24 / 64
22
www.
ULSTERRUGBY
.com
ULSTER A
The Ulster A team, sponsored by CD Group,
will once again compete in the British & Irish
Cup, which will feature 32 teams: 12 from the
English RFU Championship, 12 from the Welsh
Principality Premiership, 4 Irish provinces and the
top 4 finishers of Premier 1 in Scotland.
The draw for the 2016/17 British & Irish Cup
has taken place, and Ulster A are in Pool One
alongside Jersey Reds, London Scottish and
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select as the cross-
border competition enters its eighth year.
The Ulster A team will enter the competition under
the guidance of Kieran Campbell, Head of the
Hughes Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy, and
former Ulster and Ireland captain Willie Anderson,
who joined Ulster Rugby in the role of Elite Player
Development Officer in July.
The Ulster A team have already have one outing
this year, a thrilling 48-38 victory over Canada
A at Kingspan Stadium on 26th August, and
Anderson was relatively pleased with what he
saw that night:
“The first half was excellent. We started the game
with a full A team, the guys were well up for it and
we got some fantastic scores to go in 29-5 up at
the break. At half-time we had to relinquish some
players who were joining the senior squad for the
game against Northampton later in the evening
so that probably gave Canada an opportunity to
creep back into the game, which they did and
they went up 38-36 with ten minutes to go. But
for our boys to finish out the game the way they
did was great to see and it probably told us a lot
more about them than if they had cruised through
it.”
The Ulster A team will be made up of a mixture
of senior and Academy players, all hoping to put
their hand up for a place in the senior squad.
“Hopefully we will have a few weeks with a settled
group to prepare for the opening round game,
and I would expect everyone involved to be
making the most of the opportunity. It has been a
few years since we have qualified for the quarter-
final stages, so we will certainly be aiming to put
that right this year.”
While Anderson will be key to the preparation of
the forward’s technical and tactical play, he will
also be hoping to have a positive influence on
another aspect of the team:
“I will be working closely with the forward units
and Kieran on the tactical plays, but I think its
also vitally important that we encourage that raw
passion for wearing the Ulster jersey and I know
that’s something Les (Kiss) is also very clear on.
We’re looking for winners so we want to create
that environment where these guys will give
everything for the jersey and the men standing
beside them, to never give up for the full 80
minutes.”
Ulster A will begin its British & Irish Cup campaign
on Saturday 15 October at home to Jersey Reds.
For more information on the CD Group,
Ireland’s largest automotive parts
distributor, visit
www.cd-group.comor @CD_Group on Twitter.
BRITISH & IRISH CUP
2016/17
ULSTER A
V
JERSEY REDS
Saturday 15th October, Time TBC
LONDON SCOTTISH
V
ULSTER A
Saturday 22nd October, 3.00pm
ULSTER A
V
BLUES PREMIERSHIP SELECT
09/10/11 December, Time TBC
BLUES PREMIERSHIP SELECT
V
ULSTER A
16/17/18 December, Time TBC
ULSTER A
V
LONDON SCOTTISH
13/14/15 January, Time TBC
JERSEY REDS
V
ULSTER A
Saturday 21 January, 2.00pm
BRITISH & IRISH CUP
2016/17 FIXTURES