at least one game in hand though so it promises to be a closely fought contest to the end. ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1A ‘Hinch have had a much improved campaign to date this season after requiring a play-off win last season to avoid relegation. The County Down

Town look almost certain to go down. KUKRI QUALIFYING LEAGUE 4

Belfast High School Former Pupils are cruising at the top of the table, while Cavan and Londonderry YM continue to battle it out at the bottom.

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ULSTER RUGBY