Another exciting weekend of club rugby coming up in Ulster this week. We have the final fixtures in the SONI Ulster Rugby Premiership with Armagh, Ballynahinch and current Stevenson Shield holders Ballymena all in contention. If Armagh can win with a bonus point at Ballymena they will lift the Stevenson Shield for the first time. (Hopefully the Shield will be presented by the Ulster Branch to the winners on Saturday). If Ballynahinch win with a bonus point at City of Derry and Armagh don’t pick up the bonus point. Ballynahinch will win back the Stevenson Shield. Makes for a fascinating conclusion to the SONI Ulster Premiership League.

In the Ulster Bank League Malone will look to carry their good form into 2017 when they resume their UBL campaign with three crucial back to back games starting off with a trip to play Sunday’s Well in Cork this weekend.

In the Kukri Ulster rugby championship Div 1 are we seeing the title race coming down to a three horse race between Instonians, Omagh and Ballyclare. Who will finish 4th and qualify for the All Ireland Junior Cup. Is this down to a contest between Portadown, Enniskillen and Clogher Valley. There is also the small matter of Carrickfergus, Dromore and Cooke fighting it out to avoid finishing in 9th place and the playoffs. Ards remain favourites to be relegated to Div 2.

Also interesting to note that five of the top six sides completed the double over their opponents last weekend.
Instonians over Cooke
Omagh over Enniskillen
Ballyclare over Carrickfergus
Portadown over Ards
Clogher Valley over Dromore.

In Div 2 both Coleraine and Limavady return to league action this week after being knocked out of the River Rock Towns Cup by Ballynahinch seconds and Armagh seconds with both teams meeting in another derby match at the John Hunter Grounds. League leaders CIYMS have a two point advantage on Coleraine and will be looking maximum points from their return game with neighbours Grosvenor at Belmont before Coleraine and CIYMS meet again on the 21st January. Wins for CIYMS and Coleraine this week will leave it a two horse race for the automatic promotion place to Div 1 next season with the 2nd place side having to play the 9th place team in Div 1 in a playoff.

At the bottom of Div 2 Donaghadee are favourites to be relegated to Div 3 with UUC and Lisburn battling it out to avoid finishing in 9th place and the playoffs.

In Div 3 Ballymoney remain undefeated at the top after 13 league games with a game in hand over 2nd place PSNI who are being closely followed by Lurgan and Strabane with six points separating these three teams.

There was some concern with the involvement of so many Ulster squad players in the SONI Ulster Premiership games last weekend. Ballynahinch had 8 players turning out against Banbridge. Queens had five players along with a number of Sub Academy players against Malone and Ballymena had three players turning out against Dungannon. The feedback was encouraging from the clubs with the coaches delighted for their club players to have the opportunity to play alongside and against professional players. In fact the coaches would say it was a very positive experience.

I watched the Malone v Queens game at Gibson Park and was expecting the Queens side to be comfortable winners. Despite Queens having a 10 – 0 advantage at halftime the Malone team missing several regulars took the game to the student side in the second half to win 12 – 10.

One has only to look at the Ulster A squad that has been selected to play London Scottish in the British & Irish Cup at the Kingspan stadium tomorrow night to see how many players were involved in playing club rugby last Sat. Jonny Murphy, John Donnan, Conor Joyce, Lorcan Dow, David Busby, Johnny McPhillips and Craig Trenier who played for Ballynahinch v Banbridge. Rob Lyttle, Jonny Stewart, Zac McCall, Alex Thompson who played for Queens against Malone and Nick Timoney who played in the same match has been away this week with the Ireland Sevens squad. Jack Owens who played for Malone. Stephen Mulholland who played for Ballymena v Dungannon. Injury had ruled out Ballymena duo John Creighton and Conor Smyth last week who are sitting on the bench.

What a boost it was for the SONI Premiership League to see so many professional players playing in the Ulster league.

It will not have gone unnoticed by Kieran Campbell and Willy Anderson off the talent that is within the clubs and has not been given the opportunity to play at a higher level.

You only had to look at the faces of the Queens players last Saturday to see how physical and competitive their match was with Malone.

I keep hearing from rugby supporters we don’t develop any club players in Ulster to play professional rugby. The players are there. Maybe the focus is too narrow in the processes used to identify potential players to play for Ulster.

What is happening in the Junior leagues in the other three provinces of Leinster, Munster and Connacht.
In Leinster junior 1A Malahide remain the surprise league leaders with a four point advantage over 2nd place Enniscorthy with 4 x games left to play.
In Munster Clonmel are going for their third title. They lead 2nd place Newcastle West by one point with 7 x games remaining.
In Connacht Ballina lead 2nd place Connemara by three points with 4 x games remaining.

Interesting situation cropped up in the Clogher Valley v Dromore game last Sat that the home side won 25 – 0. Dromore lost a prop who was replaced by a prop. They then lost another prop with the game going to uncontested scrums. Should Dromore have been allowed to keep 15 players on the pitch.

There was a problem in the Conference league with some UBL club 2nd xv sides fielding five replacements instead of two.

The Draw was completed for the second round of the River Rock Towns Cup with games to be played on the 4.2.17
Bangor seconds v Larne
Ballynahinch seconds v Dromore
Dungannon seconds v Enniskillen
Clogher Valley v Rainey OB seconds
Carrickfergus v Ballymoney
Ards v Randalstown
Armagh seconds v Omagh
Portadown v Ballyclare

For the information of readers. This preview is sent to Ulster Rugby who edit its content before publishing it each week on the Ulster Rugby website. I have a circulation list that sends the preview to Ulster UBL clubs and the clubs in DIV 1 and 2 of the Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship. I know Instonians, Malone and Bangor publish the preview on their websites with other clubs circulating its contents to their members.

Every week I am being approached by rugby supporters to include their details on my mailing list. The unedited version is very much in demand by rugby followers throughout Ulster. Where clubs can assist with the publication of the preview I would appreciate their help. It is now four years since I began promoting the Domestic club game through my weekly preview.

The interest in the Domestic preview has grown beyond my expectations. Your support is very much appreciated.

ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE
Division 2A
Sunday’s Well (5) v Malone (8)
Malone have been on a winning four match run that includes two wins in the UBL and two wins in the Ulster league. They completed their return to Div 1 of the Ulster Rugby Premiership after winning Div 2. This success was achieved with an impressive 12 – 10 win last week against a strong Queens team. Malone are 5th in Div 2A a further five points behind 4th place Highfield. For Malone Head coach Paddy Armstrong and his players the next three UBL games against Sunday’s Well, Belfast Harlequins and Blackrock College will go along way in achieving the teams goal to finish in the top four and making the playoffs. When these two sides met at Gibson Park on the 12.11.16 the match ended all square 16 – 16.

The Malone coach was pleased with the performance of his players against Queens and their attitude in training last week. He is aware that Sunday’s Well are a big physical side and will be a tough challenge for his side at Irish Independent Park in Cork this weekend. There are still a few selection issues to be sorted out due to availability. The coach welcomes back forwards James McAllister and Philip Lucas into the starting line up along with Mark O’Connor in the backline.

Injury rules out Michael Shiels who has been one of Malone’s most consistent forwards this season.

SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP DIV 1

Ballymena v Armagh
Current ‘Stevenson Shield’ Holders Ballymena will need to defeat Armagh and hope City of Derry can deny Ballynahinch the win to take the Div 1 title. With Ulster A playing London Scottish in the British & Irish Cup on Friday night, Ballymena Head coach Andy Graham will rely on his club side to win this match. The Ulster league has provided the coach with the opportunity to give game time to several of his fringe players as he looks to strengthen his 1st xv squad. Players given the opportunity included Andrew Cundell, Russell Blair, Houston Bonnar, Matthew Dick, Matthew Norris, Dean Reynolds along with Paddy James.

The coach was disappointed his side did not take the bonus point in their 24 – 5 win at Dungannon last week. Despite going behind after dominating the opening 15 minutes the team showed a lot of character to fight back and win the match. The players maybe tried to play too much rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch rather than being direct.

Ballymena 1 – 20 Bryan Young, James Taggart, Chris Cundell, Connor Smyth, David Whann, Willy McKay, Tony McGuinness, Mark Foster, Glen Baillie, Richie McMaster, Johnny Rossborough, Marty Irwin (Captain), Callum Patterson, James Beattie, Rodger McBurney, Adrian Kirkpatrick, Andrew Cundell, Russell Blair, Ian Vance and Paddy James. Other options the coach has to add to his squad include Matthew Norris and Jordan Foster. Russell Blair started the game at Dungannon in place of Connor Smyth and continues to improve with every match. Jordan Foster will be disappointed not to make the match day squad after scoring an excellent try at Dungannon.

The coach is confident that the squad he has selected can beat Armagh. These matches are important in building towards the UBL game at Buccaneers on the 28th January.

Armagh Head coach Alex McCloy is expecting his team to be along similar lines to the side that started against City of Derry last week. After crushing Ballynahinch 52 – 14, Armagh followed this up with another 55 – 7 win over Derry as they go all out to win the Stevenson Shield at Eaton Park this week. The coach is hoping to add Tim McNeice, Andrew Willis, Stuart Lester, TC Campbell, Josh McKinley and Captain Ali Birch to his squad after they missed the match against Derry. Unfortunately for the coach he will be without Matthew Wright who sustained an ankle injury at the weekend which may sideline him for several weeks. The focus for the coaches and players is very much on building up to the next block of UBL games against Wanderers, Greystones, Old Crescent and Thomond.

Since the teams last UBL game against Wanderers on the 3rd of December the players have been following a pre season training programme combining training time in both the gym and on the pitch.

Banbridge v Dungannon
Head coach Daniel Soper is looking a performance from his players this week. Yes a win would be nice but at the moment we are measuring our progress on performance rather than results. Last Saturdays performance against Ballynahinch had some excellent periods where the Banbridge team were on top. Unfortunately for the team we could not capitalise on the dominant periods and the quality of some of the Ballynahinch professional players meant they were too strong in the second half.

The coach is delighted to welcome back Andy McGrath this weekend at outhalf after being out for 12 weeks. This coupled with last weeks return of Josh Cromie at scrum half is timely going into the UBL next week. Second row Chris Allen remains out with a shoulder injury but the rest of the team remains unchanged.

For Dungannon Head coach Andy Hughes and his players it has been a difficult two months from a results point of view. The three UBL games (1x draw, 2 x losses) were frustrating as they were three games we should/could have won but ultimately we threw them away will silly mistakes and poor decisions. If we had won all three games we would be in a strong position in the top four and people would be talking about playoffs/promotion which would be a little misleading as its not where we are.

The players we have available are working hard on and off the pitch and are showing good improvement but unfortunately the plain fact is we just don’t have the resources at this time to consider a step up. Our playing squad is too light and especially this season when we have been crippled at times with injuries where we just don’t have the back up.

The coach feels he has a squad that could compete in Div 2A but in this era of rugby where injuries are so frequent we need a 1st xv squad of 30 + players.

He is hoping by February to have the most of his squad back so his team can have a strong finish to their season.

This week against Banbridge it will be a case of putting 20 fit players on the pitch. Anyone carrying knocks will be rested and with the seconds not having a match it will give a few players a chance to get some exposure to what would be expected at the next level. Banbridge are a quality side and very well drilled so it will be a good experience. The goal this week is to get a positive performance with no injuries.

City of Derry v Ballynahinch
Player coach Richard McCarter remains positive despite his teams 55 – 7 defeat at Armagh. It was a tough game for his players with the team having picked up a few injuries the previous week against Dungannon with a couple of players unavailable. Derry were only able to travel with 16 players and finished the match with 13 fit players. There were a few notable performances from Joe Dunleavy and Jason Bloomfield. Selection this weekend will be similar to last week. The priority for the coaches and players is their next UBL game at home to NUM Barnhall on the 21st January.

Ballymena (3) v Armagh (1)
Banbridge (4) v Dungannon ( 5)
City of Derry (6) v Ballynahinch (2)

SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP DIV 2
Belfast Harlequins v Bangor
Both these teams will be looking a win this weekend before the UBL resumes on the 21st January with Quins having Belfast derbies coming up against Malone and Queens Uni in consecutive weeks. These two teams met in the quarter finals of the First Trust Senior Cup on the 15.10.16 with Quins winning 15 – 5. Bangor need a win after losing their last four games. They play a Sligo team at Upritchard Park next week who defeated them 51 – 17 0n the 3.12.16. Bangor Head coach Jason Morgan has much work to do to refocus his players on the challenges ahead in the UBL.

Head coach Andrew Gillespie was delighted to see his Quins team winning their Ulster league match at Rainey 19 – 7 after a difficult opening first half to their UBL campaign. He felt the win at Rainey was good to get under the belt particularly away from home against a team who have been going well in their respective league.

For the match against Bangor the coach has several players unavailable including experienced second row Danny Annett. Games such as this give the younger players the opportunity to impress before the UBL returns. The forecast is snow but fingers crossed we get the go ahead for all the games. The players have worked hard in training and are looking forward to the match.

Bangor 1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong agrees his Bangor team have been in poor form of late. They have also taken the decision to rest players over the winter break and have used the Ulster league games to give a few players their debuts for the 1st xv including James Stewart and Evan Wellard McMillan. Long term injuries are keeping out Jamie Clegg and Mike Weir until the end of the season, two huge blows for the squad but again has given game time to fringe players.

James Henley has returned from Australia and along with the fit again Ryan Latimer will soften the blow of losing Clegg and Weir. Andrew Shaw, David Bradford and Ryan Latimer picked up knocks in the 10 - 0 defeat at home to Rainey last Thursday night. Gareth Wright is unavailable due to exams.

Bangor 1 – 20 for Quins. Philip Whyte (Captain0, Andrew Jackson, James leary, James Stewart, Craig Burton, David Lynn, Mike Apsley, Curtis Stewart, Alastair Lockhart, Gareth Millar, Rob Gamble, Jason Morgan, Mark Widdowson, Adam McCusker, Phil Broderick . The Bench will be finalised tonight at training with James Henley included.

Some good news will be the welcome return of experienced winger Davy Charles in the next couple of weeks who hasn’t played during 2016.

Belfast Harlequins (2) v Bangor (5)

ULSTER RUGBY 2ND XV LEAGUE
Armagh seconds v Ballymena seconds
Banbridge seconds v Malone seconds

KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 1
Ards v Clogher Valley
Both these sides met at the Cran on the 31.12.16 when Clogher had to work hard for their 13 – 0 win against a stubborn Ards side. Ards may be bottom of Div 1 but under new coaches John West and Scott Young the team have demonstrated a real improvement in performance with Portadown like Clogher unable to secure a bonus point in their 24 – 10 win last week. The focus for the coaches is all about rebuilding Ards rugby club and making the 1st xv a force once again in club rugby in Ulster. The 1st xv have come through several seasons of struggling in the UBL and are showing real signs of improvement.

Both John West and Scott Young have been pleased with the response of the players in training. They have bought into the changes made and are starting to move forward as team. John West acknowledges they have a long way to go with the team setting themselves a few targets of where they want to get to before the end of the season. Team this week will be similar to the side that played against Portadown. Turnouts at training are good with competition for starting places on the 1st xv.

Ards can learn from their opponents Clogher Valley this weekend who hadn’t won a game from March 2016 up until the 29th October when they defeated Monivea 27 – 6 in the AIL Junior Cup. Since then Clogher have won 7/8 games. They have also won their last four league games to move up to 6th place in Div 1. Their goal will be finish in the top four and qualify for the AIL Junior Cup next season.

Clogher coaches Glen Kyle and Davy Black will be looking to make it five back to back wins in the league. It is all about maintaining momentum The target for the players is to maintain their position in the league. For this week their talented full back Philip Wilson has been ruled out with a broken nose along with winger Andy Breen. Mark Ellis starts on the wing after playing well when he came on as a replacement. Eamon Whyte starts at full back with PC Falconer returning to the centre. Michael Treanor starts in the second row with Philip Moore reinstated at prop.
Replacements are Tom Mills and Neil Cullen who were both outstanding last week for the seconds in their win. This will be Neil Cullen’s first start in the 1st xv.

Ballyclare v Enniskillen
Under Head coach Mike McKeever Ballyclare have joined Instonians and Omagh in pursuit of the Div 1 league title. When these two sides met at Mullaghmeen on the 17.12.16 Enniskillen ran out narrow winners 13 – 6. Comparing recent league performances Ballyclare have won 4/5 with Enniskillen winning 1/4.

Ballyclare Head coach Mike McKeever viewed the back to back games against Carrickfergus as no easy task for his players. They got two wins but had to contest with strong Carrick pack not to mention the passion they have in their side. He believes Carrick will pick up league wins and challenge in the Towns Cup.

The Enniskillen match is all about performance for his Ballyclare side. League positions, ifs buts and maybes go out the window in this league. His team did not perform away to Enniskillen in their 13 – 6 loss, which was also a credit to them. Mullaghmeen is hard place to go and score points/wins, similar to Clogher Valley. But we simply want to play to make up to ourselves and our supporters that travelled to that away game.

It is a credit to the Ballyclare squad including the second xv players who are not making the 1st xv starting side how well the 1st xv players are giving a good account of themselves and it is hard to change what works. Hooker Craig Smith has been playing with a lot of energy as has Ryan Tweed, Grant Bartley and Captain Gary Weatherup in the pack. The return of Robbie Reid in the backs has strengthened their defensive formation. For this week the pack will remain close to the same that started against Carrick apart from a change at prop due to a concussion to 18 year old Dean Jones. The backline will be the same with Tommy Holland, Bobby Smith, Michael Kirk, David Clarke, Robbie Reid, Stuart Cusick and Niall Lawther starting. By having Bobby Smith at 10 and Niall Lawther at 15 you have the luxury to switch these two players during a match.

Enniskillen Head coach Willy Elliott was disappointed with the result against Omagh after a much improved performance by his side. A lack of discipline cost them a 8 – 6 win with a red card handing Omagh a late penalty to win 9 – 8. The coach is also aware that his Skins side have lost their last three away games. It is an area he is looking to improve on. He feels the teams performances have been up and down following a five week period in October/November when his team only played one match.

Despite the disappointing results the coach has noticed an improvement in recent games. For this week he makes a number of changes. With Mark O’Shea being replaced by David Monteith, Ricky Lee replaced by Gavin Park and Richard Beatty replaced by Stevie Welsh.

Finishing in 4th place has become the goal for this Enniskillen team who are keen to be a part of the All Ireland Junior Cup next season.

Cooke v Carrickfergus
There will be frustration amongst the Cooke coaches and players that they let slip 14 – 10 and 17 – 7 leads against Instonians to lose 17 – 14 and 21 – 17 in their back to back league games. These defeats have seen Cooke slip into the play off position of 9th place. Two points separate Cooke and Carrickfergus with Carrick defeating Cooke 18 – 7 when the teams met on the 17.12.16.

Carrick coaches Davy Scott and Mickey Rainey have much work to do to keep this Carrick side in Div 1 after securing promotion last season. They have only won 1/6 league games losing back to back games with neighbours Ballyclare.

Omagh v Dromore
As Omagh head coach Phil Marshall told me you make your own luck. His team had the luck to win a last minute penalty to defeat Enniskillen last week 9 – 8 at Mullaghmeen. In the home match Omagh proved too strong for Enniskillen winning 29 – 7 on the 31.12.16. Within a week the coach had lost five players to illness before the return match.

He is looking forward to the return match with Dromore this week after his team were defeated 21 – 15 at Barban Hill on the 17.12.16. Omagh are still missing several players for selection including Johnny Sproule, Adam Longwell, John Blair, Gary Sherrard, Alan Heaney, Ally Beckett and Adam Stephenson with hooker Mark Brown returning to take his place on the bench.

Despite the injury crisis in the 1st xv squad Omagh rugby club are still able to field four teams. This is down to the players, coaches and Captains. The key to Omagh maintaining their title challenge is to keep grinding out results and holding on to their position in the top three. They also have the benefit of a rearranged game to be played against Ards at home.

Dromore Head coach Jonny Cullen is aware his team are struggling away from home. He believes it is to do with attitude and confidence on the road. With an ever increasing injury list along with players away on skiing holidays he is looking to his players to step up and take their chance in the team. For this week Jason Gribben comes in at scrum half along with Blair McDonald and Dylan Cobb who comes into the back row.

Portadown v Instonians
Crucial game for both sides with eight games remaining. Portadown are five points behind league leaders Instonians in 4th place. A win is essential for Portadown if they have any ambitions to win the league title. These two teams have already met twice this season. Portadown defeated Instonians at home in the Junior Cup 25 – 17 on the 5.11.16 with Instonians recording an emphatic 46 – 6 win at Shawsbridge in the league on the 17.12.16.

Portadown Head coach Richard Hedley has watched his team struggle through the winter. Disappointing performances combined with good opponents has seen his team slip up in the league and get knocked out of two Cups. Before Xmas his team were well beaten by a good Instonians team in the league. This Saturday will be hard again and it is important the Portadown forwards are up for the big challenge.

The coach makes a number of changes with Willie Graham returning for his first start since February 2016. Diarmuid O’Kane also returns from injury with Matt Davison replacing the unavailable Mark Henderson.

Instonians Head coach William Leacock is aware that the league is extremely tight this season. Omagh have the strongest squad and are favourites to win it in his opinion. Ballyclare are also a fine side and no doubt could win the league.

Injuries have affected the consistency of the form of his team this season as they struggled in both games against Cooke with his players showing real heart and character to win in the last ten minutes two weeks in a row. He also has special mention for his Captain Robert Whitten and stand in out half David Scott who were excellent in both games.

Injuries continue to affect the team with Alan Whitten, TJ Morris, Mark Mairs, James Campbell, Joe Fryers, Matthew Kilpatrick and Zac Finlay all ruled out for this weekend with Richard McCarthy returning to training this week after his recent illness.

Ards (10) v Clogher Valley (6)
Ballyclare (3) v Enniskillen (5)
Cooke (9) v Carrickfergus (7)
Omagh (2) v Dromore (8)
Portadown (4) v Instonians (1)

KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 2
CIYMS V Grosvenor
Both these teams met at Gibson Park on the 31.12.16 when CIYMS ran out convincing winners 43 – 19 with the East Belfast side having a two point advantage over Coleraine with both sides meeting on the 21.1.17.

CI Head coach Gareth Fry is delighted with the response of his players with nine games remaining. Numbers at training have been excellent with competition for starting places increasing. He has a few players carrying knocks but is expecting to name a strong starting xv for this week.
He has been pleased to see the return to training of the experienced Ross Hackney.

Grosvenor Head coach Robert Ford said CIYMS deserved the win last week against Grosvenor. He felt the 43 – 19 score-line flattered them a little with his teams second half performance producing three tries with a fourth opportunity held up over the line. Several 1st xv players had to attend a wedding that day.

For this week he welcomes back Captain Andrew Kelly, Peter Dawson and Jeff Mealiff to bolster his pack. The coach is happy that he will have all his players back to full fitness as his team go in search of a win at Belmont this week.

Limavady v Coleraine
Coleraine Head coach Richard Boyd will be hoping his Coleraine team can make it three wins in a row against their neighbours Limavady. In their first meeting on the 1.10.16 Coleraine won 38 – 8 in the Junior Cup. When the two sides met in the league on the 31.12.16 Coleraine won 21 – 0. Limavady are five points behind 2nd place Coleraine and seven points behind 1st place CIYMS. If the Roe-siders are going to maintain their promotion ambition this is a match they have to win. It has been a difficult two weeks for Limavady Head coach Mark Nicholl and his players
After losses against Coleraine and then Armagh seconds 46 – 8 in the Towns Cup at the Palace Grounds. Coleraine will be looking to bounce back from their 34 – 3 defeat away to Junior Cup holders Ballynahinch seconds at Ballymacarn Park last week.

Limavady Head coach mark Nicholl had to make eight changes to his starting line up that played in the 46 -8 defeat away to Armagh seconds in the Towns Cup last week due to a variety of reasons including work commitments, injuries and unavailability.

Yes it was a good Armagh side and to be fair Cups weren’t out priority this season with the small playing squad we have. Promotion at the start of the season wasn’t on our radar, we were just trying to improve game by game with this young inexperienced but talented squad.

His players are looking forward to the visit of Coleraine this Saturday. They were deserving winners in Coleraine two weeks ago as I thought they played the weather conditions better than we did, but it was another learning curve for us as coaches and players.

Coleraine Head coach Richard Boyd made a number of changes to his starting xv for the Towns Cup match at Ballynahinch last week where they lost 34 – 3 to the Junior Cup holders due to illness, unavailability and squad management. He was relatively pleased with how the team applied themselves as Hinch ran in two late scores to flatter the score-line. His Coleraine side dominated the scrum and maul in large parts of the game in the Hinch 22. Credit has to go to Hinch as they defended well, were very clinical and were able to raise their tempo when required. The match provided the perfect opportunity to give some of our 2nd xv players an opportunity at this level. The main priority for Coleraine this season is the league with his players totally focused on the next block of three league games.

This week Coleraine return to full strength with Steven Dickey, Josh Christie, Roger Bonnar, Dijon McCorkell, Cameron Fulton, Bookie Carstens, Brian Cochrane and Adam Parke all returning to the starting line up.

Coleraine are expecting another tough encounter against a well drilled Limavady side on Saturday with weather conditions expected to play a big part. His players will have to remain focused with the Limavady team carrying a number of threats across the park. His players have trained well this week and know they have to perform to their best to get another important win on the road.

Lisburn v Donaghadee
Head coach Andy Postlethwaite rested several players last week in his teams 20 – 6 defeat at Ballymoney in the Towns Cup. The focus for the Lisburn coach and his team is to retain their place in Div 2. Their opponents at Blaris this week are bottom club Donaghadee who remain without a win. When these two sides met at Donaldson Park on the 17.12.16 Lisburn ran out 52 – 5 winners.

Randalstown v Academy
Gary Longwell’s side caused an upset when they went to Roughfort before Xmas and defeated the home side 22 – 17 on the 17.12.16. This loss was certainly a setback for Academy’s promotion challenge. The home coach agreed his team had to be at their very best to win a close encounter at Academy just before Xmas. Academy are a very difficult side to play against with a very physical pack and a backline with speed and skill.

Academy Head coach Gareth Lynn is not worried about promotion and feels his side will give a much better account of themselves at Randalstown on Saturday. Both Stuart Henderson and Jordan Buchanan return to the squad along with Gavin Braiden who replaces Norman Carson on the wing. Injury rules out Kyle Dobbin with Richard Henderson unavailable. The coach will finalise selection on Thursday night.

UUC v Larne
Students Director of Rugby Brett Campbell felt his side showed their potential in scoring four tries in their 37 – 27 defeat at Larne on the 31.12.16. The backline helped build up a good lead only for the team to fail to close out the game by giving away penalties. That being said Larne set out to play rugby and create opportunities with their place kicker taking his chances to help them win the first of the back to back games. He feels the return match this week will be another close game. He is full of praise for the work done by Head coach Jonny Black who works tirelessly along with Captain Mounty O’Neill to have a full squad to select from. For this week out half James Stevenson returns along with prop Steve McCleery. The squad also welcome back Adam Jamieson, Daniel Morgan and Lewis McCrabbe .

There is a strong belief that the team continues to develop and is adapting to a playing style that is starting to produce results. He feels that the students second win in the league is not far away with the confidence in the playing squad to push on in the second half of the season.

The Club now have a strong 2nd xv and have used 52 players this season that reflects an increase in the numbers playing rugby after leaving school. This also underlines that University clubs have a key role to play in retaining players to play weekend rugby.

CIYMS (1) v Grosvenor (5)
Limavady (3) v Coleraine (20
Lisburn (8) v Donaghadee (10)
Randalstown (7) v Academy (4)
UUC (9) v Larne (6)

KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIV 3
BHSFP (6) v Strabane (4)
Letterkenny (10) v Ballymoney (1)
Lurgan (3) v Cavan (9)
Newry (5) v Holywood (7)
PSNI (2) v Monaghan (11)
Virginia (8) v Ophir (12)

Cheers,
George